Expectations for Yi were rightfully low this year. I had his talent at the level of 'career journeyman'. His numbers have looked good since his return from injury, especially the amount of freethrows. I'm starting to think Yi has a future in a D'antoni style offense. Oh and the Nets need to sell high on Yi.
Yi has gone from underachieving flop to Carl Landry like production. And his ceiling is higher. Not bad, not bad at all.
Hey I just watched the game (Nets WIN!). I agree and is glad that Yi is getting better. Man he has great athleticism for a 7 footer. If utilized properly this guy can become a phenomenal player. Right now his problems are defense and stamina, but I see him improving so it doesn't really matter. Hopefully when he's done coming into his own, he'll come to own
He's surprising me with some good games. I almost forgot he had that great game where he out played KG in the pre-season game and KG got pissed and tried to start mess with him.
Sometimes players just finally get it...maybe this is his time...he has the ability it was always the confidence with him...maybe he just said...Screw it...and went out and played? DD
Yeah you can tell he's a lot more aggressive the past few games. Quite surprised... Hope he keeps it up.
"Beast" is exactly what Yi was in the 1st half against the Thunder. I couldn't believe my eyes. You know those worthless highlights where he is slam dunking and hitting jumpers in international play? He did all of that scoring 29 points against the Thunder. While KD & co. didn't play much defense in the first 3 quarters of the game, it still takes talent to score 18 points in variety of ways in one half. Remember when Yao came back from the injury and dominated the final 30 games in 06? It was like a switch went on while he sat. Maybe the same thing with Yi. Granted, Yao showed a LOT more before that point than Yi has before this season.
He has a nice offensive game, to say the least. However his defense is still lacking. If he truly is 22, this kid is probably going to be pretty damn good.
I know..I know..that's why I said it. I was still impressive, I think he nearly got a double double with a good number of assists..and you can tell he frustrating the hell out of of KG who was trying and not playing well
You can see that he can score using his quickness by either hitting the jumpshot or driving. However, he still seems to be out of place at times. Devin Harris has to constantly tell him where to go. On defense he is still slow to react. NBA games ares still a little too fast for him but he seems to be making an effort and seems to be getting there.
I personally haven't seen Yi play, but I would venture that Brook Lopez's emergence has really made things easier for Yi. Also, his increased playing time coupled with a Carter-less Nets team has helped Yi tremendously. Can anyone confirm?
Hadn't thought about that, but that may be a big part of it. From the snippets of last several Nets' games I've seen, it seems that Yi is certainly becoming much more aggressive. He's taking the ball strong to the basket when he used to settle for long jump shots. Let's hope this lasts.
My theory is that things hit rock bottom (basketball wise) for Yi as an individual and team player. As an individual he had a bad year last year, his NBA stock was very low. Then he went to international competition and was expected to carry the team, that did not happen and even the Chinese people gave up on him. As a team player he is playing on one of the worst teams of all time and had to sit through the worst start of all time. What was the worst that could happen if he changed his game? The team is horrid, they can't get any worse. Yi himself was hanging on to his reputation. So he snapped a little bit and became more aggressive. Kiki and Del Harris must have some influence on him as well.
He's been doing it against sub-par teams, but it's still impressive to put up those stats 4 games in a row in his first return. I think he may have turned the corner, someone to keep an eye on for sure. I read that Kiki attributes it to letting Yi keep playing, whereas Frank would've yanked him after a few mistakes.
