I know how much people want to hype national heroes, and that's healthy, but let's stick to facts: the main thing separating his career so far from Pat Garrity's and Brad Lohaus' is his country of origin. I haven't seen him this season, and I know that he's supposedly bulked up, but judging by what I saw in the preseason his game hasn't changed. He cannot play power forward in the NBA and I have not once seen him battle for a rebound. He is a terrible finisher, especially when there is contact. He's soft. He's injury-prone. He's fallen out of favor with each NBA coach he's had so far. He strung along the Bucks because his agent told him it was a good idea. He lied about his age and is in his late twenties--not that the Nets care, because that organization cares about jersey sales and not wins. A few games of decent box scores against sorry defensive frontcourts like New York and Toronto and suddenly the internet hype machine starts churning like none of the above every happened. Go figure.
The thing nets fans are raving about is his ability to FINISH around the rim with contact. Since his return from injury, most of his points have come off of FT's or post ups/drives to the rim. I agree, he hasn't gone against solid defensive frontcourts since his return, but they haven't been terrible (Jeff Green, Kevin Love... and he hasn't played a game vs Toronto this year, btw) His defense and basketball IQ are lacking, however. and if the rumors about his age are true, then he has probably already reached his ceiling. but they are just rumors aren't they? or has it been proven?
Ummm you sound a little biased, but... Like you said you "I havent seen him this season" so the rest of your post is baseless...
he was already a viable rotation player , a sometime starter, avg 8+ ppg under L Frank. he has been a viable roational player in the NBA for the past two year. under new coaching staff, he is on the cusp of a breakout year, more assertive consistently,
That may be, but players don't become their opposites overnight. Yi had good stat lines in his rookie year as well, and he was even more hyped here then.
All the differences is there. If you saw him play, he's been trying to attack the basket almost in every possession, while a year ago he will go for a long jumper. He was called inconsistent for his rookie and sophomore years, but for the last 4 games he's been averaging 23 ppg. And Yi changed since he returned from his injury, that's why the thread is here for. It is useless to go back over preseason.
Well then doesn't that work the other way also? I mean when he was on the Bucks playing bad he was getting trashed by people every where and being called the worst player in the NBA? What made him stick out so much from the other actual recent lottery busts that people didn't notice? It's his national origin. BTW, you should actually try watching him.
Give me a break! It was Yi's trade demand, holdout and agent's big mouth that made him stand out in Milwaukee and put the big target on his back during his rookie year. He looked foolish and people understandably ridiculed him when he didn't play well. If an American player had acted the same way and performed as poorly, people would have been all over his case just as much. If Brandon Jennings had been a flop so far this season, he would be relentlessly pounded.
Yi didn't even stick out, he was pretty invisible outside of the Bucks forum and Chinese fan forums. Now that Yi is starting to show some confidence and aggressiveness, fans are overrating him already. Dino Gallinari is better than him right now.
One thing 1 truly hate about Yi is how the friggin Nets commentator always goes "EEEE" like a constipated redneck every time he freakin scores.
No, he did not become a different person overnight. In the beginning of the season, he was playing well before his injury. Some people were saying he's too injury prone to be a decent player, but after he came back, he's playing even better than early in the season. He's progressed well so far, and hopefully he keeps it up.
Man still can't get over how many people think Brook Lopez is the shizzle. Marc Gasol would eat him up for breakfast 100% of the time
I see a lot of Nets games every year and have noticed a definite change with him. He has always had some great talent and certainly seems different this year. Sometimes guys do improve under a new coach. His first 2 seasons have been disapppointing but there have been flashes of potential amidst the injuries. But many players have had strong weeks (and even a whole season) which were moreso anomolies than real longterm change. We'll see what happens. I like the Nets and certainly hope he and Lopez and become a solid frontcourt for many years.
Dude is in his second year. He's 21 years old and getting 19 and 10. Of course, people should be excited about him. Are you a Gasol?
Yes I would. Don't think that's far fetched either, you know they'd love to get Yao when they move to Brooklyn.
