POLL: Dwight or Yao?

[Trade Ideas]

Please vote at the following link:

http://me-myself-and-sports.blogspot.com/

Please voice your opinion in this thread, as well.

This is a very commonly debated topic on the ESPN board, so I'd like to see what you think.

[Malinhion]

1. It's Dwight. Why? Because I'd rather have a guy who only missed one start in his career to come off the bench over a guy who has missed an average of 30 games in the past three seasons.

2. Dwight's production is better anyhow, and he's not a punk in the playoffs like Yao. Dwight put up three 20/20s to make it to the second round. Yao has folded like the lawn chairs that Yi worked out against.

3. I'm not going to your site. And I wouldn't do the advertising much more or you might be penalized for it.

4. ESPN is full of idiots--staff and posters.

[That Nicka]

Dwight and its an easy decision for me.

[CBS7]

You're allowed to have a link to your site in your signature, but you aren't allowed to go around and actively advertise it. You can make polls on threads on this site as well.

[EvadedHavoc]

When healthy its yao by a landslide. because of the injuries its dwight by a Small margin.

[travis minor]

1. It's Dwight. Why? Because I'd rather have a guy who only missed one start in his career to come off the bench over a guy who has missed an average of 30 games in the past three seasons.

2. Dwight's production is better anyhow, and he's not a punk in the playoffs like Yao. Dwight put up three 20/20s to make it to the second round. Yao has folded like the lawn chairs that Yi worked out against.

3. I'm not going to your site. And I wouldn't do the advertising much more or you might be penalized for it.

4. ESPN is full of idiots--staff and posters.

post of the day

[Storm Surge]

I could put up 20/20 on the Toronto Raptors front line...

bottom line...Raptors are weak up front and Dwight played against a lotto team(if they were in the West)...

your only legitimate points are #1, the injuries, and 3 and 4

[HarlemHeat37]

exactly..Dwight's a monster, but it's the **** Raptors..

I'll take Howard, but ONLY due to health..if Yao is healthy, I'll take him..

I feel like Yao is way less dependent on teammates than Howard..he's a much more versatile player when you need to run your offense through him, while Howard's points MOSTLY(not all the time) come off rebounds and penetration from teammates..Yao's passing is on another planet compared to Howard's..

Howard's superior on the boards, but I don't think it makes up for the advantage that Yao has with his offensive versatility(compared to D12) and passing..defense is virtually a wash..

but the reality is, Howard is much more likely to stay on the court, so he's the pick..that's the only reason IMO..

[PimpORL]

I could put up 20/20 on the Toronto Raptors front line...

bottom line...Raptors are weak up front and Dwight played against a lotto team(if they were in the West)...

your only legitimate points are #1, the injuries, and 3 and 4

Now explain why Dwight puts up better numbers against the entire NBA while playing more games.

Find one thing Yao is better than Dwight in other than jumpshooting and free-throw shooting.

[MnM_McgradyMing]

I could put up 20/20 on the Toronto Raptors front line...

bottom line...Raptors are weak up front and Dwight played against a lotto team(if they were in the West)...

your only legitimate points are #1, the injuries, and 3 and 4

Now explain why Dwight puts up better numbers against the entire NBA while playing more games.

Find one thing Yao is better than Dwight in other than jumpshooting and free-throw shooting.

Post moves=Yao
Clutchness=Yao
Defense=Yao/Dwight its about even


Not to mention Yao has outplayed Dwight on both occasions.

[C'mon Cavs]

Dwight is better. I'll take the monster over the finese player.

Dwight is going to get a lot better too. As early as next season, this wont even be a debate.

[Baller 24]

Yao is the better man to man defender, Yao is the better player down in the post, Yao has the better skill down low, Yao is also the better player WHEN HEALTHY, rebounding wise Howard is better. Durability is what Howard as to go along with future potential, Dwight wins this, but when healthy Yao wins it.

[bballmaniac27]

OP please refine your question. Are you asking who's the better player now? or who I would take for my team.

I think most people except for homers would take Dwight over Yao on their teams w/o hesitation. But if you are asking me who the better player is, I think I would still go with Yao at this point.

Now explain why Dwight puts up better numbers against the entire NBA while playing more games.

Find one thing Yao is better than Dwight in other than jumpshooting and free-throw shooting.

Footwork, post moves, passing, bball IQ

That's four things right there.

[MnM_McgradyMing]

If i were to build a new team i would take dwight as he is younger and less injury prone. Yao is older but at the moment is a better player.

[Malinhion]

Yao is not at the moment the better player. These are all lies. Dwight is a better player. You can blab all you want about Yao's finesse, his shot, footwork, his allegedly superior post moves, etc. It doesn't matter, because it doesn't pan out in the box score.

Dwight takes 30% of his shots as dunks (eFG .931). A total of 84% of is shots are inside, where he scores at an eFG% of .664. On fewer than 12 shots per game he shot .599 this past season and scored 20.7 points. He drew fouls on 28.3% of his field goal attempts. Dwight, despite his turnover problems, committed .67 offensive fouls per game last year of his 3.2 turnovers

Compare with Yao, who takes 11% of his shots as dunks (eFG .902). Only 52% of his shots are inside, where he scores at an eFG% of .624. On 15.5 shot attempts per game he shot .507 and scored 22.0 points. He is a superior free throw shooter, but only draws fouls on 16.0% of his field goal attempts. Yao committed .62 offensive fouls per game of his 3.3 turnovers.

So Dwight gets three times as many dunks, shoots 10% better on the whole, draws fouls twice as often, and only scores one less point on 3.6 fewer shot attempts. The turnover problems that everyone cries about for Dwight are as bad if not worse for Yao. Dwight also takes 84% of his shots close whereas Yao only takes half.

So if Yao's alleged post game is better, where is it panning out? Not in my NBA.

[Optimus_Steel]

I could put up 20/20 on the Toronto Raptors front line...

bottom line...Raptors are weak up front and Dwight played against a lotto team(if they were in the West)...

your only legitimate points are #1, the injuries, and 3 and 4

Really?? If thats the case then why did no one from the Nets grabed 20 rebs last year in the playoffs against the Raps? If everyone can do it.....


Dwight still grabbed 18 and 17 rebs againt Detroit. You can do that too?

I think its ridicuous to discount Dwight's rebounding, even against Tor, when he lead the entire league in the catergory.

[Baller 24]

Yao is not at the moment the better player. These are all lies. Dwight is a better player. You can blab all you want about Yao's finesse, his shot, footwork, his allegedly superior post moves, etc. It doesn't matter, because it doesn't pan out in the box score.

Dwight takes 30% of his shots as dunks (eFG .931). A total of 84% of is shots are inside, where he scores at an eFG% of .664. On fewer than 12 shots per game he shot .599 this past season and scored 20.7 points. He drew fouls on 28.3% of his field goal attempts. Dwight, despite his turnover problems, committed .67 offensive fouls per game last year of his 3.2 turnovers

Compare with Yao, who takes 11% of his shots as dunks (eFG .902). Only 52% of his shots are inside, where he scores at an eFG% of .624. On 15.5 shot attempts per game he shot .507 and scored 22.0 points. He is a superior free throw shooter, but only draws fouls on 16.0% of his field goal attempts. Yao committed .62 offensive fouls per game of his 3.3 turnovers.

So Dwight gets three times as many dunks, shoots 10% better on the whole, draws fouls twice as often, and only scores one less point on 3.6 fewer shot attempts. The turnover problems that everyone cries about for Dwight are as bad if not worse for Yao. Dwight also takes 84% of his shots close whereas Yao only takes half.

So if Yao's alleged post game is better, where is it panning out? Not in my NBA.

Nah, Yao inside is the better post player period. I don't care about the advanced statistics that you displayed, because as far as they go, stats don't mean much. If you have watched Yao play, inside he is clearly the better post player. He is a mixture of high bball IQ, terrific footwork, and inside has so many different types of moves that he can use to elevate his game. Yao is the skilled much higher bball IQ player, scorer, and man to man defender, while Dwight is the better rebounder, much more durable, and dominant. Yao is also clearly the better clutch player, This is a big IF, but if Yao played 82 games the past 3 seasons his win shares would be up to 40, his impact on the team has been big, but also the guy cannot carry a team on his own, which he IMO still has to prove since in 2006, McGrady went down, but the guy couldn't carry the team, while McGrady has the past 2 years. Also Yao has problems in BIG post season games, example game 7 in 2007, Yao coudln't grab a rebound, which ultimatly cost us the game by Okur hitting a 3. I'd also like to add in that Yao has outplayed Dwight in every meeting with post plays.

Now I think Dwight is the best player to pick because well of durablity, and how he is only 22 years old, and has a bright future ahead of him, but I hope your not one of those big Dwight fanatics that think hes going to pass the likes of Moses Malone, David Robinson, and Shaq, because those are just some obscured remarks that some Magic fans make.

IMO I see him as a Zo type player statistically in the future, but a much better rebounder. I can see him in his prime somewhere around 24-25pts, 13reb, and 3blk. With a nasty defensive game also. He has a lot of potential lets see if he can live up to it.

[Storm Surge]

I could put up 20/20 on the Toronto Raptors front line...

bottom line...Raptors are weak up front and Dwight played against a lotto team(if they were in the West)...

your only legitimate points are #1, the injuries, and 3 and 4

Really?? If thats the case then why did no one from the Nets grabed 20 rebs last year in the playoffs against the Raps? If everyone can do it.....


Dwight still grabbed 18 and 17 rebs againt Detroit. You can do that too?

I think its ridicuous to discount Dwight's rebounding, even against Tor, when he lead the entire league in the catergory.

um that was hyperbole if you couldn't get that you need your head checked out.

[kandiking]

sending blocks into the stands does not equal good defense. flailing around and fouling 6'7 ryan gomes when you're up by one with 0.5 left in the game is bad defense.

[Forest]

I would never claim Yao Ming has a high basketball IQ. He is turnover prone, similar to Dwight. Being stripped by smaller guards on rebounds and even in the post is common ground for Yao. Three second violations and stupid offensive fouls, same as Dwight. But rebounding wise, it seems Yao is sometimes lost or unaware of rebounds. And its not like Yao generates that many assists a game with his "high" IQ. Better passer but Yao is hardly an elite one with a career average that is very similar to Howards.

And I would never call Yao's offensive game superior or even that much better than Howards. If we call Howard limited offensively than I'd say Yao is too. He doesn't have a lot of counter moves in the post either. Plus, his FG% isn't what I would call great for a big man either, kind of on the low side. You can argue Yao's one on one game doesn't have as many weaknesses that can be exposed but there are just a handful of teams that can expose Howard's weaknesses in the post, namely Detroit.

Defensively I think Howard is better. If you watch both teams play the same shots players would take over Yao they would never take over Howard. Howard is quick off his feet and his shot blocking present is more influential. Yao is the better one on one defender in the post. But help defense is much more valuable because its not like you are going to require Dwight or Yao Ming to guard the teams best low post player night in and night out during a 82 game schedule. Or even in the playoffs except maybe during crunch time. Too risky to pick up fouls.

Ultimately I'd give the edge to Howard even if Yao was healthy. Its not a big margin in favor of Dwight in that hypothetical situation of a healthy Yao. But in reality Yao hasn't been very healthy in a while so it is in favor of Howard by a large margin at this point.