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I think each of those duos are some of the most elite combos in the NBA, however I along with many others felt that neither of them have quite accomplished what many thought they would when they first got together.

With that mind, which duo do/did many have higher expectations for and why? Yao/Tmac or Melo/Iverson or Kidd/Dirk

Yao/Tmac for both questions. A prime Yao and an almost prime T-Mac should be able to do better then they have. Of course injuries have gotten in the way but they have a better shot then the other two duos of going deep.

I never thought Melo/Iverson would work. Its hard to build around either of those guys individually and putting them together doesn't make it an easier. Not to mention that's a really poor defensive duo to have as your centerpieces.

Dirk and Kidd primes didn't match up so I wasn't expecting much from these two. I'd put Dallas' duo as Howard/Dirk before Kidd/Dirk. Kidd really doesn't complement Dirk at all.

I'd say Yao/Tmac. A lot of people, including myself, felt that they would be the new Shaq & Kobe but obviously they have been a great disappointment so far. Injuries injuries injuries, what more can you say...

Yao/Tmac no doubt, during the regular season they have tremendous success (170+ wins, less than 70 loses when they play together), but in the playoff they can't seem to get it together, one sometimes shows up or one doesn't. This past season could of been something good, but to bad Yao had to go down.

Yaozer and Big Mac

Yao and T-mac have higher expectations. They are better and compliment each other better than the other two duos. To me, the rockets are arguably the best built team in the league. Great swingman, great center, a bunch of smart, hustling role players who can hit threes. If yao and t-mac both get healthy and stay healthy, watch out.

i dont think people have high expectations for dirk anyway.

poor dirk. so good but ignored

Nobody expect anything from Ai/Melo or Jkidd anymore. This has to be Tmac/Yao.

Yao and T-Mac. AI, Dirk and Kidd have all LED their teams into the NBA Finals, while Yao/TMac still has to survive one playoff series.

Kidd/Dirk are clearly not looked at highly anymore IMO. Kidd is old and his offense is dwindling, Dirk has gone down since being labeled as a choker the past 3 years.

Iverson/Melo don't have any expectations anymore, before this season they had a lot(they even predicted 60 wins, Stephen A. said they were going to win the title) but this season I don't see anyone expecting much.

It has to be Yao/T-Mac, they are still the same and their team is the best out of the 3, of course, most people don't expect them to stay healthy so...