I think most people who were using the age thing as an insult were saying “he’s only dominating in college because he’s older and therefore more physically developed than everyone, once he gets to the NBA with other adults he won’t have that advantage.” Or something along those lines.
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I think that’s a whole different angle to the age thing! At least from the NBA stuff. He was older than a lot of people and did dominate and was ready to do this in the NBA, so again not exactly wrong. 
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He played very little organized basketball, so he was a few years behind developmentally, but it makes it perfect for the coaches to mold him without him ever developing bad habits.
The fact that Yax has the right mindset to succeed in the NBA is evident in his teammates’ comments that he has been asking them questions about how to get better and how to make the team better with his play. I loved Yax’s question to T-Mac, Melo and VC about asking for advice on how to get better.
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I heard Ira give this stat on 1050 this morning:
Since 1985, there are 4 players who had totaled at least 85 points and 35 rebounds in their first 4 games:
Ewing
The Admiral
Shaq
Yax.
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I fell asleep before the interview. I hope I can find it on line.
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I found the post-game stuff:
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More
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After this year, assuming he stays healthy, the dude is going be one of the nbas biggest stars
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FTR i’ve seen versions of this claim in every sport for 20 years and it’s largely just a hurdle that has to be cleared. there’s no latent growth to unlock.
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as for the age thing, i think it’s pretty clear that Yax was behind a ton of his peers. if it turns out he’s special, i think it’s going to be because he’s just so naturally able to perceive the game and make his body do stuff compared to everybody else even tho his motivation historically has been kinda iffy.
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“i definitely thought i was gonna wet the bed”
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By far the funniest part of the Yax thing is that we all went through it last year. His personality is fascinating.
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Well, he definitely has a longer leash to be more authentically himself more of the time this year.
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You can spin his age a few different ways…
- If you’re a rebuilding team that has a multi-year journey to be a contender, you may not want to invest in an older player because he might hit his ceiling or start declining when you need more runway.
- But on the flip side, the team that drafts the player really only has to worry about paying their first contract. Why not pay someone who is closer to their peak so you get more out of them on that deal and worry about their second deal later?
Neither is right or wrong, just a matter of how you’re looking at the overall value versus investment from a near term and long term point of view. Moussa is a contrast to Yax. He’s a very solid NBA contributor right now and pretty dirt cheap…but it took him a few years to figure it out because he was so young/raw as a draft pick. Likewise, you’re gambling on the upside with those picks while taking the risk that they never figure it out like so many other high Michigan draftees like Nik, Trey, Caleb, DJ, etc.
That’s very difficult to do, and I consider myself to be fairly imaginative.
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his age is one reason he would have been perfect for the Pistons. He’ll have less earnings because of it, but a nearly capped playoff team would get, well, this.
Haven’t seen any of it, but Mo has 11 points in 11 minutes so far
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I’m sad that Free Preview Week for League Pass is over. I was getting used to seeing Yax play.
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Truly one of one. And I’m not talking about Yax.
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