Sports Talk with MC

by MC

To everybody who is obsessed with Kevin Durant and Greg Oden’s upsides, meet Yi Jianlian.

Yes, there is mystery surrounding his real age and how his skills will carry over to the NBA, but based on what certain insiders have seen, and read, this guy could actually turn to be a more athletic version of Yao. Promising? You bet it is.

Like most Asian cagers aspiring to go into the NBA, Yi has been said to have a mad outside game. His bargaining chip comes in the form of his athleticism. A young Toni Kukoc, perhaps? Maybe, but if he wants to become an basketball fixture like Kukoc was (in some shape or form), then he’ll have to bulk the upstairs up (weights room, anyone?).  He’s actually being compared to a young Garnett, which, in a million different ways, is flattering.

The enigmatic part of this equation lies in the fact that Yi could just be another Shawn Bradley or downgraded TMac type.

Rumors have populated the basketball world as of late that the Hawks, Bucks or the Bulls could pick Yi. The Bulls need a big man, the Bucks need offense inside and within 15 feet and the Hawks need God. Yi could very well fit the bill, in time, on all counts (the God part is sketchy, but hey, he could either be part of a trade package to get God in uniform, or, help represent God through a united front…either way, it’s a decent situation).

Against Team USA back in 2005, Yi averaged 13.5 ppg and 8 caroms a contest in two games. There was a game when he went 16-16. Not bad.

As much as the league Yi’s Chinese Basketball Association team, the Guangdong Tigers, don’t exactly play the Spurs or the Mavericks day in and day out, the man touted by Time Magazine as the next coming of Yao Ming, cannot be counted out in terms of having the opportunity to not only put China on the ballin’ map even more, but also to further the “hybrid player” culture prevalent in the NBA today.

Personally, I think the lanky forward/center’s style of play would fit a run and gun team like Toronto or Phoenix’s the best, but wherever he does land, I’ll be watching, and so will millions of other sports fans, with bated breath.

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*Side notes:

The man knows how to style and profile, too, as seen by his appearance at the premiere of “Pirates of the Carribean 3″ in Anaheim, California on the 19th of May (see this link–http://www.exposay.com/yi-jianlian-pirates-of-the-caribbean-at-worlds-end-world-premiere/p/10868/1/?f=Yi+Jianlian). What’s more, the guy’s got a girlfriend, Ms. Li Yahong, who is a showbiz personality in her own right- a presenter on the game show, “Super 6 + 1″ (see this link–http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/sports/2006-10/13/content_707851.htm).

If this fellow’s got the hubris of a fresh Andrew Bogut coming into the draft, though, please unsubscribe me from his fanclub mailing list. There’s no room for that in today’s NBA wherein on court talent STILL speaks the loudest. Sorry, Andrew, and, Sebastian Telfair and Stephen Jackson, for that matter.

Yi Jianlian is 6 foot 11 and a half, and he tips the scales at 230 pounds. Former NBA MVP Kevin Garnett, with whom Yi has been compared with, is 6 foot 11, and weighs 253 pounds.

By the way, Yi is a lefty. =)

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