Been watching Hakeem since University of Houston days. Like I said Yao can't do everything Hakeem can do but his post game offensively is similiar to Hakeem's... Yao just does Hakeem's moves in slow motion thus making him a very very poor man's Hakeem. That's valid.
do you guys think the us would go all out to embarrass china in front of their home crowd? i don't think so. us wins by 20.
China will have a shot. Home court plus better front court. Plus it's on a sunday right, bet the NBA players would be partying up in the capital the night before. Not saying China is going to be the U.S. out right, or even that there's a good chance, but China does have a shot.
China has a not shot, their guards are so bad, even can not pass through the half court if USA want to pressure them. Anyhow, it looks like the game will be on 9:15 AM Monday in USA if it is on the Sunday night in China, but still want to watch the game.
BEIJING (AP)—Between Yao Ming’s return and President Bush’s arrival, this might be the only Olympic basketball game in which the guys wearing red, white and blue have to cede the spotlight. The United States begins the tournament Sunday night against host China, a game that figures to have a lopsided result but should feature an atmosphere that rivals a Super Bowl or any other championship match. Kobe Bryant and LeBron James are the headline names on the gold medal favorites, but the star power this time goes well beyond them. Yao is back from a foot injury to play before his frenzied home fans, who will be joined by Bush, as he becomes the first U.S. president to attend an Olympic Games on foreign soil. “I think that is going to be one of the most-watched games in sports history,” U.S. forward Carmelo Anthony said. “It’s going to be exciting.” ADVERTISEMENT USA basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo said the Americans have been told more than a billion viewers are expected, potentially making it the largest audience ever for a sporting event. Coach Mike Krzyzewski has won three NCAA championships, led teams to 10 Final Fours and was an assistant on the Dream Team in the 1992 Olympics, but knows he’s about to take part in something he’s never experienced before. “How cool, how good is it that we’re going to play in a game that might be the most-viewed game in the history of sport? Come on,” Krzyzewski said. “I remember growing up, inner city of Chicago, shooting at a basket in a schoolyard hoping that one person would watch me. And now I’m going to have a chance to coach my country’s team in front of a billion people? Are you kidding?” It probably won’t be close. A sampling of recent U.S.-China games includes scores such as 121-90 in the 2006 world championships, and 119-72 in the 2000 Olympics. This time the Chinese are home, and after some early anxiety they’ve got Yao, the Houston Rockets center who is China’s greatest athletic superstar. So don’t tell anybody here it’ll be a blowout, least of all the American players who are bracing for a fired-up opponent. Asked the challenge of facing China in its home country, Bryant said, “The energy. The one thing about these games is that they are shorter games than NBA games. Teams can get hot and stay hot and all of a sudden you find yourselves in a dogfight. I think that’s a danger you face.” The U.S. playing China in Beijing is like a No. 1 vs. No. 16 game in the NCAA tournament with the underdogs playing in their arena with thousands of their fans cheering them on. This is likely the lone game in which the Americans aren’t the crowd favorites. Most of them are wildly popular in China, where the NBA estimates 300 million people play basketball, and the U.S. team enjoyed great support in exhibition games in Macau in Shanghai. Center Dwight Howard, one of the best-known players after his Orlando Magic played exhibition games in China last fall, now becomes the villain for a night as the guy responsible for covering Yao. “I love the Chinese people and I love the fans here, so hopefully they won’t hate us too long,” Howard said. Yao was hurt in February and had surgery in March to repair a stress fracture in his left foot. His absence would have been devastating to the Chinese team, and there was some immediate concern he would have to sit out because he has been injury prone in recent seasons. Instead, he worked hard to get himself back into shape to play in these games and said the Chinese goal should be a quarterfinal berth, but they need him to be at his best for any chance to survive pool play. “When he got hurt I was more concerned with him being healthy than anything, because I know how big and how important playing in front of his country is to him,” Howard said. With Yao and fellow NBA player Yi Jianlian up front, the Chinese have a strong frontcourt. They lack the perimeter play, though, to match Bryant, Dwyane Wade, and the rest of the U.S. guards. “He’s not going to score 100 points, and we hope to come close to scoring 100 points,” Krzyzewski said of Yao. “I think you have to make sure that he doesn’t dominate the game.” Krzyzewski said he expected Jason Kidd, who wasn’t feeling well and missed a workout Thursday, to be ready. Kidd is still the starter at point guard, though backups Chris Paul and Deron Williams played longer and better during the Americans’ five-game exhibition tour. The Americans want to get off to a strong start, remembering their 92-73 loss to Puerto Rico four years ago that threw their Olympics into disarray on the day they began. Their games get much harder as they move deeper into pool play, with Greece, world champion Spain and Dirk Nowitzki-led Germany in their final three contests. http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/basketball/news?slug=ap-bko-us-china&prov=ap&type=lgns And they’d like to put on a good show for Bush, who Wade had a chance to meet when the Miami Heat were invited to the White House after winning the 2006 NBA title. He remembers the president being a funny guy—but Wade is serious about this tournament. “We get support of our president, that means a lot. That means a lot of people … back home want us to succeed,” Wade said. “That means that we’re watched by a lot of people. “So we should have a lot of pride in it,” he said. “Winning this thing or losing this thing is going to mean a lot to a lot of people. So we have to go out there and play like we’re representing the US of A. If we do that … we’ll win it.”
even yao has stated publicly china has no shot numerously. when your best player doesn't even believe, you have no shot.
Yes, thanks for the correction, it is a 12 hr different between here and there, Sunday morning would be the best time to watch but only I have to miss my basketball play between 10-12 on this day. I predict USA 98, China 72, and Bush thought China won the game after everything is over.
USA v CHINA USA v CHINA: According to the official Olympic Mem's Basketball Schedule China and the USA are due to sqaure off at 10-15 amm Sunday Morning in Beijing. That is about 9-15 pm Saturday Evening in Texas. Is it possible to see the game in live time? Or do we have to wait 25 hours till our TV shows it?
There has to be a way to watch it live.... I won't be able to focus on anything if I am not watching this game.
Yetti, I am pretty sure you got your times wrong. I think you switched your AMs and PMs. The game is at 10:15 PM Sunday in China, so 9:15 AM Sunday in Texas. It's being broadcast live. NBC SCHEDULE link
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/5933666.html BEIJING — Yao Ming understands the long history of basketball in China and the passion that his countrymen have for the game. What he's hoping for is understanding and compassion for his Chinese national team in the Olympic tournament that begins on Sunday. "It is funny to me that the most difficult tickets (to obtain) for the Olympics is the hurdles final with Liu Xiang and every game that we play," Yao said. "I mean, Liu has already won a gold medal in Athens and he held the world record. We don't have a shot at any kind of medal. I hope people are not disappointed." China's goal is to advance out of the preliminary round to reach the quarterfinals, which would equal the nation's best finish ever in a major international competition. China has twice taken eighth place in the Olympics (Atlanta, 1996 and Athens, 2004) and also finished eighth at the 1994 World Championship in Toronto. The task for Yao & Co. is difficult right from the start as they'll open the Olympic competition on Sunday against the NBA All-Star-studden lineup of Team USA, which features Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony. "In terms of techniques, we are indeed not of the same weight level with the US team," Yao said. "But we won't give up the chance. It isn't so easy to compete with a team composed of the best basketball players in the world. (The experience) is a very precious treasure in life." Team China will also face reigning world champion Spain and 2006 European champion Greece in the preliminary round. "We are in the 'Death Pool,' " Yao said. "So many good teams that we have to play. It could be difficult for us to go forward." There are two six-team pools in the tournament and, after a five-game round-robin, the top four teams will advance to the quarterfinal round and single-elimination. That would seem to leave China battling with Germany and Angola for the final spot in Group B. The German team will feature 2007 NBA MVP Dirk Nowitzki and Los Angeles Clippers center Chris Kaman. Yao told the China Daily that he believes his team is up to the task. "We are not afraid of Germany," he said. "Yi (Jianlian) has improved tremendously and he can limit Nowitzki. And I can take care of Kaman." Even though China suffered a one-point loss to Angola two weeks ago in the Stankovic Cup, Yao said, "I don't think they are able to pose any real threat at the Games." Before getting to the games against Angola and Germany that will likely decide their Olympic fate, China has to open the tournament against the celebrated Team USA (9:15 a.m. CDT on Sunday on NBC) as a heavy underdog. "There won't be many opportunities to play an American all-star team," Yao said. "I have been waiting for this moment for such a long time. "It won't be easy. But it will be an honor and a precious memory, one that will last a lifetime."
the bets agencies puts china's odds of winning US at 17:1 according to a poll from sina, basketball is going to be the *most* watched olympic event amount the Chinese. The second is pingpong
No way. As much as I would love to see China win, it is just not possible at this moment. If China can loose no more than 30 or 25 points, that is already a big improvement compared with before.
