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I am not talking about his stature but his arm length. I know this might be controversial but imagine if he at 7'6" had Shaq's or Dwight Howard's reach in proportion to his height. If Yao can't shoot it he can at least do a turn around flush the way he did over McGee (Wizard's rookie center). It's almost cliche to talk about it but y'all know it's something to ponder about. Yao is agile enough to flush it over a defender even if he's 10'ft away from the rim due to his height but he can't because of the alligator arms.

Yes he has a short wingspan for his height. This is nothing new.

In other news, that Mcgrady dude from Orlando is pretty good huh? I would so trade Stevie and Mobley for him. Get er done CD!!

Short arms are the least of his problems.

yes he does have short arms.....and hes slow, weak, un clutch, injury prone, soft, dumb......etc

Asserting himself like he did last night..is what we want. Playing timidly and clumsily like he did against the Raps and Sixers is not what we want.

We constantly ask ourselves why Yao cannot play like he did last night every time. Now in fairness last night he saw single coverage b/c the Rockets spread the floor better than they have in a while with Brooks instead of Alston. And if thats what it takes for him to be consistent then thats what we gotta do. He looked like when he got it he was gonna score..he wasn't gonna hesitate..he was gonna make his move and get his shot. We don't need dominant games from Yao..we need consistent games in which he takes care of the ball and assets himself offensively. Let McGrady (whenever healthy) worry about getting other ppl involved. Yao needs to catch it and look to score all the time.

His short arms is not my concern but his small heart... Actually I think that Aaron Brooks's hearts is bigger than his.

His small heart isn't what concerns me so much as his Zangief-like kneecaps. I can't think of anyone whose kneecaps are bigger than his.

I didn't mean to make a stir with dumb responses. But it sux when the guy is 2 feet aways from the rim and can't stuff it. Then again he can't even grab the rebound that's a foot above his head at times.

Yes well, I'm always good for a dumb response Rebounding isn't about height or arm length. Even if Yao's arms were longer, he'd still miss a ton of rebounds and dunks because of his mobility and technique. Yao's size is pretty much only a boon with regards to his jump and hook shots. Everywhere else it's a handicap, but as was pointed out, this has all been known for years.

i've always thought, like moofs said, yao's greatest gift is also his greatest handicap. physically, at least as it pertains to us humans, it's just damn impossible for a 7'6 guy to match the athletics, speed, coordination, stamina, and reaction of guys that are shorter by half a foot or more. I think it's silly to expect him to move and jump like he's smaller and grab every rebound and flush every shot down. when I think about, yao's already pretty damn agile and coordinated for someone his size. so the best thing to do is play to his strengths (post him deep, actually use him when he does establish position, etc.) and minimize his handicaps (beware of mismatches, beware of useless expenditure of energy, etc.).

I read somewhere Yao has 7'6" wingspan, which is short for his height. But compare him to everyone else in the league, he probably has the longest arms, also considering his narrow shoulders. But like everyone else said his mobility and stamina really is more problematic than his arm length.

Also, I am curious, does anyone know what Kevin Willis' wingspan was?

Like 5'2" pry, with hands to rival the size of Mr. Pingping.

Yao's more than agile enough and he's shown he can, given the room, to quickly spin and dunk it (I mentioned that he did it against McGee). But if you really examine it his arms don't have the reach to flush it every time in situations where if he were more basketball proportional he could. And to the guy that says Yao has the longest arms in the league not even close. Pippen at 6'8 has a 7'3 wingspan and like a 9'7" standing reach. Oden, Curry, O'neal (Shaq), Howard, and Duncan all have significantly longer arms than Yao and those are his main opponents. Yao has a 7'4" wingspan as revealed years ago.