i couldnt have said it better myself. does vince carter deserve to lead the east in all-star votes? maybe........if he ever playes this year. does grand hill deserve to be an all-star? not in my opinion. im not going to blame raptor and magic fans for voting them in. and they wont care about yao. we should just learn to enjoy it and not be so self concious.
Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich, 1/2/03 "The guy is playing good. As a fan, he's enjoyable to watch. He does things the fundamental way on his passing and some of the things he does, and he's good for basketball -- not only basketball here in the United States but basketball all over the world." "It's what we've been saying all along (about Yao). He's special. He has special vision, special poise, special skills." Shaquille O'Neal after learning Yao currently has more votes to start at center for the Western Conference in the NBA All-Star game, 1/2/03 "It happens to the best of us. When I came in, I beat out Patrick Ewing. "He (Yao) is making history for his people. His people are proud of him. They should be. One billion people -- that's tough to beat."
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/printstory.hts/sports/bk/bkn/rox/1723187Yao laps Shaq in All-Star race By JONATHAN FEIGEN Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle UPDATE • Tuesday: Rockets 103, Bucks 80. • Boxscore • Record: 17-13. • Yao watch: 16 points, eight rebounds and one block in 27 minutes. • Saturday: Golden State at Rockets, 7:30 p.m. • TV/radio: CCh. 39; KILT (610 AM) and in Spanish on KYST (920 AM). We kind of knew Yao Ming was big in China. And he has seemed quite the sensation in the United States. But Thursday's sudden development was as unexpected as it was unprecedented. Yao passed Shaquille O'Neal to become the leader among Western Conference centers in the fan voting for the starters in the NBA All-Star Game, to be played Feb. 9 in Atlanta. But that was not the surprise, because when the previous balloting was announced, Yao was second. It did not require a 7-5 giant step to take first. And the real stunner was not in Yao's gaining the support of much of China's 1.3 billion countrymen or in collecting 814,393 All-Star votes. More unexpected was the convincing of one particularly stubborn critic. Yao's play has been so impressive that he apparently has turned Shaquille O'Neal from threatening and even offensive to the Big Gracious. "It happens to the best of us," O'Neal said. "When I came in, I beat out Patrick Ewing. "He (Yao) is making history for his people. His people are proud of him. They should be. One billion people -- that's tough to beat." There is, however, one other bit of a surprise awaiting O'Neal. While Yao no doubt received Internet support from China, NBA spokesman Tim Frank said Thursday that Yao was also leading in the "paper balloting" available in arenas and retail outlets in the United States. Only four rookie centers -- Ray Felix, Wilt Chamberlain, Walt Bellamy and O'Neal -- have started an All-Star Game. Though 15 rookies have started All-Star Games, none have broken through that quickly since Grant Hill in 1995. Still, the Rockets were not terribly surprised Yao had joined Steve Francis in a position to start the All-Star Game. "I'll never be surprised with the fans voting," Rockets forward Maurice Taylor said. "The fans vote for who they see more, who has the more highlights." But the other guy is O'Neal, who compared to other players is seemingly seen more often and has more highlights in fast-food hamburger commercials alone. "But he missed a whole month," Taylor said. "Not to take anything away from Yao, but sometimes fan voting is a little cloudy. Sometimes guys off the bench should be starting. The guys everybody talks about the most get the most votes. It's like when Grant Hill came in. He led everybody. (Yao has the fourth-most votes overall.) "I doubt if Shaq really cares. He's Shaq. Why should he care about Yao? His talk (about Yao) is just in fun. He doesn't really care. When he opens his mouth, he's having fun. I don't think he's worried. He's secure in himself. I don't think he has animosity toward Yao. He has fun with it. He's won MVP, All-Star Games, (championship) rings. He should be happy for a young guy to be doing something like this." Balloting will end Jan. 12, five days before O'Neal and Yao are scheduled to meet for the first time at Compaq Center, with All-Star starters to be announced Jan. 23. All-Star ballots are available for the first time in English, Mandarin and Spanish on NBA.com. But Yao's lead could be secure. Only Ben Wallace's edge over the injured Dikembe Mutombo to start as the Eastern Conference center and Francis' lead over Steve Nash to start with Kobe Bryant at guard for the West are larger than Yao's 158,649-vote margin over O'Neal. "I'm happy, and I'm very honored," Yao said. "If I do play in the All-Star Game, I hope it won't be like my first NBA game was." The Rockets said Yao's popularity in the voting is another indication of how rapidly he has improved and how easy it is to appreciate his talents. "The guy is playing good," Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. "As a fan, he's enjoyable to watch. He does things the fundamental way on his passing and some of the things he does, and he's good for basketball -- not only basketball here in the United States but basketball all over the world." Still, O'Neal would seem to be easy to notice himself. While Yao is averaging 13.2 points, 7.6 rebounds and two blocked shots per game, O'Neal is averaging 26.4 points, 11.1 rebounds and two blocks. But O'Neal missed the Lakers' first 12 games while rehabilitating from toe surgery Sept. 11. O'Neal had promised to greet Yao with an elbow to the nose. Lakers coach Phil Jackson said that if they played Nov. 17, when O'Neal was still coming back, O'Neal would have broken Yao in two. But Yao's Rockets teammates said O'Neal would not be driven to punish Yao for taking the Western Conference's starting position from the nine-time All-Star. "Shaq has made the All-Star team," Kelvin Cato said. "I don't know if that's going to be a bother to him whether he started or not. Yao is getting a lot of votes because he is the new kid on the block. Shaq has been around. "I don't think Shaq is mad. I don't think Shaq is worried about Yao Ming. I think Shaq is worried about his teammates and helping them win ballgames." For all Yao has faced, All-Star Weekend would be a new level of intense scrutiny. Francis had a taste of that last season and was noticeably nervous by the start of the game. "I went through it last year," Francis said. "He's definitely one of the most highly publicized foreign players to come in the league. I'm pretty sure there will be major media attention. He'll be surprised at how much all the superstars that are All-Stars are down to earth just like he is. That will be a good experience for him." If Francis and Yao keep their sizable leads in the voting, it would be just the eighth time the Rockets sent more than one representative to the All-Star Game and just the fourth time they had two starters. It happened most recently in 1996, when Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler started. "It's what we've been saying all along (about Yao). He's special," Tomjanovich said. "He has special vision, special poise, special skills."
I think some fans are feeling some resentment towards Shaq and sticking it to him as a result. They resent that he had surgery right before the season when he should have taken care of it much earlier and not missed time. They resent that the Lakers still haven't turned it around even after his return. They resent that he cast blame for their struggles on his role players when he and Kobe really should bear the brunt of blame, since they reap the most rewards of success. So, vote for Yao and stick it to Shaq for not being the hero we would want him to be. Of course, I'd have voted for Yao anyway. Besides, what is all this about 'deserving' to be an All-Star? You deserve it if people want to see you play. That's expressed in the vote. The system cannot be gamed because it is a game. Yao has succeeded wildly at being someone everyone wants to watch play. Of course he deserves it. Francis too.
Enough said. Steve is the best offensive player among all point guards..Thats what fans around the NBA want to see in the all-star game. The fact that Steve has been chosen as a starter 2 years in a row,,shows that most fans agree, Steve is the best. Even though Yao isnt #1, its clear fans want to see him play. Shaqs injury made it possible for Yao to slip in..that and about 666 billion hero worshipers.
What do think now? Is the current discontent with with Stevie enough to make us think that he doesn't deserve to start anymore at the All-Star game? It's even been suggested that being passed over would be the best thing for him to reflect on his game? I'm still going with Stevie or GP starting and Yao as an All-Star reserve.
Do you think it's better that Yao give up the starter? Don't you think it would be hurt the heart of all fan voting for him? If he gave up, do you think fans will still vote him again next year even he performed much better than this year, much better than Shaq? It's a great honour for Yao, he should accept without any shame rather than refuse. All-Star game is for best and/or most popular players. At present, definitely, Yao is more popular than Shaq.
The All Star Game in recent years has always been a popularity contest ..... I think that Yao Ming and Stevie both deserve it.... it says a lot for the Rockets that they are being voted starters when Houston isn't know as a national favorite team like the Lakers or the Celtics ... it is an honor for them to be voted as starters and I think that they should accept, represent Houston well, and get everyone ready for our next Dynasty of bacfk to back to back to back ... (hopefully) championships !!!
How does anyone say Francis is playing better than Payton? PTS 2002-2003 32 32 40.9 8.9-19.4 .460 0.8-2.2 .352 3.0-4.3 .698 1.53 0.3 2.4 2.3 0.9 3.7 4.7 9.2 21.7 Thats Paytons numbers: 22pts 9 asst and 46% vs 23 pts 6 asst Payton is the best pg in the league period with Kidd right behind. francis is behind those 2. Ming on the other hand is behind Shaq, but this is about popularity contest. kobe started when he wasn't even in the starting lineup. AC Green beat out Karl Malone the same yr he was avg almost 30pts per. Its about the fans and thats all it is. If it was on deserving, Francis shouldn't have started last yr or this yr.
Shaq's a much better player than Yao, but he really can't complain when Vince Carter gets in as a starter in the East.
