Yi Talk (Merging) Current Topic: Is Yi A Legit Talent?

[Nets9]

It's painful to watch yi plays sometimes..cause I know he got the talent and size.. sometimes I think he is still tying to get comfortable with the speed and physical of the nba games.. ..Milwaukees traded Dirk Nowitzki away after 3 or 4 years and now they regret it..

Yi need to put 10 to 15 lbs of muscle...

lets see in year 3 and 4...

[skones]

It's painful to watch yi plays sometimes..cause I know he got the talent and size.. sometimes I think he is still tying to get comfortable with the speed and physical of the nba games.. ..Milwaukees traded Dirk Nowitzki away after 3 or 4 years and now they regret it..

Yi need to put 10 to 15 lbs of muscle...

lets see in year 3 and 4...

Im not sure if it's what you meant or not, but Milwaukee dealt Dirk in a deal arranged prior to even drafting him, not three or four years. Dirk was never going to be a Buck.

As for everything else, you're 100% correct. I think it's the physicality more than anything else. In China he generally was the biggest and most athletic player on the floor. In the NBA, he's just not. He's got a unique skill set, it's just a matter of him putting it together. Yi REALLY needs an offseason without any national team obligations. He can put on the weight he needs and he can tune the parts of his game he needs to excel. He certainly didn't get that this past summer. Once he does, look out.

[DrM]

Agree that increasing his upper body strength and adpating to the physicality, talent level and level of aggressiveness in approaching the game are certainly very important for pretty much every aspect of his game. In this young season so far, he has shown to be more aggressive defensively and on the boards, averaging 7.8 rebounds/game at this point (although still in consistently). The better he plays defense (steals and blocks and less fouls) and control the board (rebounds) and the more he helps out in offense (picks and screens and assists), the more playing time he'll get and the offensive results will come with it.

Very often when people (including his coaches) discuss what he'll need to work on to become one of the better PFs, they envision a more traditional 7-footer PF. I think people should keep his unique combination of height, speed and shooting touch in mind and help him to develop his game to fit his unique strengths. He can work on his ball-handling, driving to the basket, learning to protect the ball from steals and blocks in the peripheray and especially when going to the rim. With his speed and height and athleticism, this combination of mid-to-long-range peripheral game and blitz attack of the basket will make him very potent offensively. The ability to attack the basket is also very helpful on nights when his peripheral shots are off. (Adding 10-15 lbs of muscles will help him to be more effective while not too much to make him to lose any quickness.)

It be said that big men take longer to develop in the NBA. So the development will take another 2-3 years. The chances are still good that he'll become one of the better PFs in the league.

[jerseyjac]

I'm fine with him so far...even through the inconsistencies...his defense, rebounding and overall aggresiveness has impressed me...he has time to find his place with this team...just has to stay confident with that shot...

[S.I.C. GM]

I think this is a reflection of the Coach.

I know it is early but

FIRE FRANK!!!!!! FIRE BRIAN HILL!!!!!!

[Nets9]

It's painful to watch yi plays sometimes..cause I know he got the talent and size.. sometimes I think he is still tying to get comfortable with the speed and physical of the nba games.. ..Milwaukees traded Dirk Nowitzki away after 3 or 4 years and now they regret it..

Yi need to put 10 to 15 lbs of muscle...

lets see in year 3 and 4...

Im not sure if it's what you meant or not, but Milwaukee dealt Dirk in a deal arranged prior to even drafting him, not three or four years. Dirk was never going to be a Buck.

As for everything else, you're 100% correct. I think it's the physicality more than anything else. In China he generally was the biggest and most athletic player on the floor. In the NBA, he's just not. He's got a unique skill set, it's just a matter of him putting it together. Yi REALLY needs an offseason without any national team obligations. He can put on the weight he needs and he can tune the parts of his game he needs to excel. He certainly didn't get that this past summer. Once he does, look out.

My bad! I apologized...but yeah, Dirk Nowitzki was drafted in the 1998 NBA draft with the number ninth pick by Milwaukee Bucks and was than traded to the Dallas Maverick for the 19th pick pat garrity and robert traylor the sixth pick, in a pre arranged deal... on darft day...

I hope Yi do as well as Dirk.. Bucks Bucks ouch! hehe

[jerseyjac]

I think this is a reflection of the Coach.

I know it is early but

FIRE FRANK!!!!!! FIRE BRIAN HILL!!!!!!

I know he has been in some foul trouble...but overall, he should be seeing more minutes...

[BasketBrain]

When I see Yi, I don't see the comparison's to Dirk and I don't think he will ever be a legit all star player.

The player that does come to mind everytime I see Yi play though is Keith Van Horn. They both have great shooting touches, both can rebound pretty well, both were defensive liabilities and they both like to raise there arms after making a three pointer. Both also have a tendency to do a fancy lay up instead of a hard rim rattling dunk.

[Preludepunk27]

In the Suns/Nets game Yi would have had an AWESOME rebound throwdown if Sean Williams didn't screw it up and get in the way, then only make 1 of 2 from the line. I saw it on TV and sat up...then Sean ruined it.

Anyway, I love Yi, I think people are forgetting Dirk's first 2-3 years in the league. He was rail thin compared to what he is now. Yi looks like he does hustle pretty well. He looks like he wants to play well. I think he lacks a killer instinct which is what I feel is needed to become an elite player in this league. Again though, the kid is 20, still learning the ropes and has huge weight on his shoulders by the NJ/NY media, the NBA for expanding their brand and 1 billion people on the other side of the world.

If I were the Nets, I'd think about getting this kid a shrink, even if it's just someone to talk to for a while. Once he learns to let go and do what he wants to do, I think that killer instinct can come. I don't think he'll ever be like our #1 scoring option on offense or the guy we draw a play for with the final shot, but I could see him being a cornerstone of our team. I've been impressed with what I've seen. He's technically a rookie again almost. Played 1 year where he missed some time. Now in a totally new system. He'll catch on.

[Da big3]

Hard to tell, when his shoe brand company becomes popular than will his game, example D-wade...

[ecuhus1981]

Well, tonight might have been Exhibit A in Yi's case for not only being a legit talent, but an elite one.

Seriously, look at this line:

26 points (on 7/11 FG, 5-6 FT and 5-6 3PT), 10 rebounds, 4 assists (to only 2 turnovers) and a block in 37 minutes.

Our Devin-less team may not have been able to defeat the mighty mighty Miami Heat ( ), but I am impressed with this type of performance out of Jianlian.

[NOODLESTYLE]

I definitley think Yi can be a deserving All-star player because of his potential, not sure if he can be a Superstar of Franchise player but that's the hype he has to carry.

Tonight's stats against the Heat were great, but most of those points were shooting 3 pointers and I don't expect Yi to do that every game. I hope to see Yi eventually develop his post game more and eventually attacks the basket on a consistent basis. It's still early to say on what kind of player Yi will eventually become. However, hopefully if he keeps working hard on his game and becomes consistent then maybe one day he'll be one of the more big time players.

If this Nets team can stay together for a couple of seasons I like the potential with Brook Lopez, Yi, Devin Harris, etc .

[DrM]

He can work on his ball-handling, driving to the basket, learning to protect the ball from steals and blocks in the peripheray and especially when going to the rim. With his speed and height and athleticism, this combination of mid-to-long-range peripheral game and blitz attack of the basket will make him very potent offensively. The ability to attack the basket is also very helpful on nights when his peripheral shots are off.

During today's game, Mike Fratello also said that when Yi has developed the proficiency to attack the basket (and draw fouls), the combination of his inside and outside game is a very lethal combination.

[skones]

Well, tonight might have been Exhibit A in Yi's case for not only being a legit talent, but an elite one.

Seriously, look at this line:

26 points (on 7/11 FG, 5-6 FT and 5-6 3PT), 10 rebounds, 4 assists (to only 2 turnovers) and a block in 37 minutes.

Our Devin-less team may not have been able to defeat the mighty mighty Miami Heat ( ), but I am impressed with this type of performance out of Jianlian.

It's a great line, no doubt, but with the way he's playing, it'll be an anomaly. He's not going to make 5 threes every game. In looking at the shot chart, he took one shot in the paint during his 37 minutes of play. That's not a good sign.

He had a huge game against Charlotte last year too.
29 points 10 rebounds 3 assists 3 steals 1 block 14/17 from the field 2 TO's

[EvilCarrot]

It's a great line, no doubt, but with the way he's playing, it'll be an anomaly. He's not going to make 5 threes every game. In looking at the shot chart, he took one shot in the paint during his 37 minutes of play. That's not a good sign.

He had a huge game against Charlotte last year too.
29 points 10 rebounds 3 assists 3 steals 1 block 14/17 from the field 2 TO's

That's true.
It's obvious that Yi have to learn to play in the post, and I'm sure Yi knows that well. Actually, he's dribbling's not so good and that's one thing that keeps him from attacking the rim, escpecially in NBA type of deffensives.
I watch him play the CBA pretty much as I'm from the same province as him.(also a fan of the GD tigers, pretty suck name, eh?) He could protect the ball well, and drives to the hoop pretty easy because of his agility and power, and he could score a lot without much post moves. But in NBA, it's a totally different world, so he have to improve on his strengh, dribbling and post move. It's not so easy for a foreign rookie to go through the hard time. I believe in him, He's smart, and knows what he should do.
ps:sorry for the hard time reading my english,T_T

[St.Nick]

I don't think Yi is 20 years old, guys. I'm pretty certain that a vast majority of fans-- outside of NJ, MIL, and China-- believe that he is more like 24 or 25 years old. Its hard to tell just by looking at his baby face, but his legs are incredibly defined for someone that is only "20 years old."

And I just don't see how he could have been playing for several seasons in the CBL, making him only 15-16 years old when he started.

Also keep in mind, when he was 14 years old he was 6'11. Did he only grow 1-2 inches from age 14 to age 19? Not likely.

Anyways, I think Yi can be a Van Horn-lite, like another person said. He will have his games where he is hitting all of his outside shots and he will grab some rebounds. But mainly he will be a frustrating player if you are hoping for him to become a consistent star. He just doesn't have the athleticism or the toughness to enforce his game on defenders on a regular basis.

I definitely think he can stick around in the league for a long time, but he will be best served to a team as a backup situational player that can exploit specific matchups.

[MnM_McgradyMing]

I don't think Yi is 20 years old, guys. I'm pretty certain that a vast majority of fans-- outside of NJ, MIL, and China-- believe that he is more like 24 or 25 years old. Its hard to tell just by looking at his baby face, but his legs are incredibly defined for someone that is only "20 years old."

Everyone in China knows Yi is not born in 1987.

[St.Nick]

A negative statement that mentions race (actually nationality in this exmaple) does not necessarily have to be "racist" in nature.

There are a lot of Chinese fans that follow Yi around and as a group, they can absolutely be deemed "annoying."

On the GS board we get a lot of die hard Marco Belinelli fans from Italy. Some people find them annoying.

Does this mean that anyone being annoyed by a group of Chinese fans or Italian fans has no right to express their opinion about the group, just because they are being grouped--rightfully so-- by their nationality? Absolutely not.

When someone really is a racist, there is no question about it. If there needs to be some sort of convincing debate about his racism, then its likely not true.

[St.Nick]

Duely noted

[YiOF]

lol, this joker again.