One thing that puzzles me about Yao Ming is the number of people posting here saying "none of us have ever seen him" etc...and then preferring to hope the hype is true, and the knockers are wrong. Everyone here who follows basketball has seen him...or at least, should have seen him, as he played for China at the last Olympics against your USA team. (Also, against our national team...Australia) Thus...he is far from an 'unknown commodity'. Guys like 'Popeye' obviously know that. So would Houston's management. Looking at the Olympics, what concerns me is that he didn't dominate. He put up acceptable figures, but he never had a monster game. What also concerns me is that, we played some 'lead up' games v China and beat them. Now, we aren't bad...but were not exactly full of NBA players. I expected him to dominate and he didn't. Our big guys, who all failed to make it to the NBA, were able to push him around a bit too much for my liking. In the Olympics, China was the second favourite behind the USA...and didn't even make the 1/4 Finals. They were smashed by 20 by Spain. If you read the articles from the Asian basketball press...they are not going over the top. They are saying that he is a good player with potential. When people follow the hype proclaim "he could redefine the position" they are being blinded by visions of a 7'5 Shaq. That's the thing...if a 7'5 Shaq ever came along, then that guy WOULD change the game and dominate for a decade. The thing is though, Yao is not a 7'5 Shaq. Certainly, he has more bulk than Bradley...and is MUCH better already. However, his game is more like Rik Smits. He's a very good shooter, who will drain good ranged shots all day...but frustrate you when you see 5 rebounds only against his name etc. Certainly, he'll be a good / very good NBA player. The center position is VERY weak depth wise. Rik Smits was a very good player in an era of GREAT centers. Thus...even if he's only as good as Rik, in an era lacking class in that position, he'll stand out. (Excuse the pun!) Is that such a bad thing? A guy who is better than Rik Smits potentially? Personally, I don't think so. Just don't ever expect a 7'5 Shaq. Against all that...and at the risk of contradicting myself, Yao was only 20 at the Olympics and is still only 22. He has the potential to rapidly improve. That's hard to ignore. If he does do that, and it's not for us...that first 30 / 20 game is going to hurt big time. The bottom line though is that there is enough evidence out there for the Rocks management to make a solid decision. He is not the great unknown, and I doubt they'll be persuaded by the hype. He is a 22 year old who has played at International level for a few years now. As of now, he hasn't dominated at that level...but has the potential to do so.
The point that he was 20 at the time puts a lot of prespective on his lack of dominance. Put EG in the olympics and see what he would do. Yet some people thing EG is going to be superstar .
I support your most viewpoints, but has some truth to tell you all. 1. If you are really pay attention to China Basketball team in Sydney. You should know the weak point of Chinese team is guard. Most points that the opponents got were from out-of-paint. And if you have seen the match between china bball team and other team in that group, you will find Ming and other members in the frontcourt have the domination. In the key match with France(Not the spain), China team also had the domination in the paint, but a shooter in France team got 6 or 7 3-point and defeated china team solely. 2. I don't think Ming is a good shooter now. I am from Shanghai, China. I have seen every match about sharks (Shanghai bball team). I should tell you frankly Ming has a big weak point now. He can't get 40 percent or above from the out-of-paint, if the defence physically touched him. Personally I think the defensive skill of Ming is better than his offensivee skill, he can cover most of the paint when in the defensive time. Of course, he has a long time to adapt the NBA defence and offence, because in Shanghai he is almost the only big man to defend in the paint and get the rebound. And I don't think he will get only 5 rebound in NBA, yes, I don't believe it. If he get 20 mins in a game, I guess he can get 10 or above rebounds. 3. The another weak point of Ming, I think, is his foul. In Sydney, he got 3 or 4 foul in 12 mins when met USA dream team. This is really a big question but I think it is easy to change, just need some time. 4. Additional point. Ming is a genius. You can easily find it from his assistant. WoW, Francise will happy to hear it. 5. I don't know much about the manager of Houston rocket, although I know lot of his team. I have been a fan of Rocket when Charles was in this team. I guess I will be the fan again if you draft Ming. So could anyone tell me about the manager of Rockets, he is the key man for Ming.
Welcome MissCharles--Can't hit 40% out of the paint? That's a terrible endorsement. Is it correct to assume in the CBA 95% of his shots come from within the paint because he shoots an amazing percentage? Also getting 10 rebounds on average in 20 mins is just insane. Not even Ben Wallace does that nor did Rodman. I feel he'll be one hell of a rebonder but the best ever in the histroy of the NBA?
Hi Miss Charles Lay ho mah I enjoyed reading your post...please post more! I agree with what you said, that China's losses were mainly a result of their poor guard play. However, and this was my main point, I was disappointed with Yao in terms of he didn't dominate. Ie, if he was a 'genius' then maybe he should have had that big 40 / 20 game that carried China further. As it was, he had too many 12 and 6 games IMO. Re the rebounding...there's a big difference between Chinese league rebounds and NBA rebounds. Ben Wallace and Tim Duncan would get 50 a game etc if they played in that league... Can you elaborate further on WHY you think Yao will be such a good NBA rebounder? ie, how is his technique? is he an aggressive rebounder? I think he will need to be to succeed at that level. I worry that a lot of his rebounds in China are "fall into his hands" types. ie...even I can grab a rebound over guys a foot and a half smaller than me...
Yes, in CBA, 50% of his points is in the paint, 30% of his points is from foul shot, and the other is from the out-of-paint. Maybe my poor english expression makes you confused. I mean in CBA, he can get 10 or above rebounds in 20 mins.
Thanks for the reply. We've seen through limited internet video feeds and statistics what he can do in China but nobody's sure what he can do over here. His breakdown in how he scores his points helps me out. Thanks for the input. Nice to have you onboard.
First of all, please call me Leslie, I am a boy. My nickname just means I miss Charles Barkley a lot. Yes, you are right. I can't give you more data to prove my guess. I know there is a big difference between NBA and CBA. I admit my guess is subjective somewhere. If Ming is drafted by Rockets, I think he will mainly in charge of the rebound. In this season, Cato got 7 rebound per game, in my view, Ming can do better than Cato(Of course, that's only my view at least is my hope).
I can't wait to use the #1 draft pick on a guy who's better than Cato!! thanks for your help, Leslie!!
Yao Ming's defence has no peer in CBA. Given his height and quickness, It will be hard for those SF or guards to get points in the paint. (All they can do is to make a high fling curve ball over Ming's reach) But he needs more experience to find his way to block dead those PF and Cs in NBA. I remember when he first got started for Shanghai Sharks in CBA, he was thrown around by Bateer and Zhizhi in the paint. That was in 1999. But a year after, Bateer and Zhizhi had to make most of their shots outside the paint. From this point you can see this guy is really intelligent. He needs to fine his pace of game. Otherwise back to back games will just suck him out. No wonder more energy is needed for a 7"5 center to move like a SF. Rik smith is a good player but not that kind of players who can drive the whole team and can make points when his team needs them most. But Yao Ming is a born leader and knows when he has to stand up for his team. Sometimes, mental traits are far more important than just height, shooting ability, etc. It is the brain that decides a player's future.
