Now that Bynum is on Philly is he capable of putting up Peak Yao numbers?

[Styles p]

Yeah, I can't wait to see how Bynum does as well as the Sixers team. They have some question marks, but nobody is expecting them to contend right now anyway. I have no idea how Philly is going to do even assuming they have a healthy Bynum. They do have a very nice amount of capable scorers around him such as Thaddeus, Nick Young, Jrue Holiday and possibly J-Rich. I'm not sold on Dorrell Wright, but he did become a legit shooter in Golden State so they'll have at least 3 guys capable of making 2 threes per game alongside Bynum in Richardson, Nick Young and Wright. Holiday is also a capable 3 point shooter.

He doesn't have any great players around him. Thaddeus is the best scorer, while Nick Young has the best chance to go on a scoring streak and Jrue is probably the most well rounded for his position.

Depth at power forward, point guard and small forward are real question marks to me. Arnett Moultrie is very athletic for a big man, but I'm not betting on him being able to contribute in his rookie season because he seems raw and not strong enough to deal with NBA power forwards. Is Royal Ivey going to back up Jrue at point guard? And is Richardson going to see quite a bit of time at small forward?

Either way, we'll be in for a great season, much better than last season as far as I'm concerned.

i think turner will slide into the pg spot when jrue is on the bench with ivey coming in to just play defense and hit a corner three a couple minutes a night.

[turnaroundJ]

It's a shame we only caught a glimpse of what prime Yao could've been. I remember back in 06 that Yao was already quite clearly the best player on the Rockets.

Honestly I think he could've averaged about 27-29/10 if he stayed healthy and continued mastering the NBA game. He was nearly, if not already unstoppable.

Andrew is a different beast with a different game though, with higher potential than Yao had. I'd be happy if he reaches his true potential since a lot of bigmen have had injuries that prevented them from doing so recently (Yao, Oden, Bogut).

[Yung D-Will]

It's a shame we only caught a glimpse of what prime Yao could've been. I remember back in 06 that Yao was already quite clearly the best player on the Rockets.

Honestly I think he could've averaged about 27-29/10 if he stayed healthy and continued mastering the NBA game. He was nearly, if not already unstoppable.

Andrew is a different beast with a different game though, with higher potential than Yao had. I'd be happy if he reaches his true potential since a lot of bigmen have had injuries that prevented them from doing so recently (Yao, Oden, Bogut).

I remember hearing that Thabeet was learning from Yao Ming like last offseason. I wonder if that materialized into anything.

[brantonli]

It's a shame we only caught a glimpse of what prime Yao could've been. I remember back in 06 that Yao was already quite clearly the best player on the Rockets.

Honestly I think he could've averaged about 27-29/10 if he stayed healthy and continued mastering the NBA game. He was nearly, if not already unstoppable.

Andrew is a different beast with a different game though, with higher potential than Yao had. I'd be happy if he reaches his true potential since a lot of bigmen have had injuries that prevented them from doing so recently (Yao, Oden, Bogut).

That would only happen if the Rockets seriously got gutted and Yao was the ONLY guy who knew how to shoot the ball. There was a stretch when Yak average something like 30-10 for a week and 28-10 for about two I think. If I I that period was a glimpse of an absolute dominat Yao, but there was no way he could sustain it for a whole season.

[MiseryCityTexas]

It would be funny as hell if this guy ends up becoming the black LucLongly.

[GOBB]

It would be funny as hell if this guy ends up becoming the black LucLongly.

Retarded post based on the possibility of that happening. Wait are you from Texas? That could explain the stupidity here.

[Yung D-Will]

That would only happen if the Rockets seriously got gutted and Yao was the ONLY guy who knew how to shoot the ball. There was a stretch when Yak average something like 30-10 for a week and 28-10 for about two I think. If I I that period was a glimpse of an absolute dominat Yao, but there was no way he could sustain it for a whole season.

Peak Shaq is probally the only big in the modern era who could come close to averging that for a whole season.

[nevetslc88]

Andrew Bynum finds out he's been traded to Philadelphia.

http://vimeo.com/47829002

[Yung D-Will]

Andrew Bynum finds out he's been traded to Philadelphia.

http://vimeo.com/47829002

What movie is that from?

[ShaqAttack3234]

Just realized that Bynum went from a team with the greatest tradition of big men with Mikan, Wilt, Kareem and Shaq to a team that is pretty impressive themselves with Wilt and Moses.

Granted, Bynum himself wasn't truly a part of that Laker tradition. He was injured too often and clearly doesn't have THAT type of potential. I mean 3 of them are among the top 5 centers and top 10 players who have ever played this game, and the other dominated his own era at a top 10 level and was the original dominant center. Bynum did go out with a nice 19/13, 2 bpg, 56 FG% season, though that puts him closer to Vlade territory of just a very good center.

Would be cool to see a 3rd hall of fame center in history if Bynum stays healthy. He'll never be Wilt or Moses, and he's a long way from hall of fame level, but at 24, you never know considering the season he's coming off of. Hey, while he's not a hall of famer, Mutombo was another pretty good big man for the Sixers. Voted DPOY for a record 4th time in Philly, then he averages 14/14 with 3 bpg to help get the Sixers to the finals.

Shaqattack, about mobility, I think it was after that 2007-2008 season where he decided to bulk up and put on muscle, and everyone came into next season shocked at how much bigger he was. So after that I was never sure if him being slower was a result of injuries, or just the fact he decided to become bigger so he could dominate inside.

I haven't noticed a real significant change in weight. He was never thin, even at 17-18, but I do think he's gotten more cut and in better shape. I don't remember him ever making an effort to bulk up, certainly not like Dwight or Oden. I do remember reports that he lost weight, though.

i think turner will slide into the pg spot when jrue is on the bench with ivey coming in to just play defense and hit a corner three a couple minutes a night.

Turner is another question I had. How much time are they going to invest in him considering he's been such a disappointment?

It's a shame we only caught a glimpse of what prime Yao could've been. I remember back in 06 that Yao was already quite clearly the best player on the Rockets.

Yeah, Yao established himself as the Rockets best player in the '06-'07 season. I was very surprised for 2 reasons. I didn't think Yao could be that good, and I didn't expect T-Mac to decline by 27 years old when he should have been around his peak. It's easy to forget, but T-Mac is only about a year older than Yao.

If you remember their first season together, T-Mac was a lot better with Yao as the clear sidekick. '05 was Yao's 3rd year and before he was really looking like a dominant player. He struggled with foul trouble more back then as well which shows that he was still adjusting to the speed and physicality of the NBA game as well as how it's called.

T-Mac on the other hand played about as well as he ever has outside of '03. While he didn't get the hype, I thought he had an MVP-caliber season, especially when Van Gundy told him to assert himself after the first month when he had been trying to "fit in".

But not only had T-Mac lost a step by '07, he was deferring to Yao to the point that he was a clear sidekick. But I'm not convinced he was fully healthy because when Yao went down, T-Mac carried Houston averaging 28/5/6 on 45% shooting to lead them to a 20-10 record. A pretty big deal was actually made out of Yao becoming the man on this team actually. I remember T-Mac being interviewed by Inside The NBA, and Barkley(who had been calling for T-Mac to be the 1st option) asked T-Mac if he knew he was better than Yao once T-Mac got hot when Yao went down.

'07 was the year Houston really gave away. They had better teams entering '08 and '09, but those weren't their fault. Yao returned healthy in plenty of time for the playoffs, and while T-Mac was not the player he was from '01-'05, he was relatively close, and it's the closest he was while he played with Yao. Both were playing at superstar levels, and the team was 30-11 when both played. Unfortunately they gave away a 7 game series to Utah, a series that neither Yao or T-Mac played up to their standards in. They had the Warriors waiting in the next round too, that would have been an easy path to the WCF thanks to the Mavs being upset.

Honestly I think he could've averaged about 27-29/10 if he stayed healthy and continued mastering the NBA game. He was nearly, if not already unstoppable.

29 ppg is getting carried away. There's a chance his prime could have been 25 ppg give or take a bit depending on the year. I do believe he could have peaked at 26-27 ppg. Though I know he was capable of 25 ppg, maybe 26-27, he may have not averaged 25 every season in his prime. In '08, he started the season healthy and played all of Houston's 55 games before the stress fracture, but averaged 22/11. Granted, he was in a different situation. Jeff Van Gundy, who is not exactly an offensive genius, had an offense that revolved around going into Yao much more. But Rick Adelman experimented with Yao in the high post more much like he had his big man in the high post a lot in Sacramento, and Yao had to learn a difficult system.

Andrew is a different beast with a different game though, with higher potential than Yao had. I'd be happy if he reaches his true potential since a lot of bigmen have had injuries that prevented them from doing so recently (Yao, Oden, Bogut).

I think Yao had more potential than Bynum to be honest.

Peak Shaq is probally the only big in the modern era who could come close to averging that for a whole season.

What do you mean modern era? Yao in his short peak was a 25/9 player and I think he would've averaged 26/10 if he was healthy that year, 29 ppg is definitely a stretch, though, imo.

I don't think it's always a matter of a player being capable, but it's rare that players play for numbers. The truly elite players certainly don't max out. They can score at will, but it depends on what the team needs. Especially with title contenders when you have to try to establish some balance. You have to play within your team's offense, and of course, you'll get doubled teamed.

In the 2000s and 2010s, only 2 players have actually averaged 27/10. Shaq did it 4 times from '00-'03, and Webber actually did it in 2001. Several others came pretty close, although even less of them were actually centers and primarily inside players.

That would only happen if the Rockets seriously got gutted and Yao was the ONLY guy who knew how to shoot the ball. There was a stretch when Yak average something like 30-10 for a week and 28-10 for about two I think. If I I that period was a glimpse of an absolute dominat Yao, but there was no way he could sustain it for a whole season.

Yeah, his last 6 games before the injury were without T-Mac and he averaged 31.2 ppg, 10.7 rpg, 2.2 apg, 3.3 bpg and 50.7 FG%.

As I've mentioned, Yao's numbers of roughly 27/10 before his injury were over an impressive 26 games.

Most importantly, watching Yao early in that season, I saw no reason to believe he couldn't continue to do what he was doing. He had a jump hook and turnaround jumper you couldn't block in addition to a phenomenal shooting touch. He also had nice footwork and strength he was learning how to use at 7'6". But he was a guy with a dominant inside player who you couldn't foul because he shot free throws so well, and he was getting to the line 8.6 times per game because of his inside game.

Granted, Yao's early season numbers may have been influenced by T-Mac's struggles at 19/5/6 on 42% while missing 6 of the 26 games. Especially since the Rockets those first 3 years of the T-Mac/Yao duo were much like the Shaq/Kobe Lakers in that they didn't really have a 3rd scorer, so they leaned on Yao heavily with T-Mac out or struggling.

I don't see 27/10 on the Adelman Rocket teams because of the system and the additional talent. Probably not even 25 ppg for that matter.

Part of the reason he averaged 25 ppg in '07 was because Van Gundy had the offense really revolve around Yao. That was a big difference between '07 and '08. Van Gundy was hardly an offensive genius, while Adelman is an excellent offensive coach, and one of the best coaches of all-time, imo.

[East_Stone_Ya]

hell no he won't be putting up no peak Yao numbers at least not in his first season

[gabeh1018]

I know this was 7 or 8 years ago now, but I am an alumni from St. Joe's where Bynum played his highschool basketball. After graduating I went back to see him play a game when he was a junior. First, he towered above every other player on the court and secondly, his game was absolutely terrible and I expected more. That was then, this is now, but it's interesting now hearing people say he could possibly be a top 10 player in the NBA. Makes me question that talent in our league, kidding of course ;)

but having said that, in Philly, I definitely see him being their go to player. He has obviously had his moments in the NBA where you are like wow, he really is something. But still the man has a lot of growing up to do and I question his work ethic and motivation a lot.

I can see him averaging a double double.

[GOBB]

Turner is another question I had. How much time are they going to invest in him considering he's been such a disappointment?

I think this season is where they really evaluate Evan Turners progression. Getting rid of Iggy was huge as the ball will now be in Jrue and Evans hands more. And the makeup of the roster is more shooting orientated than it ever has. So with no backup PG, Evan will handle more ball handling duties to make plays. And his lack of range becomes that less important. So it'll be interesting to see because Iggy and Turner was a bit redundant. One had to go. Evan is a much better ball handler than Iggy is which allows him to get to the rim better than Iggy ever could. So this season will be huge for Evan Turner because he needs to really emerge. Time to grow as a player because there are no excuses now.

Otherwise he could find himself in a package deal to bring in a proven player next offseason. Atleast I hope thats the Sixers thinking. They dealt Iggy so anything is possible especially with a new owner who wants the front office to be more risk takers.

[Rubio2Gasol]

Turner reminds me of Roy, I think he'll have a great year.

[GOBB]

Turner reminds me of Roy, I think he'll have a great year.

Roy with bum knees? Agreed. Roy most fans grew to love? Now i laugh...