A place for articles reviewing Yao's first "NBA" showing

Big night
CENTER APPEARS TO HAVE SKILLS TO BE A STAR
By Tim Kawakami
Mercury News

Yes, Yao Ming can play. He can play above the rim, he can knock elbows below it, he can snap down rebounds, make outlet passes, shoot over any defense yet designed, and he can make rugged NBA big men seem small and at times sad.

He can be a significant force in the NBA, period. Exclamation point. (Wow.)

He can even survive Ben Wallace doing a rodeo-Brahma-bull takedown on top of his back -- the 240-pound Wallace jumped on a pump-fake, then landed on top of Yao with a thump to the hardwood -- without a large flinch during the United States-China exhibition basketball game at the Oakland Coliseum Arena on Thursday.

``I hope when he fell down on me it didn't hurt him that much,'' Yao said after the game through an interpreter, managing to sneak in a giggle.

A bit of NBA cool, too.

That's a whole lot to divine -- and a whole lot of preconceptions to refute -- from one exhibition, which the U.S. NBA stars won 84-54.

But there was a whole lot on display from the 7-foot-5 enigma during a revelatory 13-point, 11-rebound, six-blocked-shot performance before almost 20,000 fans who came to see him do something great or brave or embarrassing or maybe even instantly legendary.

The center came close on everything except the embarrassing part.

All you had to do is look at the NBA players' faces when they tried to go at him to understand that. Or listen to the roars of the huge, heavily Asian crowd. Or note that Warriors owner Chris Cohan made a rare courtside appearance, joined by Terrell Owens at halftime.

This was a happening and it was an introduction: Yao not only can draw new fans to the game, he also can play in the NBA right now, and he's only 21 and has never gone through a training camp or enjoyed the fruits of playing against Erick Dampier.

``He's really a massive player,'' said U.S. swingman Michael Finley. ``In the second half, he earned our respect a little bit. We knew we had to make him work harder . . .

``He's a lot better than what I thought, personally.''

Houston Rockets Coach Rudy Tomjanovich, who made Yao the first international player with no U.S. college experience to be picked No. 1 overall, sat front row at midcourt for the event, and he too seemed slightly surprised by the level of Yao's play.

Though he tried hard to downplay it during a halftime chat, Tomjanovich was clearly ecstatic after watching Yao swish in a couple of mid-range jumpers and completely erase Antonio Davis' and Jermaine O'Neal's inside offense.

``I'm just going to say this: I'm very, very happy,'' Tomjanovich said. ``Boy, he's doing great -- he's really playing terrific.''

U.S. Coach George Karl, certainly not someone who offers gratuitous praise, could not avoid praising Yao after acknowledging that his big men had trouble inside.

``At halftime, we did speak, and we said, `The kid's pretty good,' '' Karl said. ``No question, he's a major factor inside.''

Karl conceded that his big players, too, were a bit taken back.

Asked to compare Yao's style of play, and ability to shoot over everyone the U.S. team threw at him, Karl did not bring up Rik Smits or any other decent NBA very big man with skills.

He brought up a legend.

``He's not in this category, but his size reminds me of Wilt Chamberlain's size when Wilt first came into the league,'' Karl said. ``He had such a size advantage, and he had a fade-away that you couldn't block.''

The NBA players had to make an adjustment in the second half -- denying Yao the ball and basically treating him as if he were scary.

Said Davis: ``After he turns and scores in your mug a couple times, you've got to try something else.''

Yao isn't going to back anybody down with Shaquille O'Neal low-post Godzilla moves, but he showed he can catch, spin and shoot over just about anything, possibly including giraffes.

Yao came into this game -- his first in the United States and by far his highest-profile event -- with a giant target on his back, put there by Wallace and Davis, who suggested that he was in for a level of physicalness that he might not like.

But instead of shrinking from the contact, Yao seemed to enjoy the rough edges -- he made back-to-back baskets sandwiched around a blocked shot in the early going that gave China an 11-8 lead.

Yao injured his right hand in the first half -- he said he hit the backboard, but it looked as if he got it tangled with Jermaine O'Neal on a rebound -- but went back in for the second half. His shooting suffered (he made only one more basket after the injury), but not his intestinal fortitude.

About the only thing that could be questioned was a noticeable lack of zip in the late going, when the pushing seemed to take its toll on his energy.

But there is plenty of time for Yao to get in NBA shape. What he showed Thursday was NBA gumption and NBA talent. Put that in a 7-5 frame and you've got something special.

``We were thrilled to have the opportunity to draft a player of his ability -- and after this, playing the way he is against top-notch players, we're sure he's a diamond in the rough,'' said Houston assistant coach and former Warriors star Larry Smith. ``And maybe he's not that rough.''




You tell 'em Mr. Mean.....this is what we've been waiting to see!