I am not a Yao-hater. I think he needs a lot of time to develop, and I certainly haven't given up at ALL on his improvement at all. But I thought this was an interesting stat for Centers picked #1 in their debuts: Michael Olawakandi 14pts 6 rebs Shaq 12pts 18 rebs Pervis Ellison 6pts 2 rebs David Robinson 23pts 17 rebs Yao Ming 0 pts 1 reb I think debuts are pretty meaningless, unless Yao gets it in his head that he can't play in this league. Clearly, he can and will...just thought I might point out it was the worst modern debut of a center drafted #1.
Yao Ming is the first #1 pick who missed the summer league, training camp and most of preseason games. Yao Ming is the first #1 pick who received so much attention and had so much pressure.
Just wanted to point out that you are so contradicting yourself. Yao Ming can play in this league and will prove it by seasons end. just wait.
Actually, I wasn't contradicting myself at all. I don't think ONE GAME is indicative of what a player will become or how good he will be. I think that Yao will be a good to great player in this league for many years to come. I simply thought it was an interesting stat.
windandsea is right on the money. there is no other player in history that you can compare yao's first season to. intense scrutiny for other rookies is like the media attention kenny thomas got last year when compared to yao. the key with him will be patience and it will pay off.
I hope Yao becomes the great center so many people beleive he will be. The stats were very interesting, but I'm interested on what was asked earlier, what were Hakeem debut stats.
Maybe he didn't get the minutes because he was playing so badly? Perhaps because he couldn't do anything on the defensive end or keep in the flow of the game offensively? It's silly to say that Ming's stats are bad simply because of his minutes - you have to wonder why he played so few minutes (an no, it's not because Rudy hates him). Of course, even if Yao only averages 11 minutes per game this season, I'm still confident that he'll be a good player. Kwame didn't play much last year, but take a look at him now!
I think Yao will be good and it will take him time to develop. Tonight he wasn't aggressive on the defensive end, and failed to establish any kind of position on the offensive end. I don't blame him, since he's still adjusting and learning. We don't need to make excuses for what happened to him out there. He can't be expected to be the MVP is first game. I am confident he will improve.
I think it was like 8-10 points or something like that. He had some decent blocks and rebounds, though.
Did you even watch the game? How can he play badly if he wasn't even in the game the entire 1st and 3rd quarters? He only got a couple touches even when he was in there. My gut feeling on why he got so few minutes is: a. Cato played well and was in the flow...why mess with that? b. Rudy didn't want to throw Yao to the wolves entirely on his very first game as an NBA professional. I was pissed to see Collier come in first though.
Ming's 11 minutes in the opener is the 2nd lowest played by a #1 pick, some unknown guy played 2 minutes for #1. Wow! Sports Center does serve a purpose other than Rocket/Ming bashing.
Wow, yeah I thought his minutes were definitely not what they should have been. I think a more accurate first game barometer could have been read with around 20 minutes. On a side note, I think some people misunderstood my intentions with this thread. It wasn't meant to be a Yao-bashing or a second-guessing-our-pick thread. It was just to show how he compared on the first game . The sky really is the limit for Yao, no other player has his tools and raw talent. I can't wait to watch him progress, and the rockets as well.
Can you show how many shot attempts they had? Ming just got ONE!!! Cat took 21 shots and just had 1 assist!!! Pass the damn ball.
How can anyone be pissed when Cuttino Mobley doesn't pass the ball? The guy hates passing the ball. His obective is to score as many points as possible and shoot as much as he can. Winning isn't important to Cuttino, nor is defense or passing. 95% of the time he passes is when he simply can't get a shot off, he passes to get out of trouble not to make plays. Score on him? He'll get you back at the other end with an off balance fadeaway with you draped all over him. Trap him? He'll ignore the open Rocket and try to dribble through the trap and turn it over or free himself for an off balance low % heave. Stop him? He'll look immediately at the ref and cry for a foul which wasn't there while the play is going on, starting a fast break for the other team. Running with him on the break? What's the point? Like he's going to pass you the ball? This guy is a joke. He can't and won't pass. He had an unbelievably low assist to minute played ratio. He has no concept of team bball, never has. Francis isn't much different unfortunately. Hate to say it but this team ain't going anywhere. No one plays D, they can't rebound, their collective bball IQ is very very low, and they love their crappy ISO's. The injuries were a convenient excuse last year, but even when healthy, this team just sucks. The only hope is for Ming to become a star and based off of tonight, he clearly has a LONG way to go. Pretty pathetic when a 6'1" guard can just drain a 3 in your face when you are 7'5" as if you aren't even there. Mobley is the stupidest bball player I've ever seen in my life. When he passes the ball now, it's shocking to me. The guy thinks he's MJ. Just a painful player to watch because he ruins any offensive flow the team tries to get in. Give it to him and he'll take 2 dribbles and put up a ridiculous shot.
Ming did not play much b/c he was SUCKING. Picked up fouls quickly, could not contribute on the offensive end, etc. Cato was simply outplaying him; that's why MING did not play. The minutes are a direct correlation to how well he was playing, not the other way around.
If I remember correctly, Pervis Ellison actually had a strong rookie campaign. It was his injuries that derailed his career.
