Yao Ming: Boom or Bust?

[Chachi King]

What do YOU think?

Pros
7'5
7'5 with coordination and speed
7'5 with good passing ability
7'5 with range on his jumper
Good face up player

Cons
Tyrannosaurus Rex arms
Weak (got pushed around by a 6'6 Canadian nobody)
Playing against NCAA Div III caliber opposition
Bad post up game
Chinese government
Media pressure to live up to No. 1 hype
Got pushed around by Wang Zhizhi in the Chinese league
Skills will be unappreciated in the NBA game (who really wants a 7'5 center to shoot threes anyway)

[skyforge]

Yao Ming = Manute Bol


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"In all matters of opinion our adversaries are insane." Mark Twain

[CrewDust]

He's going to struggle at first but I think he will eventually become a star. But like any really tall player, can he avoid injuries.

[NorthGoalGang]

It's going to be funny when Shaq backs him down and knocks him into the 10th row.

[AndrewGK]

Originally posted by skyforge
Yao Ming = Manute Bol


__________________
"In all matters of opinion our adversaries are insane." Mark Twain


But Ming won't be as entertaining as Bol, who had that UGLY 3 point shot.

Best Manute story ever: In the book "The Jordan Rules" by Sam Smith, during a Sixers-Bulls game, Phil Jackson is yelling at the refs to call an illegal defense, saying that Bol is just camping out in the lane waiting to swat shots.

Bol apparently says to him in what was described as very broken English "Mother ******************, Mother ******************, Mother ******************, why do you pick on me, you Mother ******************".

Priceless :D

However, his life has really taken a turn for the worse, as he struggles on with life after basketball, trying to support his family in Sudan and help the country out. Most of his money he earned while being a 7 foot 6 inch flyswatter is pretty much gone now.

[Chachi King]

not to mention that horrible stint on "Celebrity Boxing" where he had to fight that Refrigerator guy.

it was like watching forced prostitution

[Bill Archer]

That commercial for "Cruising with Manute" is pretty funny though. Hope he gets a decent check for that.

Not as good as the classic Georgi Muresan Snickers commercial for the Aftershave that smelled like cabbage; nothing funnier than that gargoyle holding up the bottle and grinning into the microphone: "Chicks dig it"

Anyway, to the topic:

Who the hell wants a seven foot five guy out taking jump shots? They pay real players to do that shit.

Basketball seems to be working it's little buns off at marginalizing itself; seven-plus-foot freaks of nature, 17 year olds and gangsters. All they need now is a few bearded ladies and the Dog-Faced boy.

[SportBoy321]

Ming will do just fine. Shawn Bradley and Manute Bol those guys were sticks Ming is almost 300 lbs. Stand him next to those 2 guys and you can easily see the difference.

[skyforge]

When Shawn Bradley came along, people said "He's no Manute Bol."

Now we have Yao Ming and people say, "He's no Manute Bol or Shawn Bradley."

When the next freak emerges, people will say, "He's no Manute Bol, Shawn Bradley or Yao Ming."

I could be wrong, but until he demonstrates his ability in the NBA, ridicule and mockery are so much fun.


__________________
"In all matters of opinion our adversaries are insane." Mark Twain

[Chachi King]

Ben Wallace says that he's gonna beat Yao up in the coming matches with China. Yao better get ready to get a jostlin'.

I think Yao can end up being a decent player like Rik Smits. If anything because he just moves so well. Even Smits looked like he just lumbered along.

[Soccer-Six-Shooter]

I think he will need a year or two to adjust. Then IMO he will be an average player in the league. Thats no slouch. So my prediction is not a bust. With his height, you got to be a force inside with some moves. You cant teach height. His height alone will get him at least 10 points and 6 rebounds a game.

[skyforge]

Originally posted by Chachi King
Ben Wallace says that he's gonna beat Yao up in the coming matches with China. Yao better get ready to get a jostlin'.


The next English phrase Yao needs to learn, and fast: "Please don't hurt me."



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"The longer I live the more I see that I am never wrong about anything, and that all the pains I have so humbly taken to verify my notions have only wasted my time." George Bernard Shaw

[TrooperBari]

With time, Yao could be a pretty good player. It's a question of how much Houston is willing to adjust their offense to fit his current skill set and how quickly Yao can adjust to the speed of the NBA.

For now, though, Yao needs to focus on getting a handle on the local culture and his surroundings. Getting some extra steak and eggs in his body couldn't hurt, either.

[odg78]

Yao Ming is gonna be the Chinese Gheorge Muresan, only not as good. I see him getting dunked on quite often. Remember the French sensation, Frederic Weis (sp?), the one who had Vince Carter's scrotum surgically attached to the top of his head? Same thing. I wonder who's gonna win the pool by dunking on him first?

[skipshady]

My guess is that Yao will be a Arvidas Sabonis (the young, mobile Sabonis before all the knee surgeries) or a Rik Smits.

You have to keep in mind that he hasn't ever been on a muscle building program, since his Chinese club has discouraged anything that would set him apart from his teammates, like personal training. We'll see if he can add some mass to his frame.

Unlike Bradley or Bol, who played basketball because they were freakishly tall, Yao is a basketball player who happens to be freakishly tall.

He'll spend a couple of years adjusting the NBA style of ball learning to be aggressive, and he'll most likely end up as a solid pro but not a star. Of course, he won't be a shot blocker since his arms are relatively short so you can expect smaller, athletic players try to exploit this.

[Rapids/Arsenal Fan]

I guess he's got a good outside shot, but he's just too skinny. He'll get pummelled in the paint, and the defenses he face will be sophisticated enough that he won't be able to get a decent shot if he does get the ball outside.

He's a bust.

[skipshady]

Originally posted by Rapids/Arsenal Fan
I guess he's got a good outside shot, but he's just too skinny. He'll get pummelled in the paint, and the defenses he face will be sophisticated enough that he won't be able to get a decent shot if he does get the ball outside.

He's a bust. You obviously missed my previous post. You're right that Yao is too skinny to bang with NBA's big men right now, but you have to take into consideration that he has never been on a weight lifting program and his body is still developing as he is quite young still.

Yao might end up as the next Bradley or Bol but until we give him a few years, we won't know. The fact is, he hasn't had the chance to bulk up until now.

Remember that NBA has never had a 7'5"-plus center who could shoot and move and Yao is the first of his kind. We'll just have to wait and see how he turns out.

[Rapids/Arsenal Fan]

Originally posted by skipshady
You obviously missed my previous post. You're right that Yao is too skinny to bang with NBA's big men right now, but you have to take into consideration that he has never been on a weight lifting program and his body is still developing as he is quite young still.

Yao might end up as the next Bradley or Bol but until we give him a few years, we won't know. The fact is, he hasn't had the chance to bulk up until now.

Remember that NBA has never had a 7'5"-plus center who could shoot and move and Yao is the first of his kind. We'll just have to wait and see how he turns out.

Can somebody who is inherently skinny like that bulk up at all? Shaq is just large period, so he can build muscle just because he has that body type. But I think if you are just skinny to begin with, and as tall as Yao, it's almost impossible to put on enough muscle to compete. I'm sure Bradley was lifting all throughout high school and college, but it just wasn't happening for him.

[Chachi King]

Originally posted by Rapids/Arsenal Fan


Can somebody who is inherently skinny like that bulk up at all? Shaq is just large period, so he can build muscle just because he has that body type. But I think if you are just skinny to begin with, and as tall as Yao, it's almost impossible to put on enough muscle to compete. I'm sure Bradley was lifting all throughout high school and college, but it just wasn't happening for him.

Shawn Bradley was a wingnut when it came to weight training. Apparently, he was so embarrassed at his lack of strength compared to his teammates that he never put much effort into it. You gotta start somewhere. This was in the beginning of Bradley's career. He has gained a considerable amount of muscle since then, but he just wasn't meant to be basketball player in the first place. His coordination is horrible. I don't think bradley has ever had as good a season as Gheorge Muresan at his peak (10 ppg 6 reb) which unfortunately laste only one season.

Believe me, it is possible for anyone to bulk up. Even those little guys who burn up all the food in 5 seconds, if you gave them 5 times the food and forced them to do weights, they'll become ripped.

[skipshady]

Originally posted by Rapids/Arsenal Fan
Can somebody who is inherently skinny like that bulk up at all? Shaq is just large period, so he can build muscle just because he has that body type. But I think if you are just skinny to begin with, and as tall as Yao, it's almost impossible to put on enough muscle to compete. I'm sure Bradley was lifting all throughout high school and college, but it just wasn't happening for him. You see, you're assuming that he's inherently skinny. As I said before, Yao has never been on a weight lifting or nutritional program since personal training is frowned upon in China (no joke).

And as I've also said before, Yao is a basketball player who just so happens to be 7'5", unlike Bradley who wouldn't be in basketball were it not for his height.