I don't know about that. He'd be about 35 then, and he's starting to break down now. Then again, there is a possibility he could still dominate guys like the ones today. Hopefully not Ming though.
In 5 years, Shaq will probably be retired. He's already worried about his health, and I don't think he's the type that will play long after his peak. Which probably happened the year before last. Thanks for the heads-up, Franz Kafka. I think many people expect too much too quickly. I think Ming might very well be great - but not in a month, or even a year.
Wang was 255 lbs when he entered NBA. lb/in is not a good standard. lb/in^3 is a better standard. So, Yao and Wang's weight vs height^3 ratio is about the same. Yao is more musclar than Wang. But Yao has narrow shoulders so the potential to add more muscle is limited. Yao's height also has some negative effect on balancing. Yao was better than Wang in defense 2 years ago. But due to relatively slow lateral movement of Yao, the improvement in his defense will also be limited. In addition, I totallly agree with what Franz Kafka posted. If Yao can play like Shawn Bradley's rookie year, I will be happy.
Su Qun is a good reporter. He writes up his own stuff instead of copying other people's. But I don't think he is an NBA expert. From his photo (wearing a pair of thick glasses), I bet he doesn't play basketball himself. If he actually played on the street in America, he will understand how important the upper body strength is, and how a shorter player with thinner legs can out jump you easily. Most of us have larger legs than the horses. Are our legs stronger? The muscle type matters!
Wang is no where near 255 lbs when he entered NBA. Precisely, Wang's weight is listed at 220 lbs on NBA.com right now. Wang is still no where near 255 lbs even after bulking up this summer. There's no comparison between Wang and Yao's body type. Be prepared to be ecstatic.
It was reported by sina.com that Wang said he grew 5 lbs to 260 lbs after one month in NBA. From what I observe that 5 lbs was fat due to Cuban's treats after every game. It was reported before the summer league this year that Wang's weight is 264 lbs after a full day workout.
In Bradley's rookie year, his stats was 10.3 ppg, 6.2 rpg, and 3bpg. How much better do you think Yao can do? It is always easier said than done.
RC and Panda: Yeah, I heard the jet-lag excuse. It COULD be that jet-lag overcame all the adrenaline, preparation, hope, dreaming, and determination Ming could muster up for the most important hour of his life to date. Or, it could be that he just wasn't very fit yet. Dirk Nowitzki shuffled up and down the court as a rookie to Nellie's consternation and criticism. Now, he runs like a deer all game long. No biggie, Ming works on it. As far as Wang's future with the Mavs, Cuban has distanced himself from Wang's straying in order to protect the years of maddeningly slow, frustrating babysteps the Mavs have taken in building a relationship with the Chinese. Promises were made that the Mavs would allow Wang to return to the Chinese after the season ended. This doesn't mean the Mavs hog-tie him and toss him on a plane to China, but it does mean that they avoid creating any kind of perception of being in cahoots or abetting Wang's disapproved of summer activities. I've suspected that the Mavs and Wang knew each others' summer game plans long before the press started screaming about defection. Wang played over Bradley and Eschmeyer last season. Bradley and Esch both have long term deals for 3 million/yr, approximately. Figure what you will with that info what Cuban would be willing to match for his restricted FA. Cuban has said that he's waiting to see what happens when the Chinese arrive in the States for the Worlds at Indy before approaching Wang. Best case - Wang is allowed to join the team and play, and Cuban sends his agent an offer ... Wang loves Nash and Dirk. Worst case is that the Chinese are pi$$y and Wang is ostracized. Cuban probably rolls with the punches then. If both Wang and the Chinese dig in their heals, do you risk irking the Chinese by dancing with him? Cuban has used some pretty harsh terms in the past and lately to describe the Chinese gov't in expressing his frustration in dealing with it. He could go either way, and he'll go with what suits the Mavs best. Wang's got talent, if you add a little 'roidal attitude and fitness, then you might have something special ... well, as special as his short little alligator arms can bring in the NBA paint. Right now though, it's just wait-n-see until Wang approaches the Chinese team plane when it touches down in the good old US of A in a coupla weeks or so. TechLabor: Good point about Ming's height and balance. I've heard that the Mavericks' training staff is amazed that Bradley can accomplish as much as he pathetically does on the court. His center of gravity is so high that his balance is very precarious at best. They say we oughta appreciate the NBA brutality he overcomes up on those stilts. Ming APPEARS to have a slightly lower center of gravity. We'll see. It's still gonna be higher than everybody else's, and there are lots of strong-ass 6-10 guys in the NBA who can't wait to leverage his tipsy behind outta the paint. Rik Smits has always been an apt goal for Ming, IMO. It'll be interesting to see what he becomes. BTW and FWIW to those wearing rose-colored glasses -- I've seen the mentions about how poorly Bradley has fared in int'l competition in trying to compare and crow about Ming's int'l and CBA stats. Last summer, Bradley, still recovering from off-season knee-surgery, arrived in Germany 10 hours before his first weekend back-to-back test matches with his new German teammates. A week later, he travels to Turkey for the European Championships where he deservedly rides pine behind Patrick Femerling. He wasn't in shape, or healthy. He didn't know his teammates, their games, or the team philosophy - (give Dirk the ball, most likely). He didn't know the language. He was probably even still jet-lagged. The best thing he had going for him was that the German headcoach (Finlander Heinrich Dettmann) is a MORMON! And you wanna use the stats Bradley accumulated under those conditions, in those few games, to boost Ming's GREATNESS in comparison? I'd look elsewhere ...
Wang's arms are small but not short. Ming's arms are short relative to his height. But Ming seems to have stronger desire to succeed.
I guess for us Rox fans, the biggest worry about the Wang thing is that Cuban might say something stupid that irks the Chinese so much they pull all their players out of the NBA.
There is a difference when 6-11 Dirk Nowitzki flashes out at a jump-shooter with his arm extended than what is seen when short-armed 7-1 Wang tries the same. We disagree on that point. Wang's desire to succeed has put him at risk of losing his right to play for China ... maybe put him at risk of maintaining both his NBA career AND the freedom to come and go across Chinese borders as needed to maintain that career (you know, like other human beings with family and friends get to do) ... maybe even put him at risk of needing to outright defect in order to succeed. We disagree on that point, also. Rocket fans need to consider that as long as ANY sort of Chinese leash is maintained around Ming's availability for US development, they will never see Ming meet his full potential. He will be forever under-developed as long as the Chinese hold sway on his comings and goings. Wang seems to realize this and has gone his own way. Instead of 'Clutchcity,' maybe Houston will become 'Compromisecity.'
I am SOOOOOOO sorry for posting this, but I had to do it. Franz, that HAD to be intentional, right? It sounds like a bad interpretation of a Chinese Penthouse article!! LMAO!!!
Dirk's arms are super long. Wang's arms are ok. Wang's wingspan is longer than his height. Dirk is sometimes listed as 7-0. The height difference between Wang and Dirk is smaller than 1 inch no matter how they are listed. Wang's jumping ability is pretty good, he can reach 12'2''. Yao's work ethic is good, which can be seen from the muscle on his arms and shoulders. He gained all the muscle in three years. Wang hasn't improved much since he was 18 due to lack of competition in China.
Very goodpoints on Ming's balance and stamina. The key to both will be how he is used. If he's asked to bang like a 6-10 PF he will fail. That is (as pointed out by Kafka and others) because he hasn't had much anaerobic training and because his gravity center is too high. Fortunately Rudy understands this very well and he discussed it in the early interviews. The key is to play him like a 7-6 center, not like a 6-10 center. He can use spacing and footwork to keep himself between the basket and his man. 7-6 is quite an obstacle. He can give some space and still it would be hard to shoot over him. Also when posted he can back up, let the attacking player closer to the basket, but still keep him in front of himself and make it difficult to score. That's what Sabonis used to do with Dream with some pretty good success. If Yao plays a smart, finesse game and is not asked to bang much, stamina will not be a problem. He has pretty good aerobic quoefficent, he's played back-to-back 48 minutes in China.
Are you an editor of playboy? Regarding this topic, Finch in "Just shoot me" is pretty good because he thought his was just above average after watching all the p*rn movies. I know I am off topic again. As a punishment to myself. I won't post until the season starts.
Glad you brought this up. I think one thing the Mavs figured is that the new zone rules were MADE for a player like Bradley. The opposite turned out to be true. He was horrible -- constantly out of position because of his huge, un-quick strides and poor decision-making. Repeated fouls and falls to the floor coming too late from the weak side, repeated 3-D calls in the lane, repeated camera shots of Bradley sulking at the end of the bench because he never got to play. I've wondered if the youngster Ming will be agile enough (and if so, for how long?) to overcome the problems Bradley faced with the new zone rules. Not to mention the NBA ingnorance and language barriers he faces in his newbie decision-making. Just more reasons not to overreact Rox fans. I tell you what, if Ming seems be a player right off the bat, y'all may have something there in Houston. But, I suspect the arc of his development won't meet some of your expectations for the reasons discussed.
Kafka, I think you totally misunderstood me, and also you couldn't be more wrong. Ming is extremely familiar with the zone from everything I've heard and is a terrific weak-side defender. He's a student of the game and understands the playing situations very well. If Rudy decides to float him Ming will have no problems. The comparison to Bradley is totally out of line. Look at international competition, where a lot of zone defense is played. Ming is a star there, while Bradley (who somehow turned out to be a German) is even more mediocre than he is in the NBA. What I was talking about was the man-to-man defense where some comparison with Bradley can be made. Both Ming and Bradley are not bangers and cannot be counted on to "outbang" their men. I was saying that with Ming that may not be necessary if he just uses his dimesions instead of his strength to interfere with the offensive player's path to the basket. This is what Sabonis used to do very successfully. Bradley cannot use this tactics very much because he is not as wide as Ming and Sabonis and frankly is a bit dumb.
RC Cola:- In FIVE years Shaq will be going on 36yrs of age, he will be 400lbs, smoking Cigars, lounging arround and working his investments. He will make his Farewell Tour after we win it all in 05 and retire to Manvel Texas.
