I have a feeling that Ming will turn out more like Shaq and Duncan than like Bradley. The reason is that, without a question, NBA makes players better. Bradley was not a basketball player when he got drafted. He had spent a year with BYU and then 2 years in Australia on a mormon mission. His agent forbid him (very smartly) of doing pre-draft workouts. From such a low starting point, Bradley did improve a lot. You can't compare that to the type of career that Ming has had so far. His starting point is much higher. Rick Smits was a very poor player when he entered the league. He was not considered a great player even in Europe, yet he had a decent career in the league. Comparing Ming to Shaq and Duncan now simply misses the point. You have to compare him to when they were 21. Shaq was the same physical specimen, but he did not have one/hundredth of the skills that Yao has now. He was mostly ineffective from > 2ft from the basket. Later Shaq developed a turnaround, improved his hook and a somewhat ugly, but effective short and fat jumper. If Shaq can develop these, why wouldn't Ming develop some upper body strength (which comes natural with age) and toughness. Duncan had flashes of brilliance in his rookie year, but was hardly dominating. Hakeem was just raw when he entered the league. Bottomline is, if you expect a 21 yo rookie to stop Shaq now, well good luck... But if you wanna take a chance on somebody who well could be the next Shaq, Duncan, or Dream, then Ming is your choice.
Bravo! I agree 100% Also, I'm Chinese. Let me tell all of you who are just scared to death about the Chinese Gov messing with Ming and Houston: the government is dying to send it's pride in basketball over here to make them look good.....they want "face", if you will. And there are also the added benefits of economics and developing bball as a whole in China. The posturing is just the standard Chinese way to show they are in control, in the end they want Ming in the NBA and succeeding just as much as anyone. Sure there are some beaurucratic processes from them that seems very strange to Americans, but that's just difference in culture. Be cautious, but don't fear them. Lastly......how can you pass up having 1.4 billion, even more if count the rest of Orient, new Rockets fans?? Don't we all always complain the Rockets aren't as popular as NY/LA/Bulls, don't have as many fans? How can you pass up the chance now??
I agree with you. Scouts nowadays know talent when they see it. If they say Yao has poetential to be the next Bill Russell, believe me he has A TON OF POTENTIAL. Next year I think he will get about 13 ppg, 8 rpg, 3 bpg, and about 3 apg. That is ALOT. He will be raw next year, but with good coaching and good weight training he could easily become the next Olajuwan. I think that with him Griff and Francis we could easily have 3 all-stars in 3 to 4 more years. We would easily be able to beat the lakers.With Yao on our team next year, he would reallistically bring us 50 wins. I think this could be the chance for the greatest rockets team in history. We WILL be next year's nets. It is not the Ming Dynasty, but the Rockets Dynasty.
When Shaq was a rookie (20 or 21) he averaged 23.4 pts (59% FG) and 13.9 rebounds (the highest of his career.) Don't make it sound like Shaq sucked when he got to the NBA then skyrocketed. His numbers have been pretty damned consistent since he turned pro.
No doubt about it...Ming is the real deal. Even more than that, he is a GREAT FIT on this team! Think about it...we have a (how shall I put this?) defesively challenged backcourt. Ming will erase many defensive mistakes on the defensive end. We have guards who are great at breaking their man down off the dribble. Ming will draw opponents' centers outside and give our scorers more room to drive down low. Finally, he will give Griffin (a future all-star in his own right) the opportunity to draw more single coverage. All in all, Ming not only brings an incredible range of skills, but he brings the right skills to this Rockets' team that will make his teamates better. I don't think you can ask for more!
This team better be ready to play defense and run. Over the weekend, I looked at some Rocket games from this season and I just cannot believe that in addition to Rice and MoT coming back, we are about the bring in two more prized rookie. Unreal!
I completely agree. From what I see and hear he is a VERY talented big man who happens to be 7-5. He has far more skills then Bradley and company. I think he will turn out to be far better then Rik Smits, but Smits was a VERY good player, just one step below the Ewings, and Robinsons, and Hakeems on the league, he was the next level of centers after them. You have to give Ming the same amount of time you gave Francis, and Griffin and others. He'll help us next year, but he could be a great player in years to come!
The hype for Ming is getting unreal. He could turn out to be a great player but odds are he will be closer to Bradley or Smits than any of the others mentioned. I took a look at rookie stats from ESPN and the Clutch City.net history pages for some of the centers mentioned as well as for Ralph Sampson who, when he was healthy, had skills I believe that exceded Ming's. Here is the info. O'Neal 23.4pts, 13.9reb, 3.5blk, 0.7st, 1.9ast Olajuwon 20.6pts, 11.9reb, 2.7blks, 1.2st, 1.4ast Robinson 24.3pts, 12reb, 3.9blks, 1.7st, 2.0ast Duncan 21.1pts, 11.9reb, 2.5blks, 2.7ast Sampson 20.98pts, 11.13reb, 2.4 blks, 0.85st, 1.99ast Bradley 10.3pts, 6.2reb, 3.0blks, 0.9st, 2.0ast I wonder how many of you honestly think that Ming will approach the numbers put up by O'neal, Olajuwon, Robinson, Duncan or Sampson in his rookie season. As for Bradley's improvement, his best season had hime averaging just over 13 ppg and he has never registered a duble digit rebounding average for any season. I couldn't find Smits' stats but if Ming works hard (unlike Bradley) he will likely be at least a serviceble NBA center before long. I have a really hard time believing he will approach the level of the the 1st 4 or 5 on the list above. It would be really nice if he matched the hype but it's also VERY possible that he may never have greater trade value than he does now.
When he came to the league Shaq was as big and strong as he is now, but he had zero skills. He avaregaed 23.4 on a terrible Orlando team, that didn't make the playoffs. 90% of his points were on monstrous dunks, he even shattered a few backboards in his rookie year. If you put Amare Stoudamire on the Nuggets next year, I bet he'll average more than 20ppg. That won't mean much.
I don't understand why people have such a low opinion of Rik Smits. We're talking about arguably the 6th or 7th best center of his generation. He always made life much easier for Reggie Miller. Rik Smits in his prime would be arguably the 2nd best center in the league today. If Ming turned out to be <i>only</i> as good as Rik Smits was, I'de be ecstatic.
We will not draft the Ming Man , we will trade the pick or draft Drew Gooden- Mike Dunleavy JR. We will trade the pick to get a stud young player.
There's no doubt in my mind that Ming COULD put up numbers like this. Heck, those will be only 50% of what he avareged in the Chinese playoffs this year. Don't be quick to laugh at this, first they have Americans playing there including former NBA players, and second, we are talking the playoffs here. I am not sure the Nuggets would even make the playoffs in China. If he had the shots, and if Rudy would not play him in too cautiosly, I am sure he can put up 20/12/3. He most likely won't, with Cat and Francis taking all the shots. Hey, Pau Gasol put up numbers like that last year and he looked much more questionable than Ming before the draft.
If he can be as good as Vlade is now . . . next year I'd be happy Rocket River Cause he could only get better
First of all he is 7'5"...given time the wear and tear of the NBA will shred his knees to pieces if he doesn't bulk up and build up his legs...forget about the upper body. I am worried that we could be drafting an injurry prone player. The safe bet is to trade.
Have you seen his quads? The dude is ripped from the waist down. Its that upper part that needs work.
Dawson said that Ming has huge legs. Which is good for the health of his long career! But, all ming needs to work on is his upper body!
We can't pass this opportunity to get Yao Ming, he is good enough to take the risk. Some are saying the Cato can be our center, so if Yao does have to go back to China for some reason, then Cato can prove himself. We gave him so many chances last season, he gave the #'s for like 8 games, but other than that he did nothing, we can't take the chance to rely on Cato. No rookie is going to come out and win a championship, but who knows in 2 seasons, we are definitely talented enough.
Well Kayman it's obvious that you think highly of Ming...now. The first 3 on my list are certain Hall of Fame centers and Duncan will likely join them. I don't share your optimism. I don't see Ming making the impact of any of those 4 in his first year. If the Rockets take him I'll hope your right.
