This is the most objective assesment I saw so far. http://pub58.ezboard.com/finsidehoopsfrm1.showMessage?topicID=13431.topic I hope this may help keeping the expectation of Yao at a realistic level. Dr Q --------------------------------------------- I've heard everyone talk about how good/bad this kid is for a very long time. So, I decided to do some research to see exactly how good Ming's game is. Basically, if any of you are interested in finding Yao Ming footage, you have to go to chinese sports websites. It was a pain in the arss to find it, but I was able to see an entire half of Yao Ming's chinese championship game where he scored about 40 points. Here's what I thought about his skills and performance. By the way, I used to help San Diego State University review scouting films, I have experience in this field and what I say is pretty accurate. I'll rate each aspect from 1-10, 10 as being very good. Passing: He get's an 8 for pass. The one thing that really stood out about his game was the fact that he is a good passer and has good court vision. He was able to find open men cutting to the basket and other's waiting at the three point line. Not once did he make a stupid pass and he definitely helped many of his teammates score points. His passing abilities will come in very handy for the Rockets next season. Shooting abilities: I'll give him a 4. Most of the points he got were put backs of his or other people's shots. He did make a couple of good quality shots, but for the most part he missed many 8-10 foot shots. When he get's into the NBA, his offensive skills will be dwarfed by other's on the Rockets. For the first year or two, he's not going to be able to create shots for himself. He'll get most of his points on offensive rebounds. Free Throw Shooting: He gets an 7.5. When Ming was on the free throw line, he looked very comfortable, had a good stroke, and made most of his freethrows. This aspect of his game is developed and shouldn't be a hinderance to the Rockets. This will be the other way Ming scores in the NBA. Ball Handling: He gets an 8. It didn't seem like he had trouble dribbling the ball. Granted his dribbling was limited, it looked as though he was a smaller player comfortable in putting the ball on the floor. He's looked coordinated enough to drive to the basket. To me, this is just a perk for the Rockets. He probably won't dribble the ball at all for Houston, but if need be, he can put the ball on the floor. Boxing Out: He gets a 3. This is one of his sore spots. His team played zone defense and when the ball was shot by the other team, he didn't make an effort to box out players. What he did was stand near the basket and just looked at the rim. This could be from bad coaching and can be improved; but for now, this is a sore spot for his game. Lateral movement: he gets a 3. When opposing players drove to the basket, many times, Ming would just stand there and not slide over to alter shots. It didn't look like he was quick to slide over to help out other defenders. I personally think that this is from bad coaching and can be improved with just putting his hands in the air and taking a step or two laterally to help out on defense. Defensive Presence: He get's a 5. At times he'll altered and blocked a couple of shots, but at other times it seems like he doesn't even make his presence known to penetrating defenders. For the most part it really seems like there is just a lack of effort to play defense. I don't know what the Chinese focus on in basketball, but it seems like all they care about is offense and not defense. This lack of defensive presence can also be attributed to coaching and can be improved on. Stregnth: I'll give him a 4. Yao's gets a 4 because he's got very good lower body stregnth, but his upper body is not anywhere close to his lower body. He can be that much more of an indimidator if he actually bulked up and push people around. But honestly, in NBA standards, his stregnth doesn't even compare. He's going to have to hit the weights and hit them hard. I can see why the NBA scouts are hot on him because his flaws are coachable. By looking at the footage, you can tell that he has a lot of upside as a defensive player. With proper coaching, he'll be able to be more of a defensive threat. But for now, his defensive abilities are not up to par and are in dire need of coaching. On offense, I personally think he has the abilities to be somewhat of an offensive threat, but it's raw and it's unpolished with exception to his passing. He likes to shoot where Tim Duncan shoots, which is about 10 feet from the side of the basket where bank shots can be made. For the most part, for his first 2-3 years in the league, he's going to get most of his points from the free throw line and put backs. In all, like most foreign players, Yao is a project and it's going to take 1-2 years to get him to play as an NBA player. Will he be a super star? probably not. But, when he does develop, I think he'll be able to contribute for his team and become more of a defensive stop than an offensive threat.
Again, I'll trust NBA scouts, players who have played against him, Rockets management and GMs over somebody on a message board who claims to have helped scout and review San Diego State games, and admits to only seeing half of ONE game! You really can't call that an honest assessment.
This strikes me as a pretty level-headed assessment. No big-stiff stereotypes, and no messianic hype.
I think that's a pretty fair assessment. The only part I would be really suspect of is the grade on the jumper. He has range on his jumper, but it seems he doesn't look to take it that often. Still, like RMill said, it is only one half of a game. He will need better coaching with regards to d, boxing out, intensity on the court and definitely strength(but what rook doesn't?). That's why I think it'll take a year or two before he becomes an integral part of the lineup. Most likely he'll just play a good supporting role at first, but most good teams don't count on rookies for anything other than support at first. Of course there is the chance that he picks up the coaching at an awesome pace and become a staple of the lineup immediately, ala Dream. But most likely he'll play 20 minutes a game and play the role of support, not creating, which is not a bad thing.
It is still somebody's opinion and not the opinion of someone who scouts for the NBA. Oh I know it sounds level-headed and very concise but it is still HIS opinion. You can put a dress on a frog but it is still a frog with a dress on. I respect the writer's opinion but I do not have to believe it. I would be more likely to believe people who evaluate NBA talent for a living.
I agree, it's not a bad assessment nor a total flaming of Yao. But the operative message is that Yao's flaws are correctable with proper coaching. Say what you want about CD & Rudy, they do have a nice track record developing big men (Dream, Othella, Griffin?), which makes me pretty confident about Yao.
I totally agree Dennis, I respect his opinion, he actually gave Ming a fair grade, I just don't agree that that it's an "honest assessment" of Ming on a "realistic level". When I look at this, I'm pointing more towards the person who posted it here, then the person who posted it on the other message board, assuming they're separate people. The guy makes some good assessment (which is logical if he really did review San Diego State games), I just don't understand how he can look at that then just assume he isn't capable of being an all-star or even a really good player, when he gave him high grades in a ton of things, and the things he didn't give him high-grades in admitted were fixable and coachable.
I think it is a decent assessment...although I would question the shooting piece. I have seen at least 1 hour total of Ming playing through clips and live play and I can tell you he has a sweet stroke that is comparable to Duncan right now and even more potent in range..... everything else seems on...the Chinese coaching is really not personalized over there...they do not spend a lot of time on technique like sliding over and other details.....watching Ming he does play lazy defense at times because he tries to use his height coming from behind on blocks and rebounds. this, too, is a chinese basketball trait. they do not intimidate. promised you Tim Duncan had the same profile...
I saw the same game that Dr. Q saw about 4 times. Some of his assessments seems fair but you can't tell how a player will turn out over internet footage. It's just his opinion and I personally don't agree with some things he said. He gave him a 4 on his shooting?? Yao hit every shot he put up in the 2nd half! It didn't matter if it was a put back or 15 footers, Yao nailed them. I also thought that he was a very controlled player with good court awareness. I didn't like his weak side defense, but I only saw one half of play and can't make a judgment about his true abilities. All in all, trust the NBA scouts and GM's that actually watch this guy for a living, not someone who scouts San Diego State and watched internet footage. (NO OFFENSE)
From what we know from videos, and from what know from Chicago and game results (especially Yao going 3 for 3 on 3's against Yugoslavia), this guys assessment of Yao's shooting is significantly off the mark. It makes the rest of his assessment suspect. Other than the shooting, however, not much of what he said was all that surprising.
Boomers deny hosts, take China tournament The Australian men's basketball team, the Boomers, have defeated host nation China 82-68 in Taiyuan City on Wednesday night to finish with a tournament-best 3-0 record in their four-nations mini-series. The Boomers took out the Shuang Lai Cup, which was awarded to the team with the best record of the tournament, after downing the highly-fancied Chinese in front of their home crowd despite trailing by as much as 14 points late in the game. Australia raced to an early lead and were up by seven at the end of the first quarter,19-26. China fought back to take a slender lead into the halftime break, 36-33. When the Chinese scored the first 10 points of the third period to open up a double-digit advantage it appeared that the young Boomers might wilt against their World Championship-bound opponents. The Boomers showed tremendous courage and maturity however to trail by just one point at the final change, 59-58, and then outscored China 24-9 in the final period however to stun the home team and take out the Cup. Chris Anstey top-scored for the Boomers with 22 points while John Rillie had 21 including five three-pointers. Nine of the Australians scored in a tremendous team effort. Anstey teamed with Wade Helliwell and Ben Melmeth to hold Chinese star and recent number one NBA Draft pick Yao Ming to just nine points, well below the 27 points the giant had averaged in the first two games of the tournament. The Australian men's basketball team, the Boomers, have defeated host nation China 82-68 in Taiyuan City on Wednesday night to finish with a tournament-best 3-0 record in their four-nations mini-series. “We built on our newly-established trademarks again tonight, showing fantastic team chemistry,” said Boomers head coach Brian Goorjian. “Our defence was the best of the tournament and our team play on the offensive end got us back in the game tonight. Our bench players right through to six, seven and eight were fantastic. At stages we swapped over nearly the entire team, bringing Melmeth, Helliwell, (Frank) Drmic and (Matthew) Nielsen into the game and we didn't miss a beat. We come away from this first series of the tour having established our team trademarks but this is early days for the new Boomers era. We take the confidence from this win into the next tournament in Guangzhou.” . Assistant coach Brett Brown saw the win as one of the better performances during his involvement with the national program. "I have been fortunate to have been part of the Boomers program for the past nine years and this effort definitely ranks amongst the best," said Brown. Brett Joyce, the Boomers other assistant coach, spoke glowingly of the Australians' efforts. "The players showed tremendous character after being behind and this Boomers team has begun to re-establish respect in the basketball world," said Joyce. "The players have started to achieve this over the past three days and I am proud to be involved." Boomers veteran guard Brett Maher also saw the victory as one of the most exciting during his time with the Boomers. "Over all the years I've been involved with the national team, this is certainly has been one of the best wins," said the Olympian. "It was great to back up on our other wins and take out the tournament," said Rillie after the game. The Boomers players and staff were all complimentary of the hospitality and efficiency of their Chinese hosts and the fervour of the huge crowds during the first leg of their tour. Approximately 6,000 patriotic Chinese fans packed the sold-out stadium to cheer their team on against the Boomers. The team now have a rest day and will travel to Guangzhou before taking on Yugoslavia for the second time in a week on Friday in the second leg of their tour. Australia downed the powerful Yugoslavian national team in the opening game of their 12-day tour of China, 79-68, on Monday night and then defeated another European basketball superpower, Italy, on Tuesday, 79-66. The Boomers play two games each against the national teams from China, Italy and Yugoslavia during their 12-day tour of China.
sjackson, I did't wrote the assesment. I just saw it on another message board and agree with the auther. I wish Yao to be success. Actually, Yao is the reason I become a member of this board. I just feel that some fans are too hyped and will be disppointed if Yao couldn't meet their sky high expectation. I think it's better off being pleasant supprised with low expectation than greatly disppointed with high expectation. It's just my opinion. Dr Q
I agree with you about respecting his opinion, but I have something to say about NBA Scouts. They're paid to do their job, but just because they are scouts does not mean they have more basketball knowledge than some fans. I know some fans think they are expert talent evaluators, but I believe that there are some people who know just as much if not more about basketball talent than those paid to do so. I'll respect certain people's opinions like Marty Blake, director of NBA scouting, and Jerry West, Rick Majerus, etc. But the common scouts that pop up everywhere don't strike me as particular experts. They're doing their job, but I don't think they know more than me or some of you all....
I was refering to the EXPERIENCED scouts and GMs. Sure, we as fans have a great knowledge of basketball and knowing what talent is and is not. But that does not mean we know more than a professional. A person who is paid to evaluate talent must be as accurate as possible or they will not be in the business for very long. We, the fans, can say whatever we want because all we lose is a little face. However, if I were an owner and my scout kept feeding me players that just did not pan out, I would be forced to question his scouting ability( not necessarly his basketball knowledge). Now the original talent assesment appeared to be fair and full of concise info. My problem with it is the writer got all of that out of the second half of one game. All the while watching a grainy and blurred video via the internet. As was mentioned before, the video showed that Ming never missed a shot but he still rated his shooting a "4". If a person hit every shot he took and still got a rating of 4 out of 10....jeez. What do you have to do to make it to "5".
Well if coachable.. great. What is wrong with getting your points from put backs? Second chance points are needed.
