Personally I feel if Ming is capable of being a GREAT CENTER (like Ewing, Olajuwon, Drob PRIME) in this league he has to make an impact right away this season. If he ends up producing somehting like 9ppg 7rpb 2bpg I think it may be a bust. I know he is from China and all and being from a different country, it takes time to develop. But I think he has to show some signs of dominance and ability to PRODUCE in the NBA right away. Guys like Shaq, Hakeem, Drob, Ewing when they came in the league did extremely well. I know their situations are different, thus Ming might NOT produce as much as they did, but I beleive he needs to come close. If he gets something like 16ppg 11rpg 3bpg it will be a success and shows room for improvement. But if he puts up Shawn Bradley like numbers and does not become a bonafide starter this season I'm not sure he will evolve into a GREAT CENTER/PLAYER in this league. I could be wrong, but I feel if he doesn't make his presense/potential felt right away, then hes not cutout to be a GREAT NBA player, and at best a Rik Smits type of player. Hopefully he produces right away and becomes a GREAT CENTER and player right away in his first 2-3 years, which I feel can be possible considering the lack of NBA centers today. What do you all think? Personally I feel he needs to play very well right away or it could be somewhat of a bust.
I don't think he will average more than 12-15 points because of the talent we have this team. Dream only averaged 18 pt with Barkley and Clyde. However, I do think he will have games where he just blows up and scores 30 pts or has 8-10 blocks.
I think he will be a GREAT center 3-5 years. He will probably put up about 14ppg, 8 rpg, and 2 bpg. Now remember, you may think these numbers are inflated, but. Just being way above eveyone else will get him about 5 rpg, plus the ones he actualy grabs. He will natually block at least 1 shot game. Plus he will naturally get some easy baskets. All he has to do is use his legs to hold down the post. I do expect some big games from him. He should be able to put up quite a few triple doubles in his career with his scoring/rebounding/bocking/passing abilities he could possibly put up some quadruple doubles. (Took me ten minutes to write cuz my freakin' computer doesn't enter half the letters I type.)
I think he will be a very very good player...and may end up being one of the 50 greatest ever. He has that ability, but some never reach their potential because they stop working on getting better.... DaDakota
Wait until we play teams with no inside presence like Utah, Seattle, or Phoenix- Ming will destroy them. Imagine Ming schooling slow guys like Ostertag, Jerome James, and Tsakalidis. Those guys are no better than the dudes he's facing in international competition. He will have some 30+ point nights next year, count on it. But....he will have nights with 4 pts, 5 fouls as well. There's still a huge learning curve, but his offensive skills alone should help him occasionally dominate teams without a decent inside presence.
IF he IS a great center, then the roster will ultimately have to change to accommodate his greatness. IF he's a better player than Cuttino, then Cuttino is going to have to accept a reduced role or be moved. Same is true for anyone else, except for Francis, who is the franchise.
ummm, hasn't cuttino shown the ability to defer to better players in the past??? can you say the same about steve francis? and if ming IS a better player, francis damn well better defer! why should francis be exempt from the rules that apply to mobley and any other player on this team?
I didn't say Cuttino COULDN'T defer to better players, only that he would have to. I agree that the rules should apply to everyone, but theory and practice are too different animals. Hakeem got the kid gloves and star treatment long after his play on the court deserved. That's just the way it is. What I imagined is that Steve and Yao would share the billing, a la Kobe and Shaq. In that scenario, Steve would not have to accept a reduced role.
Tb-Cain, yes he would have to accept a lesser role. presently, he is THE MAN. as in singular. should ming be a franchise center, steve will have to accept a role AT THE VERY LEAST of sharing that role. for someone that speaks of himself in the 3rd person, i'm not sure i'd assume that it won't be a problem for steve. we'll see.
Hopefully Ming DOES prove to be that good and Steve and Cat both decide that maybe assists aren't such a bad thing after all!
At the risk of this looking more like a chat session... We're splitting hairs really, but on the court, I think Steve shares the bulk of offensive responsibility with Cuttino. Cuttino actually played more minutes per game and took more shots per game than Francis. So in that context, if we drop Cuttino to #3 and put Ming in #1, Steve remains #2. So to answer you're question "can I say the same (deferring to others) about steve francis?", the answer appears to be yes. Off the court may be an entirely different question. I'm not sure how Steve or Cuttino reacts to someone else getting the bulk of attention. A test of their maturity and priorities for sure.
If Ming can change the shots of the opponents, then he will be an asset. If he scores any points that will be a bonus. Remember we have Nachbar to do some of the scoring now. Ming just needs to get rebounds and change shots that will make him intimadating.
He should be able to dominate several other centers in the league already. Hopefully Rudy will go strong to Yao when we play those teams. And for Steve and Cat giving the ball to Yao or deferring to Yao on certain occasions. They would be stupid if they didn't. You always get the ball to the guy with the best shot or advantage. Yao will have huge advantages in many games.
