I don't have stats or any info, but I was wondering if anyone out there knows how Yao's opening night compares with other rookies (throughout time) who have gone on to have NBA careers? How does Yao compare with rookies of the 02-03 class? I know we got some really knowledgeable "sport minds" out there... ---
No rookie has come into the league with this much fanfare..!!! The Pacers were well prepared to expose Yao Mings weaknesses.
All I know is what a difference a year will make. Kwame Brown's 1st game 2001 2 points, 3 rebs, 12 min Kwame Brown's 1st game 2002 12 pts, 18 rebs, 5 blks, 40 min
Nene played well.. i think 10 pts 11 reb Jay williams 13 pts 4reb 6 assists (or something like that) Gordon Giricek Memphis 29 pts and the best line of the niight Dunleavy jr.. #3 pick...big time dukie..nobody said anything when he played 1 min and got 0-0-0-0-0-0-0-
You forgot Pat Burke, Orlandos 29 year old rookie(auburn97) 12 pts against the 76ers , another 10 last nite against Miami, 22 min. playing time.
No first overall pick has ever gone scoreless in his opening debut. Ming just proved that wrong! He needs to makeup for that game by scoring double the points in the next game!
Caron Butler looked good with 16pts 7rb 3ast Dude has serious hops..he'll make plenty of highlight reels this year. Doug Collins SG drafted in 1973 also went scoreless in his debut.He went on to average 17.9 points per game and was selected to play in four all-star games (1976-79).Also averaged 21.5 points per game in 32 playoff games and led Philadelphia to the Eastern Conference Championship in 1977.His career was however cut short due to injury.
Exactly!! I wonder how much play that got nationally. Not only did he miss all 5,but 2 of those came with 7 seconds left,Bulls up by 3 and he had a chance to put the game away if he had made at least 1 of those 2. I guess those late game pressure free throws are gonna be a problem after all,eh Jay apologists?
No first overall pick has missed training camp and most half of the preseason . Ming will make it up but not next in game. Give him some time and relax.
Well if you listen to Jim Rome and his idiot "clones" Yao Ming is one of the worst draft picks in NBA history after only 1 week and one regular season game.
http://www.nba.com/milk_rookie/power_rankings_021029.html Not in the top ten, given the short time he played, but then again Dunleavy got less PT.
This morning on ESPN SportsCenter, they put up a graphic of centers who were drafted with the #1 pick and how they fared their first game. I think Dream had the most points with mid 20s, Ewing had a decent game, David Robinson had a damned fine game (although it was 2 years after he was drafted). I think it may have been Purvis Ellison or someone like that who didn't grab any rebounds, so Yao Ming had at least SOMETHING going for him. I wish I remembered the graphic better, but unfortunately I was running late & not paying too much attention to the TV.
How did Sabonis, Bradley, Rik Smiths, Bol, Mutumbo, Kandi, and Divacs do in their first games in the NBA?
Ming is closes to Sabonis in the situation he came over in and skills (younger Sabonis), so I would be curious about that.
One thing that I think people forget when it comes to Ming's opening night is that it was a debut on a team that already has some decent talent. How often does the #1 pick go to a team that has players of Francis and Mobley's caliber? If this had been the Nuggets, I'm sure Ming would have gotten at least 30 minutes and he probably would have put up better numbers over that time as he got over his jitters. The media is blowing Ming's debut WAAAY out of proportion.
