Yao Ming, Underrated???

Everyone's favorite square-headed, 7 foot 6 Chinese man is the best center in the NBA. Period. What, you don't agree? You don't like his penchant for layups when an inch off the ground would guarantee a dunk, or you don't like his choice to shoot fadeaway jumpers instead of power finishes, or you marvel at his lack of footspeed?The guy is one of the least athletic players in the entire league, and he lacks that swagtastic aggressiveness befitting guys like Amare Stoudemire or Shaquile O'Neal, in his prime anyway, or guys that are beleived to be the great ones. This is a player who was widely considered to be a novelty act, another oversized foreigner with skills whose size would inevitably be the death of him (a George Murhesan, basically). So why is the man I affectionately call "The Big Poo-Nanny" the best big man in the league? Let's start with the statistical evidence, 1st pairing him with the guy who is widely considered to be Yao's biggest challenge to the title of best center in the league today, Dwight Howard. There is no denying Howard is a physical freak, with a chiseled body usually reserved for the gods and sick hops rarely seen on men his size. The general consensus is that Howard is the better ballplayer, but is that really the case? Maybe more exciting, but in no way better. I think it just reflects the common basketball fan's obsession with rim shattering dunks and superhuman characteristics on their athletes, or something that makes greater than us, with skills mere mortals could never hope to acheive. Sportscenter has pounded this image into our heads, and we have complacently taken the beating. Stromile Swift has been on ESPN's Top Ten Plays more times than Yao has...does anybody give a Chinaman's ass who Stromile Swift is (he specializes in sitting on the bench and looking dapper in a suit for some team, I just can't remember who because he's traded every summer)? Hell no! Most fans would probably think that with Yao Ming's height, they could be in the NBA, or just as good. Sure. You try bending over to tie your shoes at 7 ft. 6 without tipping over like the leaning tower of Pisa, only falling over in the process. Hell, I'm 6 ft. 5 and had trouble walking in a straight line in 8th grade! In this flashy, superficial modern era of ESPN, when true substance and the passion of sport is replaced with 30 second blips and sounds and Dr. Dunkensteins all over the world rule the highlight reels, a good ole' fashioned finesse big man like Yao Ming goes unappreciated for the skills that he brings to the table. Also, when we become blasted with so much fan hatred and criticism making fun of Yao's inability to jump or move laterally, we as fans start to let that poison seep into our subconsciousness and view Yao Ming with preconceived notions that he's going to suck, so every time he misses a blockout or lays the ball in softly over an embarassingly smaller defender, we scoff at our television in pompous disgust!! Well let me show you the stats first, and then you can be the judge...

First, we'll start with the career point averages. Ming averages about 19 ppg, while Howard averages 17. Not much of a disparity, especially considering Howard came into the league as a raw high schooler who could do nothing but catch and dunk (one could argue that is still all he does, simply with more power), while Yao had Chinese professional experience. First off, Chinese pro basketball is about as competitive as Howard's high school league, but I digress. Howard's career field goal percentage is 57 percent, while Yao's is 53. Once again, not much of a disparity, especially considering about 90 percent of Howard's shots are dunks and Yao is taking much tougher jumpers and hook shots. So, both of these guys are making more than half of the shots they take, and seem to be reliable post options at anytime. Yao is obviously the most offensively skilled of the two, while Howard is much more physical and explosive, so where is the big seperation in stats that decides this debate? Definitely not in the blocks per game, where both big men have a 2.0 career average. Howard is considered to be more of a defensive stalwart, but Yao clogs up the middle with just as much ferocity. If you're huge, you're huge, and people are going to have a tough time shooting over you no matter the quickness level. Both guys have been questioned on their character (not the bad connotation of character in today's sports world),and that they lack the killer instinct to take over a game and just have the want to brutalize their opponents. Howard has been called too goofy and too lackadaisacal, not taking the game seriously at all times, while Yao's cultural alienation and soft-spoken nature have been used to excuse his at times passive play and unwillingness to demand the ball when he is obviously the best option. In playoff games, defense and free throws are often the seemingly minuscule factors that decide close games. When the interior battles get more physical and cuts/bruise become a daily occurence, having a big man able to knock down free throws at all times is a huge benefit and rare luxury that hasn't been afforded to many teams over time. It is almost like having an unstoppable weapon when you can just throw it inside every time, expecting either a layup and a foul for an easy two. This, my friends, is what seperates Yao from his evil antagonist, Dwight Howard, whose kryptonite is his barely 60 percent free throw shooting. His stroke may not be as caveman-esque as Shaq's, but it is difficult for men built like Howard to stroke with the purity of Yao, who is a career 87 percent free throw shooter, astonishingly high for a big man and one of the best all time, period. Having a guy like Yao in clutch situations, such as the playoffs, is so much more valuable than having a guy like Howard, who, when the defenses tighten up, can really only score on putbacks and dunks. In Ming, Houston has an automatic two points whenever they please. Yao is too tall for smaller, athletic bigs, while physical, pushy hacks like Greg Oden will only send Yao to the line, where he is most dangerous. The biggest Yao critics will probably wonder why Houston has never left the 1st round of the playoffs in Yao's tenure, or why he doesn't dominate more than he does with these kind of so-called skills I've been harping on, but it is just not in the poor guy's personality to dominate. He has gotten better at demanding the ball and playing with a fiesty edge, but he still has a lot to learn.

Yao haters would probably like to point out that I failed to mention the rebound statistcs, where Dwight has a 13-10 career advantage. I will acknowledge that Dwight is a better rebounder, an immovable force impossible to block out who could just jump over you anyway, and that Yao doesn't chase the ball enough, but while Yao has good rebounding companions at power forward in guys like Luis Scola, Carl Landry, and Chuck Hayes, Howard has offensive-minded softies like perimeter oriented big Rashard Lewis and finesse swingman Hedo Turkoglu as his power forward companions. Those guys wouldn't venture into the paint if a flock of naked virgins were lying underneath the basket. So, the debate is over, right? I'm sure many of you still aren't convinced. I'm willing to acknowledge Yao's faults, but all I'm asking is that you appreciate his gifts, immense talents, and fantastic heart. For a guy his size, he moves incredibly, and just watch his brilliant one-half performance in Game 1 against Portland if you want an example of what this guy can do when he is aggressively attacking the basket. Hell, he almost broke Hakeem the Dream's playoff record of 1st half points, and we all know about the two rings Hakeen has on his fingers, right? I didn't even mention Yao's aptitude for passing out of double teams, with an assist record matching that of Shaquille O'Neal and Amare himself. He rebounds better than Amare, and has an almost identical career scoring arc. Shaq obviously surpasses Yao in virtually all categories, but this isn't about the best center of the past decade in a half, it's about the best center right now, and that man is YAO MINGGG