Yi's Emerging Skill: English

It’s great that Kiki is going back to the very foundation of sports—-one has to enjoy playing the game. Of course, one would even enjoy more if the team is winning. It’s also good to know that Dooling is making it a point to talk to Yi every day. Yi really needs veterans’ help on and off the court. Dooling is very nice to show a green foreign player the American hospitality. Even though I think Yi is kinda a high maintenence player, he really has taken enough abuses from some of our fellow countrymen. Despite all the crap he took, he always says the right things (very politically correct) during interviews.

Sort of cool how Yi is playing well just as several zillion people are following his activities. Here’s a quote from another People’s Daily article:

“As Yi was the only Chinese basketball player who would still play this NBA season after Sun Yue was dropped by the New York Knicks and Yao Ming is missing the NBA season because of his left foot injury, Yi’s performance drew great attention of Chinese fans.

“So far 33,822 netizens have participated in an online vote created by sina, the largest Chinese-language infotainment web portal, and about 67.2% of the voters believed Yi’s comeback performance “was quite thrilling” and 29.0% voted “wait and see” while only 3.3% voters were discontent with his performance.

“Millions of Chinese fans left scores of comments about the game on the Web, most of which are complimentary.

“What a fan wrote got most favorable responses. “Yi has potential but still lack competitiveness. No matter how he plays in the future, I hope that Chinese fans would encourage him because we all desired to see him as another great icon similar to Yao Ming.”

Asian people has a different than American people in some social event. Asian people, like Chinese, does not want to express their feeling directly, like US people.

As an immigrant from China to the US more than ten years, I understand Yi. Chinese people does NOT like to SAY: I can do, directly. Instead of that, they like to do: let me SHOW you what I can do, to imply. The good thing for Yi now, is both coaches’ trust now. Yi should now get better.

Some guys complaint about Yi about Lopez performance in last three games. This is NOT ture. Both Yi and Lopez are NETS future. They play different positions, no confiction at all. Lopez is a “traditional” center with smart brain/IQ and good at middle range shooting, but a little young. Yi plays PF with athletic moving skills and good at 3 points too. Get both of them on court will improve NETS a lot.

i don’t know much about basketball, so could someone help me with this question: could the Nets build a championship-caliber starting lineup with Lopez center, strong tough PF, Yi small forward? is Yi out of position as SF?

Yi would probably be not bad at SF, but will get burned on defence. He would have to defend 6’6, 6’7 players on certain teams, and with his height and agility, it would be very difficult to have him stop the other SF. He is already a bad defender, imagine having him defend Lebron James on the perimiter.

Yi cannot be SF, he is not good at dribble. SF is good for 6’6 ~ 6’8 players.
Yi’s defense is not agressive. The worse is that defense is a team work, all the NETS small guys do not like to defense at all.

then give him the: most improved english learner player of the season (MIELPS)

:D :D :D :) :)

Nice article with a rare behind-the-scenes look at some of Yi’s off-the-court challenges. Considering he’s still getting acclimated to American basketball and culture, the improvements he’s shown so far this season are impressive and will be quite remarkable if he can keep it up.

THATS A SIZE TRIPLE YIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!

Yi is a Muscle Devil, nothing more needs to be written or said. End of discussion.

@JohnY

Nowitzki played SF initially and Yi is compared to him occasionally (at least due to his size and playing style). Like Nowitzki, Yi is better at PF because he’s just not fast enough to defend wing players. There’s no way he could handle players like LeBron, Carmelo, Granger, Durant, etc. on a regular basis.

When Del Harris was Team China coach, he said he thought Yi was best suited for small forward. Of course that was a long time ago.

If Yi is only 22 years old, or so, he hasn’t filled out yet.

When he he becomes a man, who knows.

Yi “The Bull” Jianlian???

Yi rules. Net Income, I applaud you for being one of the first in Nets fandom to rally behind this kid. He’s really coming on strong. I think next year he can improve even more on defense and other areas

I don’t think he is a small forward though. It will be tough for him to guard 3’s in the NBA, he isn’t fast enough to do so. If the Nets had better team defense, I’d advocate them trying him out there but it isn’t, and I’m not sure his ball handle would be as effective against SFs as it is against PFs.

And I will be the first to advocate that Keyon Dooling be retained on this roster. We need him from a team standpoint and an organizational standpoint. This franchise needs leaders in the locker room and Keyon is one that should be here for the long haul.

hey Mr dollar bills.
the nets don’t need keyon.
he should be traded for T’Mac

It’s not surprising that when Yi talks, he says politically correct things. This is the conservative nature that many Chinese players have, whether it’s culturally or politically. Even Sun Yue, in his short stint with the Lakers, was known to be a quiet person.

A huge problem with young Chinese players on even their own national team is that they hold themselves back and don’t want to outshine the older veterans. This is something the former Chinese national team coach, Jonas Kazlauskas, has mentioned before.

The mere fact that Yi is showing emotion and attitude, whether it’s pounding his chest after a made shot or complaining to the ref are huge steps. Things like that are common and normal to NBA games, but to Chinese players that is very rare to see.

It took a few seasons for Yao Ming to really understand the NBA game and culture. Colin Pine, his interepretor, also was a huge aspect to Yao’s development and adjustment. However, once he did and understood that great work ethic would just advance his game that is when he really became the player that he is. Not only that, Yao Ming even called out his own Chinese teammates for sucking which upset Chinese officials.

Yi probably looked best suited at SF at the time with the Chinese national team is because that team already had bigs. Yi’s handles are too weak to play SF and he’s not fast enough to defend Small Forwards. Rudy Gay, Kevin Durant, Lebron James, Paul Pierce, etc would eat Yi alive. He already has enough problems trying to guard Al Harrington.

Also a huge step for Yi’s game to develop is being able to guard physical players. Yi has always had problems with those type of players, including in China.

I think towards the end of this season or next year, Yi’s defense will take the next step up

He is already showing the skills to make adjustments to what the defense throws at him. That is HUGE.

Yi is apart of our core. I have to say that we got the better end of the jefferson trade…cap space and a developing young 7 footer with perimeter skills for a guy that is making 15 mil and looks a shell of his former self.

@ Mr DB
“And I will be the first to advocate that Keyon Dooling be retained on this roster. We need him from a team standpoint and an organizational standpoint. This franchise needs leaders in the locker room and Keyon is one that should be here for the long haul.”

Agreed.

You cant underestimate the value that a veteran leader like KD has to a young team like this. He’s a great example to follow for those kids and his aggressive play is contagious and makes them play with passion too.

IMO, out of our core players (Lopez, CDR, Yi, Harris, CLee, TWill), we should keep KD , Josh and, depending on the additions we make next summer either Hayes or Hassell.