I dig the fact that my opinion of Yao is what's keeping this thread alive. Everyone thinks my opinion is based on 20 seconds of tape. No my friends, yours is. The facts dictate that no one in the history of the L has ever been a dominate player once they stand 7'4" or taller. Sure, Sabonis wasn't the same player he was by the time he got to Portland but who's to say that he would have been able to dominate the NBA like he did oversees. I don't think that he was bumpin heads with the likes of Jabbar, Dream, or even one dimensional stiffs like Mark Eaton. Yao is here for the MONEY he brings, period. And a ton of money it is. You guys will realize that once Elden Campbell and Theo Ratlilff light him up with 20-20s on consectutive nights.
dwil8686, Don't just think, try to find out yourself. All through the 80s, Sabonis was playing against America's top young talents such as David Robinson, Derrick McKey, Kenny Smith, Dan Majerle, Danny Manning etc. in international tournament including World Youth Championship, World Championship and the Olympics. In most cases, David Robinson was the direct victim as he was dominated time and again. I don't THINK, I saw it happened as I was fortunate to have seen a few of the games. Check out the following link, catch a glimpse of it and try to understand why Atlanta and Portland wanted him so badly: http://corbu.aq.upm.es/~ifernand/sabonis/video.html BTW, there's a website where tapes of Sabonis' old games can be bought if you want to stop making hasty judgment. No, Yao will not get 20 blocks and forced 20 turnovers on Elden Campbell and Theo Ratliff
You are a moron. Sabonis after all of his injuries averaged 16 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 1.1 blocks per game at age 32! Imagine Sabonis before the injuries and younger.
I want him to be a good player 12p 10 reb 2bl that all I want for him. It not too late to grab the board favorite Raef LaFrentz
All through the 80s, Sabonis was playing against America's top young talents such as David Robinson, Derrick McKey, Kenny Smith, Dan Majerle, Danny Manning etc. I have respect for Sabonis' game. I never said that HE was garbage. I apologize if you feel that was the insinuation. But I do believe that he could be compared to Yao in some aspects. Sabonis was far and away the most dominate player overseas. But saying that he dominated excellent college players that went on to have solid (D-Rob excluded), but not special NBA careers only strenthens my point. Yao could maybe dominate the likes of Rick Fox, Raef LaFrenz, and Marcus Camby. But what's he to do once he's faced with 6'11" bruisers that want to welcome him to the L with elbows in the paint and 6'5" pogo sticks that are looking for a SportsCenter highlight? Maybe my garbage assessment of Yao was a little strong BUT he had better be as mentally strong as MJ to survive what the L has in store for him. Look what happened to Shawn Bradley's confidence after a few poster dunks on him.
SirCharlesFan your name is sircharlesfan and you're calling me a moron? at this point you're unworthy of any further response
uhhhhhhh.......I don't think anyone expects Yao to DOMINATE. Just play well........wait 'til Shaq leaves or gets old and try to become the best center in the League.....which doesn't say much these days. :
You don't know how dominant Sabonis could be as he never played in the NBA in his prime. So the comparison with Yao and Sabonis in terms of dominance is meaningless. One sidenote, you are really slow catching up things. Many of your arguments have been rehashed over and over on this BBS. Try something new next time. 6'11 bruisers? You mean 6'11 dwarfs? Most of whom weighs 40 pounds less than Yao? Oh, I am SO scared for Yao. Every center, great ones or scrubs, gets dunked on by guards. Big deal! As to the elbow thing, LOL, have you ever heard of Chinese Kung Fu? Cut the weak Sh*t.
Naw, neither from Ireland nor Zimbabwe does Yao Ming come from, although that's quite funny. Actually, according to an inside source, Yao Ming is a Mooner from a secret basketball camp on the moon set up by the Chinese government. Ya see, less gravity = more height! Be sure to check out Yao in Man in Black II.
Just who are these 6'11" bruisers that want to welcome him to the L? Could you name a few? why name a few when one average at best player will do? Danny Friggin Fortson will have him on the floor by the end of the first quarter. Yao is here for the revenue he brings. How many guys have started Yao Ming fan clubs are out there now? Now how many of those guys had interest in NBA b-ball before the "Ming Dynasty"? Right now the guy is just a walking sideshow. Just watch how many times he is mentioned in Houston's efforts to bring the Olympics here. Reality
Dwil.... You are keeping it real... I cant wait til' the season starts. Instead of arguing my points here, Im going to wait til mid season to pass my long term judgement on Yao ming. Ultimately I agree with everything your saying. I am not getting my hopes high on Ming cause I still feel the level of talent he plays against and his height warrants averaging 20 plus points a night oversea's. I think the key to Mediocre success for Ming at the most is going to be wether or not he can keep his confidence. If he loses it we might as well ask for a refund from his team in China. As a Rockets fan I hope he is what he is hyped up to be. As a Basketball Fan - I dont think he will. As for the money/marketing issue, you are correct, 50% of the decision to draft Ming is Les wanting that Money for investment (rockets) that Yao will Generate, the other 50% is his potential. Bottom line is if I owned the Rockets, I would have drafted him to. But it wouldnt have been for his skills, more for the Money. Although Les wants to win many championships, he still knows this is a business. I wonder since we will be getting more prime time games, will our core team step up and play like I hope they can in front of these big audience's. Its going to be interesting to see if we play as a team or if we play like last year like we were at the playground....
One thing that bothers me is how fans predict Yao's career based on general questions that can be asked against any NBA newbie. Can Yao stand the grinding of a 82 game schedule? Can Yao maintain his confidence in the L? The same thing can be asked about Steve Francis or any other player when they first come into the leauge. These kind of questions are meaningless unless one has a crystal ball. The condition for investing a No.1 pick, even based on the money issue, is the expectation that the player to blossom into an elite player. A 7-5 elite center will draw crowds, a 7-5 scrub won't. See Shawn Bradley. Chinese fans won't buy Ming jerseys if he ends up as an avarage player. The Rockets drafted Ming because they have faith in his game, business is secondary concern. Are you going to spend a #1 pick on a mediocre player for the temporary audience he brings? Come on, get real.
