After tonight's game, I checked his boxscores going back a while and he really hasn't had many good games recently. He didn't look like the same player we saw in the first Yao/Yi contest. Is it just the rookie wall or has he been hurt? Yi's been rebounding OK but his diminished shooting percentage and scoring production make me think something might be wrong with him. If it's only a matter of fatigue and no injury is involved, I feel sorry for the guy with the Beijing Olympics coming up this summer. Then, it's back to another long 82 game NBA season. (I'm also worried about Yao being exhausted by a busy summer). I know there are a lot of members who follow Yi closely. Please comment.
shots are just not dropping. that's all. getting tired from the long season. not getting as many minutes as before. plus, injuries to redd, mason, williams. good players make other players better. as for olympics, i'm sure both of them are thrilled to be in it. no need to worry there. yi just need to add some weight in upper body. so he can have an easier time posting up and not rely to his jumpers.
I remember reading that he just hit the rookie wall... very hard. Long term potential is still all good. Just need to build up stamina for the 82 game season.
rookie wall. the guy has been in the rotation all season. he's reached his limit. unlike our rookies who just started playing about 10 games ago!
Weren't a lot of fans saying the offense should go through YI and that Redd, Mason and Williams were ball hogs? I think Yi will be fine, I really don't see how a big man with his athleticism wont make it in the league.
No doubt they are thrilled about the Olympics. Yao's passion and dedication to the CNT is well known by Rockets fans. I'm just relating how the summer may affect them next season in the NBA.
well, ya, they are all ball hogs. but they do help yi's game in some aspect. i don't think yi is ready to run an offense, yet. maybe not ever. i see him in the future with a good post up game, but mainly a slasher and jumper shooter. he will improve his rebound and defense. he'll be a marginal all-star in his prime. nothing more. if he doesn't improve much, then i see him as a solid starter.
LMAO.. I've read this thread waaay too many times, and every time I see it, I answer in my head: "NO, he's good at FOOTBALL" I mean, what kinda question is that? just ask "is Yi JianLian a good player", or "how good is Yi?", but why specify the sport? it's not like we're gonna think that we're talking about ultimate frisbee or remedial finger painting using food stuffs..
When I first watched his China highlights I thought he was going to be a physical player with all those dunks. Now I see him not being able to hit open jumpers time after time and he gets blocked often when he does attempt to dunk. I think he needs to toughen up a bit like most foreign players that come to the NBA.
it's probably Charlie Bell of Villanueva.. they wave him off too much when he has position and they say mean things to him in the tunnel such as "you will be iso-ed by us" .. he deserves a better team, they should trade him to a team that respects him and not iso him so often ..
he dunks a lot. i've watched almost all bucks game this year (i'm in wisconsin). sometimes, i think he tries too hard to dunk on somebody and not patient enough for something to develop for him. but of course, if his upper body is stronger, he would had a lot more facials. i see him facial someone once in a while. a lot regular dunks still.
Hmm everytime I've watched him dunk he goes up too slow and gets rejected often. He has a quick first step to the basket but he doesn't really have the explosive leaping ability. I dont know why he always dunks with 2 hands either. He has some good dunks here and there but I was expecting a lot better.
Looking back to Yao's rookie year, Yao was starting to peak around this time and didn't run out of gas until after the break. Yi should be in better shape as he had the summer off and has been training in the states. Maybe it's a mental thing, this is the most games he's ever played in 1 season right? Just makes you appreciate what Yao did his rookie year more.
He plays a decent amount of minutes every game so it's probably the rookie wall He'll be fine IMO. Maybe even bounce back for the last 10 or so games of the season in terms of scoring
And don't forget the shoulder injury that has been bothering Yao since last playoff. There's been no update about his condition in this regard these couple of months. If Yao decided to take surgery after the Olympics game, it will be very tough to the Rockets in next regular season.
I think you have all the answers here in one of the best commentaries/articles about Yi Jianlian. It is not necessarily the rookie wall. It is MORE about how he was treated on and off court by the Milwaukee Bucks, and that you have 2 very selfish ball hogs in Michael Redd and Mo Williams who only care about their own stats.
