Is Yao Ming a better player than Gasol?

My answer is NO. When evaluating a player, you can\'t put lots of ifs around it, but you need to go to the result.

If Yao gets position deep down low, If he catches the ball, he\'s unstoppable. But the problem is, fronting can shut Yao down effectively. Only TMac or Battier to some extend, can pass him the ball on the wing comfortably, because they are long and have good visions. If any scrub can front you and shut you down, you are not great, far away from it.

Yao\'s undoubtedly the best back-to-the-basket post offensive player. But his poor ball handling skills make it impossible to face the basket like TD, or even Amare. His far from reliable mid-range jumper (30%+) makes it not efficient to come out to meet the ball or play at the elbow/high post.

He\'s very good, but with too many limitations. Adding the health issue, he\'s no where near Gasol\'s impact right now.

With his shooting touch and FT accuracy, there is no reason he can\'t make a living with mid-range jumpers. Less bang down low, longer playing time, more offensive options. That\'s the area he should work on the most, which I have been advocating for years.

But right now, Gasol doesn\'t have trouble to get the ball. Only a few stong big centers can give him trouble. But Yao on the other hand, he plays great against DH12 or Shaq, but he gets shut down by no-name fronters easily. There is only one DH12 in the league, but there are 30 no-name fronters. That is the difference.