Yi is such a tease ... sometimes a scrub, sometimes not

[rocket_zoom]

Was following him last year for the Bucks. He starts the season out strong, you think he has potential, and then he plays like a scrub for the rest of the year.

This year, he has the 24 point game in Miami, and then he has a series of games where he is playing like a scrub again since the Miami game.

And when I'm about to give up on him, he has his best game putting in 27 points.

He needs to work on his inside game. When he rounds out his inside game and scores more points fromt he paint, I think his consistency will come. Unfortunately, he is relying too much on his jumper and his 3 pt game to get him going.

I also think it's mental with him. It's like sometimes he doesn't focus, and then he can focus on nights like tonight.

[DrM]

He has been attacking the basket more (but still need to learn how to protect the ball better). As his inside game develops, he'll be more consistent in his offensive output.

His defense is improving also. He did a good job tonight in rotating and helping. As his defense improves, he will also get more playing time and will make bigger contributions at both ends of the floor.

[tidbit]

Was following him last year for the Bucks. He starts the season out strong, you think he has potential, and then he plays like a scrub for the rest of the year.

This year, he has the 24 point game in Miami, and then he has a series of games where he is playing like a scrub again since the Miami game.

And when I'm about to give up on him, he has his best game putting in 27 points.

He needs to work on his inside game. When he rounds out his inside game and scores more points fromt he paint, I think his consistency will come. Unfortunately, he is relying too much on his jumper and his 3 pt game to get him going.

I also think it's mental with him. It's like sometimes he doesn't focus, and then he can focus on nights like tonight.

Be patient.
it takes time to develop his body, to be stronger.
he made only 6 of 21 3pts in Bucks last season, but now, he make big progress on the 3pts line.

don't take it for granted, and complain that he shoot too much outside, if he can't shoot outside(jumper and 3pts), he can't even get on the court.

He and his coach know this, and he tried several times under the rim tonight.

if you are Yi's fan, be patient, and he will never let you down, if not, come on as you like.

[vincecarter4pres]

^^^^^Agreed.

He is going to take time to develope.
Hell, a lot of lotto picks never even show much promise at all.
Yi at least has shown he has the tools and abilities to become a very effective and succesful impact player as long as he works hard, acclimates and adjusts, gets his confidence up and keeps learning.

Bargnani is in his 3rd year and up until this season has looked like a grade A bust and yet even with his major improvement in this young season he is still is inconsistent and hasn't proven much.

By the end of they year, I think Yi will have improved by leaps and bounds and in 2 or 3 more seasons will be a hell of a player.

[gamer4Life]

It's all about matchups. Some teams cause him trouble, some teams he's effective against.

[howe070523]

I think it has got something to do with his mentality as a professional player.
I noticed that his performance was always affected by his offensive production, say if hes got a hot shooting night he would normally play aggresively on the defensive end otherwise he would probably look lost out there and getting owned here and there.

Yi needs to understand his role and assert himself. Hes not the top 2 option in nets' offense so he has to focus on D and Rebound, no matter hes got hot hands or not.

[tidbit]

It's all about matchups. Some teams cause him trouble, some teams he's effective against.

I don't think so,
Camby is one of the best defender.

[Stone]

I feel he needs time to develope also. He is only a sophmore in the league. The thing with Yi is I don't really know anything about his past before he got here. How much did he play? Will he again hit a rookie wall this year being last year he did not play a complete season? Like we said when we got him it's a high risk high reward situation. I don't think we'll really know his potential for two or three seasons.

[tidbit]

I feel he needs time to develope also. He is only a sophmore in the league. The thing with Yi is I don't really know anything about his past before he got here. How much did he play? Will he again hit a rookie wall this year being last year he did not play a complete season? Like we said when we got him it's a high risk high reward situation. I don't think we'll really know his potential for two or three seasons.

His potential is visible on the court now, the question is how to develop it.
Good potential doesn't guarantee a good future, the HRHR situation will last for about two years

[6_Rings]

i think it has something to do with focus. he hardly played in the big game vs Toronto, and maybe be resented it and played angry vs the Clips. It has to do with the coaching then. keep him revved up and gung-ho every game. the talent is there, just proper coaching in the next couple of seasons and you have yourself the Asian KG.

[jerseyjac]

its called being a sophmore in the NBA...

[DrM]

A slightly different topic on Yi (since I don't know how to create a new thread):

I was browsing the NBA.com/statistics website and was looking at the +/- STATS page.

http://www.nba.com/statistics/plusminus/plusminus.jsp

The best 5-, 4- and 3-players combination are all Cavaliers.

The best 2-player combination is Vince Carter - Yi.
The best 1-player combination is Yi.

The detail listings only show statistics from past years, so I could not confirm if this is true.
This is hard to believe.
Would someone who is more knowledgeable look into this and confirm or explain?

[Birth of the Cool]

A slightly different topic on Yi (since I don't know how to create a new thread):

I was browsing the NBA.com/statistics website and was looking at the +/- STATS page.

http://www.nba.com/statistics/plusminus/plusminus.jsp

The best 5-, 4- and 3-players combination are all Cavaliers.

The best 2-player combination is Vince Carter - Yi.
The best 1-player combination is Yi.

The detail listings only show statistics from past years, so I could not confirm if this is true.
This is hard to believe.
Would someone who is more knowledgeable look into this and confirm or explain?

I could be wrong here but Yi's +/- is so high as a direct result of Frank's use of Yi's minutes.

For example, since Frank found out that Anderson's all-around ability on offense exceeds any liabilities he has on defense (doesn't hurt Najera playing sub-par) Frank has had confidence in giving Yi the quicker hook if he see's Yi is not playing well and sometimes Yi's own foul troubles on defense means he get's to sit on the bench early...well what does this mean to Yi's +/-....to me it means when Yi is not playing well or in foul trouble (having a bad game) he is riding the pine and not out there getting negative +/- while he is playing bad, and on the other hand when he has the hot hand he's obviously getting more minutes...this all adds up to a skewed upwards +/- for Yi.

and the top 2 combo on VC/Yi is again skewed because of Yi's own skewed +/-....since VC plays lots of minutes whether the team is doing good or bad his +/- will normally be lower.

+/- by itself without knowing how a specific player's minutes are being used can be a false indicator. At least that's my understanding/explanation of the Yi +/- phenomenon. Someone else may have a better answer...

[tidbit]

A slightly different topic on Yi (since I don't know how to create a new thread):

I was browsing the NBA.com/statistics website and was looking at the +/- STATS page.

http://www.nba.com/statistics/plusminus/plusminus.jsp

The best 5-, 4- and 3-players combination are all Cavaliers.

The best 2-player combination is Vince Carter - Yi.
The best 1-player combination is Yi.

The detail listings only show statistics from past years, so I could not confirm if this is true.
This is hard to believe.
Would someone who is more knowledgeable look into this and confirm or explain?

The page you mention is for last night only. and Yi deserve it.
the detail is for what from the beginning of this season,

if you see more for the individual, James and Kobe lead the list:
http://www.nba.com/statistics/plusminus ... it=9&team=

[Birth of the Cool]

The page you mention is for last night only. and Yi deserve it.
the detail is for what from the beginning of this season,

if you see more for the individual, James and Kobe lead the list:
http://www.nba.com/statistics/plusminus ... it=9&team=

uhm..this reason works too lol
* blush *

[tidbit]

A slightly different topic on Yi (since I don't know how to create a new thread):

I was browsing the NBA.com/statistics website and was looking at the +/- STATS page.

http://www.nba.com/statistics/plusminus/plusminus.jsp

The best 5-, 4- and 3-players combination are all Cavaliers.

The best 2-player combination is Vince Carter - Yi.
The best 1-player combination is Yi.

The detail listings only show statistics from past years, so I could not confirm if this is true.
This is hard to believe.
Would someone who is more knowledgeable look into this and confirm or explain?

I could be wrong here but Yi's +/- is so high as a direct result of Frank's use of Yi's minutes.

For example, since Frank found out that Anderson's all-around ability on offense exceeds any liabilities he has on defense (doesn't hurt Najera playing sub-par) Frank has had confidence in giving Yi the quicker hook if he see's Yi is not playing well and sometimes Yi's own foul troubles on defense means he get's to sit on the bench early...well what does this mean to Yi's +/-....to me it means when Yi is not playing well or in foul trouble (having a bad game) he is riding the pine and not out there getting negative +/- while he is playing bad, and on the other hand when he has the hot hand he's obviously getting more minutes...this all adds up to a skewed upwards +/- for Yi.

and the top 2 combo on VC/Yi is again skewed because of Yi's own skewed +/-....since VC plays lots of minutes whether the team is doing good or bad his +/- will normally be lower.

+/- by itself without knowing how a specific player's minutes are being used can be a false indicator. At least that's my understanding/explanation of the Yi +/- phenomenon. Someone else may have a better answer...

Right.
All coaches will put the hot hand player on the court, and will put him on the bench if he is not a key player.

[DrM]

[quote][The page you mention is for last night only. /quote]

Yes. Thanks.

Now regarding how Yi's minutes are used by Frank - I just want to you guys 2 follow-up questions :

1. Rebounding is not known to be Yi's strong point. In games when Boone was starting, Yi was having a better rebound average than when Lopez is starting. Can this be explained by the slightly different role he's playing in the game when he's paired with Lopez? Also, Yi's assignment includes much of the time in the periphery in offense and the player he defends also tends to be more mobile and play farther from the basket in general. Does it follows that his rebounding ability is actually a little better than his actual numbers so far?

2. Defense is also not known to be Yi's strong point. But Milwaukee was not exactly a place that teaches a young player to play defense. How do you rate Yi's progress in learning to play defense so far this year in terms of covering his primary responsibility, helping/rotating, etc.

[Nets9]

Yi need to get stronger... put 10lbs of muscle on hie upper body...then he be able to post...just get quicker...

[No. 12]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nItAbVliP-I&fmt=18

[rag-time4]

[The page you mention is for last night only. /quote]

Yes. Thanks.

Now regarding how Yi's minutes are used by Frank - I just want to you guys 2 follow-up questions :

1. Rebounding is not known to be Yi's strong point. In games when Boone was starting, Yi was having a better rebound average than when Lopez is starting. Can this be explained by the slightly different role he's playing in the game when he's paired with Lopez? Also, Yi's assignment includes much of the time in the periphery in offense and the player he defends also tends to be more mobile and play farther from the basket in general. Does it follows that his rebounding ability is actually a little better than his actual numbers so far?

2. Defense is also not known to be Yi's strong point. But Milwaukee was not exactly a place that teaches a young player to play defense. How do you rate Yi's progress in learning to play defense so far this year in terms of covering his primary responsibility, helping/rotating, etc.

1. Yes! Rebounding as an individual stat is often overrated. The key is always to see how many offensive boards the player gives up, particularly to the opposing player he's matched up with and supposed to be boxing out.

2. I think Yi needs to be more aggressive on both ends. He has the ability to block some shots, though he doesn't have the explosive athleticism of Stromile Swift of Shawn Williams. Yi can be better defensively if he plays defense more aggressive. Offensively, he needs to attack the basket more and get to the line. He's often compared to Nowitzki in terms of his offense, but Nowitzki for his career averages over 6 free throw attempts per game, while Yi averages only 2. In Stromile Swift's second season, when he played about as many minutes as Yi plays now, Swift averaged over 4 free throw attempts per game. I say that to say that Yi can do much better in terms of his aggression. Swift is not regarded as a good offensive player, yet he has consistently been more aggressive and more able to get to the foul line. Yi shot 8 free throws in the last game, which is a sign of what he's capable of. Let's see that aggression on a more consistent basis!

Also, looking at that +/- stat page, does anyone know what the column +/- min means?