yi is got a way better jumper. his jumper is textbook. very high release. he also has a turn around jumper (with a fade sometimes too). the dude is long, quick. he made last year's number 1 pick like a rookie when they played. it's not just luck folks. and he is very humble so far, i haven't seen any attitude yet. his english is way better than yao when he came in the league. yi runs the floor for fast break man. the dude is high flying. when yi is scola's age, given playing time. he will become a poor man's KG.
here is my question. why even compare scola and yi? what's the relevance to the houston rockets? to the nba, what's the relevance other than how they're both rookies? so i guess that based on how their both rookies, look at what carl h. said... yi gets to play through his mistakes. scola is not. look at durant. he is on a terrible team. just like yi. so their numbers are getting called everytime their team trots down the court. who do the bucks have besides redd? no one. that's why yi is being asked to be #2 in the buck's 1-2 punch. scola, despite his good offensive skills, is out their playing with an insanely talented, "win now" team and bench. in order of offensive prowess: tmac, yao, james, bonzi...and then you can start talking about scola. also you wouldnt want to just privelege point production. ask yi to be compared to scola in regards to setting good picks, covering a scorer, blocking, steals and arms in passing lanes to stop passes and eat up clock, taking charges, getting rebounds....
yi isn't only about scoring. he set good picks, steals the ball, blocks, quick feet, cover well (especially shooters), recover well. he doesn't flop though.
Yi is hardly the second option on the team. He is tied for 4th on fg attempts with Mason after Redd, Mo and Bogut.
from what i read, hey had a key block down the stretch in that win against the bulls. my only hope is that he flourishes into a marquee player.
When I heard Yi played well on defensive, I am so excited. Many Chinese players can not adjust to NBA, like Wang ZZ. Now, we just can say both of them are potential players. But Yi is only 20.
last game, the win against the raptors. #1 redd w/ 14 attempts #2 yi with 10 attempts (tied with mason) previous to that, the win against the bulls #1 redd w/ 24 attempts #2 yi with 15 attemps (and a cliff drop of touches after that)
Do I really need to explain how Yi is bringing a lot money to the team? Just use common sense... you probably didn't give a crap about the Milwaukee Bucks before Yi joined, and now you are following them. Sure, hes got talents (never said he doesn't have any) but his lottery pick was mostly due to the Chinese market he brings to the team. 4 NBA games and you think he is more proven than Scola. I don't even want to bother arguing with you on that one.
i think theyve recently found their winning formula. get yi some significant touches. we'll be playing a bucks team that is trying to build on that streak tonight. should be exciting. shane will be guarding him, right? so i don't know, but i'm thinking a veteran defender like shane and an elite defense like Houston are going to make it tough for Yi.
Sorry but you're the one lacking sense if you think the Milwaukee Bucks picked Yi JianLian SOLEY because he brings Chinese money. That's flat out ridiculous. Nobody here is denying that Chinese money will flow into the Bucks, but that's not the reason they picked him. The guy can play. How about that?
Yi could easily turn out to be the third best player in the draft. If he is close to being another Dirk, teams will be kicking themselves for not picking him at 3-5.
I believe the argument is plausible and valid. And the stats data so far is also Yi's favour. For the FG pct: Yi 44% Scola 36% For the FT pct: Yi 70% Scola 20% It is noted that there is no huge difference in per-game playing time between them: Yi 25 min Scola 18 min
There shouldn't be any comparison between Yi and Scola because... 1. Even though Scola is MVP of the Euroleague, it is worlds different from NBA style of play while Chinese basketball mimics that of the NBA so the adjustment alone would tell you that Yi should be able to adapt much more quickly than Scola. 2. Developing Scola isn't the teams no. 1 concern whereas the Bucks promised to give him playing time to help him prepare for the Beijing olympics. Give Scola time to adjust before jumping to any conclusions, we're only 5 games deep into the season (that is if he's given enough playing time to develop)
It is premature to say that Yi is more proven than Scola, i agree with that one, but it is also foolish to say that the Bucks got Yi for the 6th pick solely for the increased revenues... they might just as well elect him into office if it's not about basketball talent, and I assure you Yi is no slouch in that department, in all honesty, he does have a huge upside than most people credit him.
This thread reads more like Yi fans trying to tie something into the Rockets somehow so it can be placed in the GARM forum. I think Yi will be greater than Scottie Brooks one day. Just compare their first 5 games.
Not fair to compare Scola with Yi after only 5 games. They are both rookies and "FOB"s ... lol, play PF positions. But similarities stop there. Yi is a starter on an inexperienced, young, and weak team in the LEast Conference, while Scola is the 6th/7th man off the bench of a star-studded Rockets team that have played 4 our its 5 games against elite teams in the West Conference. It's way too early to judge the two rookie PFs at such early stage of the season. The OP does have a valid point in that having earned his minutes as a starting PF over a 3rd-year NBA "veteran" Charlie V, Yi has not been disappointing, to say the least, despite not being the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or even the 4th option on his team.
