I bet anyone who cares to make a bet that Ming will be averaging 15 points and 10 rebounds by the all star break. The man shoots 70%(!) in China, for God's sake. He shoots well in league play. He shoots well in international play. If his culture didn't focus so much on the team oriented offence in which the individual shining is scoffed upon, he would get the ball every trip down the court and average 25 - 30 points a game in international play. There will be no blocking of his jumper in the NBA and the Rockets have the perfect team and offence for Yao to excel. Steve and Cuttino will penetrate and dish all day and he is no brickhanded Cato either, although he does dunk well. Perfect. He scores well inside with the jump hook and the turnaround jumper. His weight and strength are vastly underrated. He weighs over 300#. He is no Shawn Bradley I can assure you. He is the best moving big man Houston has seen since Dream. He scores well outside with a feathery soft jumper. The man was just what the Rockets needed. Rudy has always been in love with players that can score inside and outside with equal ease. Now we have Steve, Cuttino, MoT, Moochie and Ming. KT needs to work on his outside game and Eddie needs to work on his inside game. I have not seen Nachbar, but I heard he is a deadly shooter, fearless penetrator and a nasty dunker (see Mario Elie). If so he fits right in. TMorris needs to work period. That said, I am as excited as I have been about a Rockets team since the year after we won the last title. Any takers on a bet that Ming is averaging 15 and 10 by the all star break?
I think you are being a bit over zealous with your estimate. 10 ppg 8 rpg 2 blk 2 apg will be more accurate.
I'm not a betting person but I think you are expecting a little to much to begin with. It should take him about 20 games to even get the NBA rythem of the game! Though I think you are quite close for the full season.
My rough estimates for Yao's firs season are : 10.3 ppg 6.2 rpg 2.0 apg 0.92 spg 3.0 bpg in 28.3 minutes per game
His high PG%, low FT attempts, and high assist means that he doesn't like to force the issue on offense. That translates into being not aggressively utilizing his offensive advantages. Aggressiveness is my only concern about his offensive game. But that might very well be cultural and the coaches' decisions. After he gets use to considering aggressiveness as THE VIRTUE of an NBA star, he'll be unstoppable. That'll probably take about a full season. Before that, I predict his scoring will be low and assist be high for a center.
His high PG%, low FT attempts, and high assist means that he doesn't like to force the issue on offense. That translates into being not aggressively utilizing his offensive advantages. Aggressiveness is my only concern about his offensive game. But that might very well be cultural and the coaches' decisions. After he gets use to considering aggressiveness as THE VIRTUE of an NBA star, he'll be unstoppable. That'll probably take about a full season. Before that, I predict his scoring will be low and assist be high for a center. _____________________________________________________________ Aggressiveness is a cultural issue. Ming is on a team that has few real weapons and no appreciable guard play and the fact that he doesn't have 20 to 25 attempts a game is tetament to the cultural differences in china. You know in America there would be exactly 0 possessions on which he didn't touch the ball. Hell even during the Dream years, we had a much better team and Dream touched the ball every time down the court. I am telling you, with his shooting touch and NBA 5's reluctance to guard the perimeter, Ming will score at will. Hell, even if they guard him, they can't block the jumper. Think about how much Cato could have scored last year if he had any talent. But he doesn't. Ming is much better today than Cato was last year. Watch the film of Ming in international competition. If you haven't seen it, don't comment.
i still think he will shock a lot of people and average 19ppg, and 11rebs. He will put up #'s like duncan at the best. And at the worst 12ppg and 8 reb. If he starts with in the first 10 games. He will get 10ppg before all star break , and 15 after the all star break. Remeber how much Gasol surprised people and ming is more skilled than him, plus he's taller, And bigger, and stronger.
Ming will have some growing pains, but on sheer ability, size, height and skill alone he'll get to the boards. My guess, 12 ppg 12 rpg, 3 or 4 bpg.
Gasol was also the primary option on offense for Memphis. Therefor he got more shots. Ming, on the other hand, is not the first option. (although he could surprise.) He would not get the shots Gasol got. Ming is capable of getting Gasol #'s, but not on this team. Unless of course something terrible happends.... nevermind.
Everyone is getting a bit overzelous... We have to keep in mind...I mean I might be one of Ming's #1 advocators but I wouldnt bet he averages 15 and 10... It would be great if he did, but its almost unrealistic. That would mena that he would have a better Rookie Season than Kobe, KG, and Tmac did. Like someone said in an earlier post...Houston drafted him with the hopes that he would play for more than just his rookie season...Ming Haters and Lovers...lets not get overzealous...We will be able to watch the games next year and see him develop slowly. I think this upcoming rockets team is better than the raptors team that drafted McGrady, the Wolves that drafted KG, and the Lakers when they drafted Kobe (of course a few weeks before they signed Shaq). But we will see....
The difference between Ming and those guys though is that those guys came right out of high school into the NBA, while Ming has played professional basketball overseas, and overseas basketball is MUCH better then high school basketball.
In his third year, Ming will be truly ready. His first year average will be, imo: 10 ppg, 8 rpg, 2 blk, 5 apg, 18 minutes per game. It's very unlikely Ming can stay on the floor more than 20 minutes, because 1. foul trouble, 2. lack of physical endurance 3. in a close game, especially fourth qtr, he is glued to the bench because of poor defense, unfamilar with plays, communication with teammates, and not accustomed to the physical (or like Zhizhi said, 'cruel') play under the basket. But, in his first year, he will make significant contribution and Rockets will get into playoff.
