yao is doing just fine. much like the rockets, he will give us glimpses of his potential for dominance and he will frustrate us will below average performances. he is far from a dissapointment-even by #1 pick standards. under the unique circumstances faced by yao, 16/9/2 for a second year player is pretty darned good. even if his #'s capped out here (i think he will get better) we would still have a pretty solid guy for a #1 pick. to suggest that yao's play will hurt chinese players in the future is way off the mark. its not yao, but the chinese government that will hurt players in the future. gm's around the league will see how yao must play 12 months a year and never get a break. the chinese government is hurting yao by not allowing him to have a break like the rest of the nba players. without rest he will continually hit the "rookie wall" midway thru the season and probably not last more than 10 years in the league. i think that this lack of control over their investments (i.e. players) will discourage alot of gms from taking a shot at future chinese prospects. the chinese government ALLOWED yao to come over here so that he could learn to play at the highest level and help their team be competitive and win on a global level. by making him come back home every summer to play ball they are doing more harm than good in his long-term development. at some point they need to realize this or yao needs to take a stand and say no more or defect and become an american citizen (he seems to be very proud of his country though, so i couldnt ever see this happening). either way, i think that gm's will be forced to think twice about taking a chinese player because they are overworked by their government and not allowed to make the nba a priority. european players are not treated this way by their countries, are they? china needs to realize that yao will become more dominant for THIER team if he is allowed to stay here over the summer and work on his game here.
Very good post. I agree with those points as well. There you have it, not only is it the Asian culture, it's their government's as well! Doh.
This thread is so ridiculous I feel compelled to teach people about selective memory. When Yao gets dunked on you remember that. When Yao gets blocked you remember that. It's because people remember when little guys embarrass big guys, not because Yao does it with amazing frequency. People remember when Carmelo dunked on Yao (hell it's on ESPN, CBS, ABC, NBC, etc), they don't remember Yao swatted Carmelo's shot into the 3rd row (which incidently, wasn't even shown). Same goes for when Yao gets blocked. People remember that but they don't remember when he shoots swishes a shot right in his man's face. I am willing to bet that if I compiled a stat book of all the times Yao gets blocked or dunked on, it'll account for less than 5% of the times he actually gets the ball. Same thing on the defensive end. I am willing to bet that the number of times Yao gets dunked on is less than 1% of all the times his man faces him, the other 99% they alter their shot and bricks or dishes out. Btw, the only time I remember a PG blocking Yao was when he grabbed a loose ball at his waist after chasing it down on the offensive end and Sam Cassell slapping it out. Could Yao be more aggressive? Absolutely. But to say he gets embarrassed consistently is just pathetic.
Dude, silentfan, you are a poor excuse for an asian, a poor excuse for a basketball fan, and a poor excuse for a human being. As someone who happens to be all 3, I'm embarassed that you're one of us. In fact, I think it might be time for a new thread: "silentfan Hurting Asian Fan Stock". Yao Ming plays the game the way that he, as a single individual, plays the game. Anyone who believes a single individual reflects "poorly" on an entire community is just proving their own ignorance. Is Shaq also reflecting poorly on the African-American community by being a physically intimidating, rough, but often unskilled (at least from outside) basketball player£¿ You don't have a point, and you need to simply accept that. Yao blocked Shaq twice in the first 5 minutes they faced each other. Oh, and it's pretty sad you didn't realize Aaron Williams isn't a PG. Oh, and it's pretty sad when you think a block (from the *side*/*behind*, not face up) is some hugely exciting event.
First of all, learn how to read. When referring to Yao getting blocked by point guards, I wasn't referring to the most recent game. THis is the third time i've had to explain that. Secondly, does Shaq represent black people poorly? Of course he does. He's a thug, makes idiotic statements, and just bulldozes people to get his points. BUT GUESS WHAT, he's a good basketball player because he gets the job done. Lastly, you should really controll yourself and your personal attacks against me. This is a basketball forum, related to basketball issues. Stick to the topic, you'll look a lot more intelligent and less of an moron.
Shawn Bradley does all those things that you mentioned also. Does that mean its ok for Yao to get blocked, dunked on, and pushed around? I don't remember the game that I saw Yao getting blocked by a point guard, but I know I saw it. I don't think anyone on these forums is going to deny that Yao gets blocked by guys a foot shorter than him so that's really a moot point that I can't name explicitly who it was. It was a nationally televised game, because I don't live in houston and I saw it on TV. Sure it may be 5% of the amount of times he gets the ball, but what percentage of the time does Yao get taken out of his game after getting pushed around by someone giving up 6-9 inches, and 50-80lbs? Spare me the statistics. You and I and everyone else on this forum knows Yao's had a lot more bad games than good, and it doesn't take stat-whoring to prove that.
Maybe none of us have understood your explanation, because you still haven't told us who the heck you were talking about. Would it be significant that Yao is being blocked by PGs? Of course it would. So, convince us already. Where's the evidence to back up your point? Why don't you save yourself the trouble of repeating yourself on this ponit, and tell us what the hell you *did* mean when you said that PGs were blocking Yao? And really, can you give us a statistically thorough analysis of Shaq being blocked by PGs? Well, I guess it's somewhat comforting what your ignorance doesn't apply to just Asians.
Shawn Bradley does what exactly? Remember how well Kobe did in his 2nd year? How about Karla? John Stockton wasn't even starting. What did people think of Dirk? TMac in his 2nd year was deferring to Vince in his rookie year. Want new players? How about Lebron. He's leading the Cavs to another lottery season, then when he went out the Cavs won 4 out of 5. Or how about Eddy Curry and Tyson Chandler, boy their production are sure worth their 2 high lottery picks. Where are Amare and Caron? How about Wagner, who people said were the next AI after he score 20 PPG for like 5 games. Yao is doing very well for his 2nd year, especially considering how much of a bust he was supposed to be. Yao doesn't have too many good games nor too many bad games. Most of the time he has average games (14 PPG, 8 - 9 boards). You just choose to focus on the bad ones. Once again, seletive memory.
heech, Think about it this way. As time goes on, and Yao grows into his own. Yao will reach a certain level...IF, and I say, IF he does not live up to his potential...(when I say potential I'm talking about what many basketball experts know he can achieve)...Yao will be deemed as a player, that while having great potential, was underachieving due to his "passive nature" on the court. You might not see this now. But in 10 years, we'll look back on his development. If he hasn't made great strides...it will raise questions about Yao passive nature. Remember, we are taliking about aggressiveness in sports. Yao has to play by universal rules of sports: play aggressive. Don't belive me? Ok...what has happened when Yao played by "his" rules (passive)? He's gotten pushed around, that's what. Sure, Yao is in his 2nd year. But if trends continue, yes. It will have a impact on the realities of being passive. Take that how you want to. This is not tied to any culture exclusively, but rather the common denominator in AMERICAN SPORTS. And that is: You must be agressive if you want to succeed. Not passive. Apologies for Yao is just an excuse for underachievement. Tim Duncan is the best example. He's passive off-court, but aggressive on-court. So, he's hasn't lost himself. But he knows what it takes to be dominant on the court. Now as far as effecting *ALL* asians in future drafts. Well, I wouldn't go that far. Because everyone is different. But Yao's level of successes and failures will surely have *SOME* impact on furture drafts. That can't be denied. So, look it as Yao paving the way for other future chinese players. He will inspire many kids to follow him. Fans of Yao don't want him to be average. They want him to be great! And so do I. If not....let someone else step in who can....
I wouldn't call Yao's play simply "deferring." By "deferring" meaning passing up shots to other players, sure Yao's doing that. But are you going to lump up everything Yao's doing wrong, like not playing aggressive enough, letting smaller guys push him around in the paint, get blocked by much smaller guys, getting DECKED by Stephon Marbury and not doing anything about it under "deferring?" Are you going to lump in laying up the ball instead of dunking the ball with authority under "deferring?" I don't think you can conveniently lump everything in together like that. T-Mac, Kobe, all those guys had slow starts, but I don't think anyone ever questioned their drive and heart. Most of the time it was a case of not getting the playing time, ie. Jermaine O'Neal and many other examples. Yao on the other hand, you really have to question if he even has it in him mentally to bring his game to the next level.
First, Yao has proved that he's mentally tough, he doesn't fold under physical play, after he got hammered by Marbury he came back with good scoring. Second, let's revisit your point. You said Yao might reach Mutombo status next year, then you said Yao isn't as tough as Shawn Bradley, and probably won't be in a long, long time. And now you are giving me this nonsense of what your meaning of Mutombo status is. Mutombo is a tough player, much tougher than Bradley, and you think Yao can reach his status next year by being a soft player? Let me tell you what is Mutombo status: Career Highlights Named 2000-01 NBA Defensive Player of the Year, his fourth selection (1997-98, 1996-97, 1994-95) Selected for the 2000-01 All-NBA Second Team Named to his third NBA All-Defensive First Team in 2000-01 (1997-98, 1996-97) Made his seventh career All-Star Game appearance in the 2001 NBA All-Star Game in Washington, D.C. Recorded 2500th career blocked shot at Minnesota on 12/28/01, becoming the seventh player in league history to reach that plateau In 1999-2000, led NBA in rebounding (14.1 rpg), first member of Hawks to achive such a feat since Bob Pettit in 1955-56, and ranked second in field-goal percentage (.562) and blocked shots (3.28) Named NBA Player of the Week for games played 1/24/00 through 1/30/00, after averaging 13.7 ppg and 19.7 rpg Named the winner of the 1998-99 IBM Award after leading the Hawks in rebounding (12.2 rpg, third in the NBA), blocked shots (2.94 bpg, fourth) and field-goal percentage (.512) Named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team in 1994-95 and 1998-99 Named to the All-NBA Third Team in 1997-98 Named to the NBA All-Interview Second Team in 1997-98 Led the NBA in total rebounds in 1999-2000 (1157), 1994-95 (1,029), and 1996-97 (929) Set an NBA Playoffs record with 31 blocked shots in a five-game series, leading the 8th-seeded Nuggets to a first-round upset of the 1st-seeded Seattle SuperSonics in the 1994 NBA Playoffs Blocked his 2,000th career shot, adding 18 points and 11 rebounds, against the Minnesota Timberwolves on 4/5/98 Named NBA Player of the Week for the week ending 11/9/97, averaging 15.7 ppg, 12.8 rpg and 4.83 bpg in 6 games Named NBA Player of the Week for the week ending 12/1/96, averaging 19.7 ppg, a league-leading 16.7 rpg and 4.00 bpg in 3 games -------------------------------------------------- If Yao can be a seven time all star, rebounding and shot blocking machine like Mutombo, how can you question his toughness? Are you gonna say Yao can do that by being a soft, sissy defensive machine? Or if Yao can achieve semi great status like Mutombo by being a soft player, no one can say he's not living up to No.1 pick status, and no one can say he's hurting the Chinese draft stock. Soft or not, Yao can be a near great player, so you should feel proud of him and realize your ridiculous stance. Unless you claim that you will only be satisfied for Yao to become a great player like Duncan and Robinson, which I think is ridiculous. Either way, your point about Yao being soft is moot. I read every post, instead, you should learn how to read because I said you wondered about if Yao can be a MVP this season, and that statement is consistent with yours. Also, You have to believe in the possibility of Yao being a MVP this season while averaging 16 and 9 halfway pass the season to put up a debate in the first place. For Yao to catch up after half a season passed he will have to average around 30/15 for the other half of the season. The chance of it is so small that it's so naive to put up a debate about it in the first place. Not surprisingly, your point for debate is moot once again. Oh really, I countered by asking "have you heard that one game doesn't make or break a player? and can you say Yao wasn't getting aggressive lately?" and there was no response. It's like throwing a stone into an empty hole. And your worthiness as a fan is a issue here because according to your "one Chinese NBA player represents 1.3 billion Chinese" standard, your lame points is making all Asian fans looking pretty bad here. I think people will be fine if a soft(?) Yao can reach semi great status like Mutombo, at least that's a worthy number one pick, so please come up with a worthy point for debate next time.
allow me to help you out here... there is a sweet feature of the BBS software that allows you to not have to see someone's posts.. it is called an ignore feature. click on silentfans profile icon at the top of his post..it looks like this then at the bottom of that page, you will see where it says "Add silentfan to your ignore list" click there and you will never have to see his posts again.(except when someone quotes him) Remember, the ignore list is your friend. silentfan has been a member of my ever-growing ignore list almost since the first day he came here...Im glad to see I made the right choice.
Many thanks, Rockets2K! silentfan has been as annoying as the sound of nails grating across a chalkboard. Didn't know about that ignore feature. Congrats to silentfan for being the first poster on this BBS to have made my ignore list.
If there is another soft Yao out there waiting to be drafted, I can bet every team in the league will fight to draft him. Or if Houston put Yao on the block, which is impossible, I bet almost every team will have interest on him. He is averaged 16+ point, 9+ rebound and play as soft as a scottie paper towel. Once the refs is starting calling the game favor on Yao, he will eventually became a superstar.
silentfan's problem is he has too high expectation on Yao Ming. As far as I know, REAL bball fans in China don't. Their fav players usually are Kobe, AI, KG kind of players. Although they believe Yao will have a solid position in NBA, Yao most likely will not develope into a HOF player. Many YOFs don't understand bball much, they usually put too much hype on Yao and lose patience very easily when Yao has a couple of bad games.
The Chinese army is hurting the draft stock... http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=insidedishbobcatsoptions&prov=tsn&type=lgns NBA scouts have been watching 6-10 Chinese PF Mo Ke, a pretty good shooter who moves well and can pass the ball. Mo is 21 and automatically draft eligible this year, but he plays for Bayi, the official team of the Chinese army. That happens to be the team that C Wang Zhizhi played for before he skipped out on returning to China and his army duties in the summer of 2002. Mo seems to be paying a price for Wang's actions, and any chance he has of being drafted in the first round effectively has been squashed by Bayi. "They have a death grip on the kid," says one league source. "After what happened with Wang, they're going to make it very difficult for Mo to leave."
Please.... I have to endure the label of YOF enough. By the creator definition , I do not recall being a selfish person who treat Yao like a tool like silentfan did. Please do not associate him with Yao's fans.
