First, I find it hard to believe that Ming will be worse than Kwame Brown was last year, or Olowakandi was his rookie year, not to mention the dissapointing Joe Smith or Pervis Ellison. Second, the articles I read that referred to his "defensive liability" said a) he could bulk up more in the upper body but has a strong lower frame - but this can be said about 85% of the centers currently playing in the league and b) sometimes he just failed to get his arms up for the block of Cristofferson - why? don't know, maybe because he was taught to play positioning and not go for every block to avoid fouls, but now that he is so tall it would be dumb not to and this shoudl be very easily corrected. I don't predict superstardom for him or anything, but I think he can immediately contribute 12-16 pts, 8-12 boards, and 2-4 blocks a game, and improve from there - sadly, witht he dirth of NBA centers and big people in general right now this nets you the first pick (remember when a first pick center/big man was counted on for 20 and 10 ala HAkeem, Ewing, Sampson, RObinson, Oneal, Duncan, etc), but for a team greatly in need of a frontcourt presence, it is the direction I would go.
nearly every NBA player can hit 15-18'er in shootarounds at a VERY high clip: over 60%. Turkscan did! Hell, I can. Ming can at 70%, without a doubt. Plus, he can do it turning around. To state the obvious: the reason no one does this in games is because they are being guarded. So, someone explain to me how you are going to harass a 7'5" shooter enough to prevent him from hitting at that range, at, let's say, a 50% clip. Can you really deny him the ball out there? Can you really double team him out there exposing the basket to a backdoor cut? People say his low post game needs work. Didn't Jabbar hang out shooting hooks from a distance. You couldn't stop it. There is a very good chance Ming gets his shot off as easy as Jabbar gets his hook off. If you add some solid high post passing to that, you run your offense through him. Jabbar had trouble in the low block against big thugs. Hell, he had trouble against Dave Cowens. But a tall center who can hit a 15-18'er (and get it off with ease), plus drop a pass into a cutter, is rare in the history of the league. Will he be as smooth and elegant as Jabbar. Probably not. But since he's taller, he still has the potential to knock down that shot at will, similar to the sky-hook. I emailed a journalist from basketballnews who was at the workout and asked him if they tested Ming running the UCLA Cut drill. (Think Walton. That is a high-post set with the center holding the ball and a SF or guard runs at him and then cuts left or right around him to the basket dependent on which way his defender moves. Thus the picker has the ball.) He said "They did run the high-post cut drill, and Yao's best pass came on a beautiful no-look job that had the place buzzing during that drill." to me: the passing from the 7'5er is the key. The UCLA cut is designed to get him separation, eliminate double teams, and pass to guards for layups. If he can do that, he'll be an offensive stud.
Right on HeyP...David Aldridge said that no one, not even Shaq can block this guys shot...and he also said he is an exceptional passer
I agree completely. The offensive schemes a player like Ming would make possibly, especially for a team with such solid offensive guardplay, would be great. From all the reports of the workout, which don't mean much, granted, Ming is a very good passer and sees the court well.
heypartner, good post. Let me be the first to admit, as someone who was very skeptical of Ming, FWIW, the workout has made me feel a lot better about Ming. Granted, it wasn't high on quality or intensity, but Ming is definitely an intriguing player. And to think, there are 'experts' that feel that Ming will be the next Rik Smits, as if that's a bad thing. Hello, Smits was a solid NBA player who had a long, successful career! The Rocks, as well as about 26 other teams, should be so lucky! As far as running the offense through Ming down the line, perhaps. But that jumper of his, totally unblockable. I mean, Ming actually elevates on the shot, unlike Smits, whose shot was pretty tough to block as well. Doesn't even need a turnaround, he could just hit step-back Js a la Karl Malone. And can you imagine the sight of him shooting a sky hook, MAN! I still wouldn't tear up the team to get him, but he's definitely interesting.
The bottomline is we need Ming, and he needs Houston (for all its lovely Chinese food). The question is how do we get him??? I have a strong feeling that Chicago will draft him and try to trade one of they're two high schoolers for Jason Williams. Seriously, I don't think any team will do the latter. The other teams above us, namely, Warriors, Grizz and Nugz, all need a center and would be foolish to pass on Ming. Is there anyway we can trade up? I don't see any team doing that for Ming. -Tariq
I went to the University of Oregon, so let me say a few things about Christofferson. Chris is very bulky, he has very few offensive moves and is somewhat slow. I was actually surprised that many NBA scouts have him picked for the NBA. Although he is not that great, his size is a plus. So I guess what I am trying to say here is that Chris seems to be pretty raw. The fact that Ming struggled with Chris isnt saying much at all. It just goes to show that Ming is quite a project right now, so nobody should think that he is going to come to the U.S. and playing the way he did over in China. Our question for the team is "Are we trying to win now or do we want to win tomorrow?"
If James Thomas, at 6-8, 235 lbs can D-UP on Christofferson, then there's no reason for a 7-5 Yao not to at least contest him. Christofferson is a textbook stiff. At 7-2, 300 lbs he's slow as balls. Man I'm starting to get scared. Maybe if we get Yao, we should trade for Dream to teach him some moves. If would be good for Dream, because ya'll know how much he still likes earning an NBA paycheck.
who said Yao didn't contest him? Are we off into exaggeration land now?? My reading is that Chris got one shot over him, and backed him down once, but didn't they say Ming recovered and played him differently the next go. I think the expectations were that Chris would get nothing over him. here's a good (and funny) play-by-play http://www.sportingnews.com/voices/sean_deveney/20020501.html
Didn't Stiff Christofferson also block Ming once? Ming looks like Shawn Bradley with a better shot to me, he's not going to be your typical top 3 pick superstar. He'll just be a decent center with an outside shot, and I want NOTHING to do with him because I am positive he will leave for New York as soon as his rookie contract is up...
True, but the same could also be said for Francis, homey. Steve said he would sign an extension, but he also wants to see what direction the team is going to take. What's to stop him from signing a 2-3 year extension, and leaving if he doesn't like the way the team is shaping up? What about Eddie? My point is, just like 'The Man', Jerry West himself, said: If Ming is your guy, draft him. Worry about everything else (whether he'll play, resign), later. He either plays for you, stays in China (which is better than being on another team), or you can trade his rights for another player\picks. Actually, I'm interested to see what happens if he does end up a Rocket. While Houston isn't among his\their first choices, the city (major metro area with large Asian community), organization (young team with great potential), and situation (his position is WIDE OPEN, definite team need, can come in & contribute immediately) would probably interest him and serve as a nice consolation prize, so to speak.
Ah, but the difference between Steve and Eddie is that Ming has to answer to the Chinese government. I just think the Chinese government will pressure him into playing for New York after his contracts up. I believe China wants their boy to get as much global attention as possible, whatever attention Ming would get as a Rocket, he'd probably get 10 times as much attention in New York... Call me BGMcCarthy if you'd like, but I just don't trust China, especially when it involves Rockets... I mean if we end up with the 5 or 6 pick, and Ming falls that far, then I'd probably take Ming. I just don't want us to trade up to get a top 2 pick so we can draft the guy. The risk is too great in my opinion...
The knicks will get the number 2 and a team like the bulls will get the 1. This will make some think its not rigged. But: If the Knicks get either 1 or 2 I swear to god I will disown the NBA and watch the NBDL instead.
