# Anyone else tired of casual fans using Yao as a scapegoat...



## The_Franchise (Mar 30, 2003)

because their favorite player isn't starting or a reserve at the All-Star game? I for one can't understand how people can build up so much hate for such a nice guy on and off the court. The sad thing is he is still the best center in the West, IMO the league, but people remain ignorant. I was talking with my friend about it and we agreed it's embarrassing how easily the media runs America, and dictates 99% of American 'opinions'. The way people talk about Yao right now is borderline racism. 

But there are 2 billion people in China! America still has more internet users you *******s.


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## tone wone (Jan 30, 2003)

of course we are.

The question I have is was it always like this? I didn't become a rocket fan until McGrady joined the team...was he getting this same treatment his first 2 years in the L? Cause if I remember correctly people didn't seem too upset about him starting over Shaq in 2003 & 2004 but now he's bashed for breathing.

I find funny that more people are upset that Yao's starting over Marcus Camby than they are about McGrady starting over KG.......thats just stupid. As if anybody gives a damn about Marcus Camby. People talk about Camby as if A) he hasn't missed just as much time as Yao & B) like he's Bill Russell.


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## The_Franchise (Mar 30, 2003)

People also don't understand that there is more to defense than weakside shot blocking. It is very reasonable to say Yao is a better man to man defender than Camby and at times a better defensive anchor. 

First 2 years of Yao's career were spent hyping him as the next Shaq. Everyone loved him. The next 2 have been spent trying to bring him down because he isn't averaging 29 and 11.


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## jdiggidy (Jun 21, 2003)

The Chuckster has said it a thousand times: "The All Star Game is a popularity contest voted on by the Fans."

The only votes that count are really the coaches choices and sometimes those are even biased.


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## Yao Mania (Aug 4, 2003)

That's why I don't even bother clicking on threads titled "Why is Yao in the all-star game??" anymore... Same stupid arguments, and no matter what evidence you throw at the haters they just can't accept the fact that Yao is popular amongst the masses and that he's a damn good player as well.

Futuristxen made a good point in the "T-Mac selling more jerseys than Yao in China" thread in the NBA general board: "So where are the complaints about the chinese vote pushing T-Mac into the all-star game?"

And I'm sick of the "Yao isn't aggressive enough" and "Yao's too inconsistent" argument too - 80% of players in the NBA are inconsistent depending on your definition!! IMO only thing holding Yao back are the refs - let the guy play and watch him whoop arse night in night out. 

ok, I hope Yao haters stay out of this thread, 'cuz if they come here to argue things may get ugly...


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## tone wone (Jan 30, 2003)

Mr. Roger's Cardigan said:


> First 2 years of Yao's career were spent hyping him as the next Shaq. Everyone loved him. The next 2 have been spent trying to bring him down because he isn't averaging 29 and 11.


I've always sorta felt that if Francis was still in Houston instead of McGrady the pressure on Yao to be Shaq wouldn't be as much.

And if I hear another mofo call him soft ima go crazy


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## OneBadLT123 (Oct 4, 2005)

i cant help but repp every poster in this thread...

I too am just so sick of the anti-yao in this league, board or anywhere else but Houston/china. 
Yao is not shaq and never will be. But he is one of the nicest, hardest working players i have known. And to come here, dumped in a foreign country without language, to learn it as fast as he did, and doing while having a culture shock. To me is his most amazing accomplishment. Not score 40pts and grab 21 rebounds like everybody wants him to be


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## Rickbarry (Feb 22, 2005)

I have to agree as well. Yao didn't want the hype as the next shaq. Everyone hyped him up beyond comparison and now that he's not dropping 30 a night he's viewed as a huge failure. I mean come one the guy's averaging 20/10 a game. There's no one else in the league getting the hell kicked outta them media wise for doing that other than Yao.

I saw quite frankly the other day and Stephen A. Smith was ripping Yao cause he misses games too often. Correct me if I'm wrong but he's only missed 2 games prior to the toe injury in his entire career? It's getting old fast.


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## Mavericks_Fan (Apr 19, 2005)

Mr. Roger's Cardigan said:


> The way people talk about Yao right now is borderline racism.


I don't know if any of it is fueled by racism or not, but Yao does have more haters than you would expect him to have given that he isn't overly vocal or cocky on the court.

First off, the All Star game is a popularity contest. Nothing wrong with that, but people need to understand that that's just the way it is. And Yao is the most popular center in west, so that means he gets the start. It's pretty simple, really, and there's not much there to complain about.

Marcus Camby is good, but the guy is so fragile every single year. I have a hard time when people say Yao shouldn't get it because he was injured when Camby was also out injured, anyway.

As I said before, it's based on popularity, but to be honest even if it was based on just skill alone in my opinion I'd still have to give it to Yao over Camby. I know Nuggets fans hate to hear it, but Yao is better than Camby. What Yao lacks compared to Camby in rebounds and mobility he makes up for by being twice as good of an interior offensive presence and he draws defenders to give his teammates open looks. I'm not trying to downtalk Camby, because I wouldn't be embarrassed to have him on my team at all. But if I had to pick between the two for my team Yao would win my choice easily.


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## bronx43 (Dec 9, 2005)

Thank you Maverick_Fan for starting this thread. This has been on my chest for awhile, but i just never had the initiative to start a thread. 
Yao is the best center in the West without a doubt. (soon best in the league) Yao however, is the best post defending center in the league. Not to put Shaq down, but he does not work half as hard in the paint defensively as Yao. Ben Wallace, if you can call his 6,7 (not 6,9)frame a center, is a superb weak side help defender. However, Big Ben cannot guard the top PFs and Centers in the league. He's simply too small. When you're playing one on one defense in the post, your 35 inch vertical is not nearly as useful. 
Stephen A. Smith is probably the stupidest black mo-ther-fu-ck-er on the planet. Even time he opens his mouth, I just wanna fill it with lead. He contradicts himself nightly and dismisses very good points made by other analysts. I simply cannot stand him. The fact that he has a TV show is just beyond me... He is nothing more than a loud mouth who should end his life. 
Another thing, the fact that teams double team Yao everytime he touches the ball means he deserves to an all-star.


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## rocketeer (Oct 7, 2002)

it really is pathetic. and i am definitely tired of it.

and it's not even just people on message boards either. i have friends that refuse to believe yao is a good basketball player. on espn when they were talking about the rosters, one guy said "yao is a good complimentary player, but i don't know about allstar" and then made a comment about china having the internet. if yao isn't an allstar, then what center out west is?


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## debarge (Nov 13, 2005)

Mr. Roger's Cardigan said:


> because their favorite player isn't starting or a reserve at the All-Star game? I for one can't understand how people can build up so much hate for such a nice guy on and off the court. The sad thing is he is still the best center in the West, IMO the league, but people remain ignorant. I was talking with my friend about it and we agreed it's embarrassing how easily the media runs America, and dictates 99% of American 'opinions'. The way people talk about Yao right now is borderline racism.
> 
> But there are 2 billion people in China! America still has more internet users you *******s.


What do you mean 'borderline' it is racism, from everybody black and white. The black guys say he's not tough, he's soft, he ain't Shaq. The white guys say 'he's finesse not power, he's slow or whatever,". Yeah, I've been fed up with that nonsense. Alot of this boils down to the American perspective on all Asian people. Yao doesn't fit their 'jackie chan jet li' mold, he's so nice and kind. He's not some wannabe gangstar either. And of course no one considers him a 'great mind' of the world, though we all know he's quite intelligent. Those are the asian archetypes that many Americans hold as truth. Asians and Mid Easterners are seen as 'very different', un-american, or just plain foriegners who 'shouldn't be here anyway.'
I am black, but always have had friends that were multi-ethnic but I think we all have to remember that Houston is one of the most accepting cities in the country. Maybe its because of the level of 'tolerance' or whatever, but I think Houston was the 'best place' for him. I don't think playing in Oakland would've been as accepting of him. His parents now live here and have a business. I'm sure whenever he marries Ye Li they'll get a house together too.
I also heard the usual suspects (Barkely, KSmith,) talking about how Tracy and Yao don't belong on the team this year. Everyone jumped on our bandwagon last year, and in the summer, but now its like they wanted us to Fail. Kenny Smith actually said "Memut Okur is a better center than Yao Ming, and So is Marcus Camby"???? WTF, oh they didn't forget to kick Tmac too, Barkley: Ray Allen deserves to go not Tracy McGrady, and so does Chris Paul... I'm not gonna disrespect either one of those guys, but how in the f---- does Ray go and not Tracy, they suck too. Chris Paul will be rookie of the year, so he can wait. But what Kenny said is FREAKIN NUTS, Camby and Okur better than YAO MING? ARE YOU SMOKIN SHROOMS OR WHAT :curse: I dont ever recall the Nuggets telling Mello to pass it to Camby for the game-winner? I must've missed that highlight. I could argue that Camby isnt as good as Robert Horry? but i won't. Okur is a good center whose plays forward, much like Gasol, and Duncan. Yao should've been born a decade earlier so he could've played against Kareem, then people would see his 'greatness'. Its lost right now because the game is focused on the Kobes/Wades shakin/and bakin.


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## Pasha The Great (Apr 9, 2005)

I can't stand it when I hear Houstonians complain about Yao Ming being overrated, and that he sucks, oh and lately i've been hearing that Tracy sucks.. whats the deal with these fairweather fans? 

You can definetly tell the difference of the true fans and those who just want to follow, last year my school was going crazy about the rockets and how good we were but now that we've been hit with injuries all I hear from those same people is how we suck and how yao is over rated and that its all those chinese peoples fault that Yao Ming is in the all start game(they say it as if theyre actually mad hes in the game!) 

I really hope we make it into the playoffs this year so I can see what they think about the rockets and how they will ignore the fact that they used to hate on the yao and the rockets.


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## Pasha The Great (Apr 9, 2005)

Alot of the disrespect for the rockets and its members comes from Sportscenter, its like they hate us, no matter how good we play our highlights are always at the end of the show when nobody cares and they barely show anything and they never talk good about us, all i hear is negativity.


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## Hakeem (Aug 12, 2004)

Mr. Roger's Cardigan said:


> People also don't understand that there is more to defense than weakside shot blocking. It is very reasonable to say Yao is a better man to man defender than Camby and at times a better defensive anchor.


It is not only reasonable to say Yao is a better man to man defender than Camby, but after watching both players, I can't see how anyone could claim otherwise.


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## WhoRocks (Feb 24, 2005)

Wow, I just read that thread on the NBA General board.

Don't think T-Mac deserves to be an All-Star? Fine. 

Don't think Yao deserves to be an All-Star (Even though everyone seems to neglect the fact that his case to start the ASG is considerably stronger than Tracy's)? Fine.

But numerous posters wishing bad health and injury on the two for something that's out of their control? Isn't that just inhumane? :krazy:


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## Pasha The Great (Apr 9, 2005)

Yes, it is *VERY* inhumane, I couldn't beleive my eyes when I read it.


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## Demiloy (Nov 4, 2005)

I still wonder why everyone hates Yao. How can you get better than 20/9? Tell me, how many people are averaging at least as many points and rebounds as Yao is right now? Shawn Marion, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, and Elton Brand. That's who. Yao is doing what only five other, MVP candidates are doing. And people say he should not be in the All-Star game? Shut up haters, SHUT UP!


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