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I think Wang is on his way out of Miami: playing behind Shaq, Alonzo, Doleac, and even Laetner.
Tim Duncan isn't mean but he's had some success in the post. Maybe Yao will "get it" one of these days. Amare is a stud and has done very well at center. Aside from physical attributes, I do think there's a bit of the cultural aspect. Maybe if Yao was Asian American instead of Asian it would of made a difference in "mental aptitude".
On defense, Yao also suffers from a smaller wingspan. I think even Tracy McGrady has a wider wingspan. AK-47, Elton Brand all have really long wingspans (relative to height). Yao comes up a bit , um..short. His lateral speed is bad. Most guards are just too quick and can get around him with relative ease. But many "big men" or centers have the same problem. The perimeter defense should have done more.
With the Rockets, Van Gundy has Yao do alot more than most big men do. Yao has to pop out to help out with defense on the guards then roll back to the low post when the other teams big guy rolls. He ofetn gets caught in the middle giving up the easy bucket. We've all seen how ugly it gets when Yao has to waddle out to the guard them amble awkwardly back to defend the hoop (ouch). so some of it is the system he plays in too. I think he would do better with a good power forward so he doesn't always have to pull double duty.
I thought Yao did pretty well in the playoffs (and T-Mac of course!!). But playing 2 on 5 won't get you to the second round. Maybe the summer off will be good for Yao.
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