Sorry about my bitter anti-Ming rant, but I have a few questions for you all just to see you general opinions? 1. Do you think Ming, if drafted, will play here next season? Yes or No 2. Do you think Ming will make an immediate impact? No Yes we'll make the playoffs Yes, past the first round Yes, Western Conference Finals Yes, NBA Champs 3. What do you think his stats will be? Points, Rebs, Blocks, Assists, Minutes 4. Do you think he will develop into a dominant big man(this means playing your size, and doing so mostly inside) Yes or No a. If so, how many years? 5. Would Ming dominate more offensively or defensively? 6. Are you willing to wait 2-3 years for Ming to be the stud you all envision, and miss out on the playoffs? 7. What makes Ming look like he will be more dominant than Shawn Bradley? He has the height, but what else? Shooting, Strength, Quickness/Agility, Other Reason 8.How many of you all have seen Yao play an actual game? Yes or No 9. What will Yao's greatest problem with the transition be? Strength of post players, speed of game, foul prone, lack of aggressiveness, other reason
1. Yes, he'll come. 2. No immediate impact -- that is, he won't be the difference in making the playoffs, not in his first year. 3. His stats won't reflect starters minutes, I'd doubt. 4. Yes a. I think you'd have to wait 2-3 years. 5. I get the feeling his best contributions would be on offense. 6. I'm willing to wait for him to develop. 7. Don't know. 8. No 9. Don't know.
1. Yes, I believe Ming will play here next season. 2. Yes, I beleive we will make the playoffs. He's not going to make the Rockets turn into a dynasty immediately, but I think the Rockets could make the playoffs even if they didn't take Ming. 3. ~10-12 ppg, ~6-7 rpg, ~2 apg, ~1.5 bpg, ~20 mpg Remember, he is somewhat of a project. But even if he doesn't reach his full potential, he could still easily be worth the first pick. I don't expect him to put up league leading numbers right away. 4. Yes, maybe after 3 or 4 years he could become dominant. But, he could still easily be a top center in the league before that. Nobody goes straight to dominance, just look at Shaq in '95. 5. For the Rockets, I think he would dominate more defensively. Hopefully, he will end up dominating on both ends of the floor. It's just that offense takes more time to perfect. 6. I'm willing to wait 2-3 years, but that doesn't mean he won't be a better than average C in the league. Ming doesn't have to be the next Shaq for the Rockets to make the playoffs. I thought the Rockets would make the playoffs before this season, so I see no reason they can't next year with everyone healthy...this is with or without Ming. Ming doesn't have to be here to make the playoffs, but he could make us a title contender. 7. Ming vs Bradley Ming isn't a toothpick, he ways almost 300 pounds. And he's got muscle. And he appears to have skills, unlike Bradley. And he's got to be more coordinated than Bradley, because everyone else in the world is. 8. No, haven't seen him play a game. I don't think anyone has, but that doesn't mean we don't know the kind of player he <i>could</i> be. 9. I think all of those things will hurt him at first, but he will get used to it and adjust. <b>Bottom Line: </b>Ming has the best chance of making the Rockets a true contender, whether he becomes dominant or not. He can become just a better than average C and still help the Rockets tremendously, mainly on defense. Remember, he's only 21, so don't expect Shaq like performance out of him. Unless we can get a Duncan, Garnett, or maybe Brand + for him, I'd take him.
