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Check out all the photos of the welcome party the Rockets and Houston fans threw for Ron Artest! What a turnout! Here’s one of them:
I know this is day-old news, but I finally have a little bit of time here to mention Luis Scola‘s epic performance in the FIBA Diamond Cup tournament in Nanjing, China yesterday. Scola went off for a game-high 32 points to help Argentina beat Australia 95-91.
Argentina was down by 19 points in the first half, but Scola scored 28 points in the second half alone to key the comback victory!
Everyone has been so excited lately about Ron Artest joining the Rockets, as they should be, and they talk about how Yao, Artest and McGrady will be incredible together. But it’s so easy to forget about Scola, who can be a huge force as seen by this performance. Then add in Rafer Alston, Shane Battier, Carl Landry (hopefully), Aaron Brooks, and it just sends chills down your spine!
Click here for more photos of Scola from his game against Australia, as well as Yao and his teammates watching the game from the stands.
After the game, the tournament’s award ceremony was held where China received recognition for finishing in third place. Click here for photos from the award ceremony.
China beat Iran 75-46 on Friday in the FIBA Diamond Cup tournament in Nanjing, finishing third overall and the top team in Asia. Because it was such a blowout, Yao Ming only played 19 minutes and scored 12 points (4-of-8 FGs), grabbed 4 rebounds, but missed 3-of-7 free throws.
Yao contained the top scorer in the tournament, center Hadem Ehadadi, drawing 2 quick fouls from him within first 5 minutes of the game.
Liu Wei returned from his rib injury the other day, controlling the tempo and and setting up Yao nicely on offensive sets, allowing China to take a 19-11 lead by the end of the first quarter.
China played much better defense than they did against Australia, as did the power forwards. Wang Zhizhi finished with 15 points and 6 rebounds assist in 25 minutes. Yi Jianlian also played 25 minutes, scoring 8 points (4-of-7 FGs) and grabbing 9 boards. Du Feng only played for 10 minutes, but scored 9 points (3-of-4 from 3-point land).
Since Yao Ming is in China, he hasn’t had the chance to talk to Ron Artest yet. Regardless, I liked Artest’s response to Yao’s quotes yesterday (some provided below). Artest seems like a mature dude (see the Chronicle article here for the story), as represented in this statement:
“This is Tracy (McGrady) and Yao’s team, you know. I’m not going to take it personal. I understand what Yao said, but I’m still ghetto. That’s not going to change. I’m never going to change my culture. Yao has played with a lot of black players, but I don’t think he’s ever played with a black player that really represents his culture as much as I represent my culture.
“Once Yao Ming gets to know me, he’ll understand what I’m about. But really, he doesn’t have to talk to me, because to me, I’m going (to Houston).”
There might have been some who thought Yao wasn’t excited about Artest coming to the Rockets. Here are some of Yao’s quotes from yesterday, then directly below I provide my perspectives on each:
“For some reason, I like (Artest). Because in the games we play against him, I hate him.
This is a compliment, not only because he uses the word ‘like’ in the first part, but also because he thinks Artest is a formidable opponent. It’s kind of like if Manu Ginobili became a Rocket — I ‘hate’ Ginobili, but he’s a helluva player I wouldn’t mind having on my side. Same with Larry Bird — I ‘hated’ him when he played, but man, he was awesome. ‘Hating’ an opponent is actually a sign of respect, IMHO.
“When I text messaged with Luis (Scola), we talked about team chemistry. That’s only what worries us.
“We worry about the new attitude to the team. We are adding talent to the team and we need that, but building team chemistry is important. This is not bad. I don’t mean he is not welcome to Houston. But a new player always needs some time.
“Also, he was the biggest part of a team in Sacramento. He was a star player. We need more chemistry and more communication.”
“There’s worry.”
I think Yao’s use of the word ‘worry’ may not be translating well to Americans. Yao is a natural worry wart, but not to the point that it tears him to shreds inside. That’s why he works so hard because he feels like he’s never good enough. I think the phrase that he might have been thinking to use that Americans would better understand is “we’ll be working hard to integrate.”
The part that was really interesting to me that had nothing to do with Artest was when Yao said, “We need more chemistry and communication.” This is more of an indicator of what Yao thought was a weakness last season, which is surprising since they won 22 games in a row and had a pretty decent year. So maybe something is awry in the locker room already that we don’t know about?
I’m guessing it may be the relatively laid-back attitude the coaching staff might have compared to the micromanagement of the Jeff Van Gundy era. Yao may feel more comfortable in an environment where the coaches control everything, like under JVG or previous coaches he’s had in China.
Fran Blinebury of the Houston Chronicle is in China and was able to talk with Yao about his thoughts on the Ron Artest trade as read in this article.
Here is a summary of all of Yao’s quotes:
“For some reason, I like (Artest),” Yao said. “Because in the games we play against him, I hate him.
“When I text messaged with Luis (Scola), we talked about team chemistry. That’s only what worries us.
“We worry about the new attitude to the team. We are adding talent to the team and we need that, but building team chemistry is important. This is not bad. I don’t mean he is not welcome to Houston. But a new player always needs some time.
“Also, he was the biggest part of a team in Sacramento. He was a star player. We need more chemistry and more communication.”
“There’s worry. Obviously, yes. We will think about it, of course. Hopefully, he’s not fighting anymore and going after a guy in the stands.
“I haven’t talked to Ron yet, so it’s hard to say. I have to find a way to talk to him and see what we can do as a basketball team. He has a history. But we know he is a physical player. He is a good player. He really can help us. And Ron is on a contract year, too.
“I think Ron Artest is a good player if coach (Rick) Adelman can control the team well.”
“I think it’s kind of a gamble. Because we’re getting rid of rookies this year and next year and we’re getting an experienced player. That’s a team that needs to win right now, not in the future.
“I think this team has no problem being a good team in the regular season. How good can we be depends on how we show up in the playoffs. It’s very clear. The playoffs, we already know, are a different game. It’s playing fundamentally. That’s how Utah gets success two years in a row against us. I think, for some reason, Ron is that kind of person. He plays very fundamentally. Body up, physical, defensively, offensively.”
“I want to think about one step and one step. I know I’m 28 already. I don’t know how many steps I can go. But still, one step and then another step. I hope I can get two steps at a time. That’s my personality. I don’t want to go too far with what I think. First, I want to win in the first round.”
This is a little late because of a massive project at my work, but better late than never.
On Wednesday (China time), China lost to Australia 67-55 in a FIBA Diamond Ball tournament game in Nanjing, China.
Here Yi Jianlian and Yao Ming get pumped during the game…
And here, Australia’s Andrew Bogut hacks Yao big-time…
Here’s Raymond’s recap of the game:
Yao Ming played 30 minutes, scored 14 points (5/8 FG% 4/6 FT%)/7 rebounds/2 blocks/1 steal/1 assist/5 turnovers/4 personal fouls.
He sort of played well against Bogut and held him to 9 points (3/9 FG% 0/4 FT%)/8 rebounds/2 blocks/4 fouls in 23 minutes of play.
However, China was exposed because of the inept performance of their point guards. Yao’s friend and teammate Liu Wei got bumped in the ribs early in the second quarter and couldn’t play afterwards.
China’s backup guards couldn’t break Australia’s full-court press, couldn’t control the tempo and rhythm of the game, and didn’t know how to pass to their interior players. As a result, China had 25 turnovers, and their power forwards (Yi Jianlian, Wang Zhizhi and Du Feng) played extremely poorly, with Yi failing to score in 24 minutes of play.
Overall, it was a total disappointment for China, and the defeat means we may not see Yao Ming play against Luis Scola, unless Argentina fails to win against Serbia and finishes 2nd or 3rd in their group — a similar position as China.
Click here for more photos of the game.
Wow, can you believe this news?
I like Ron Artest and the bold move that Rockets GM Daryl Morey may be taking here, but I was a little excited that the Rockets had gotten “their man” (Donte Greene) during the NBA draft. Now they may be dealing him. But just goes to show that owner Les Alexander has always had a “win now” attitude, so this move wouldn’t surprise me.
So they will deal Greene, a #1 pick, Bobby Jackson, and another player. I don’t know how the numbers will line up, so this is all speculation, but could it be Shane Battier, who plays Artest’s small forward spot? Or could it be Carl Landry or Joey Dorsey, who both play power forward, a position that Artest plays at times. I hope not that, either. I’m hoping it’s Luther Head, Chuck Hayes or maybe Steve Novak. We’ll see.
Reader Brian provided the following update after my original post:
NBA front-office sources confirmed to ESPN.com that Artest will be dealt to the Rockets in exchange for Houston’s first-round draft pick in 2009, ex-King Bobby Jackson (who arrives with a $6.1 million expiring contract) and the draft rights to Donte Greene. The Kings will also receive more than $1 million in cash, according to The Houston Chronicle, but the deal can’t be announced before Aug. 14 because Greene is not eligible to be traded before then.
the numbers add up
Tuesday night the Chinese got payback against Angola at the FIBA Diamond Cup tournament in Nanjing, beating them 83-74.
Yao Ming scored 21 points in 29 minutes, shot 8-for-10 from the floor, and grabbed 5 boards. He did miss 2 point-blank shots, two free throws, and had 4 turnovers, but his chemistry with point guard Liu Wei looked great, being the recipient of 5 assists.
Click here for more photos from the game.
Earlier in the evening, Yao Ming’s Rocket teammate Luis Scola helped his Argentinian team win 81-71 against Iran by chipping in 23 points. Click here for more photos from that game.
Talk about a confluence of cultures.
On Monday in Nanjing, China before the FIBA Diamond Cup tournament starts on Tuesday, Yao met up with Argentina’s Luis Scola, a fellow Houston Rocket, in a German restaurant. And teams from the 4 other countries that will be playing in the tournament also attended the meal. Got all that?
Also at the restaurant was our flopper extraordinaire, Manu Ginobili, who was celebrating his 31st birthday.
Check out all the photos from the restaurant by clicking here.
Raymond, our YMM correspondent in China, has found the following interesting tidbits.
Here’s a link to an article about Chinese President Hu Jintao‘s visit to the National Sports Bureau yesterday to talk to his country’s athletes. During his visit to the Chinese basketball national team, he asked Yao about the status of the rehab on his foot.
Below is a video that gives fans a behind-the-scenes look at the preparation of various Chinese national teams, like gymnastics, synchronized swimming, weight lifting, table tennis, basketball, and volleyball. The Yao Ming piece is from the 7:40 to 8:40 minute mark.
Below is another video that has some behind-the-scenes clips of the charity short films for the Sichuan earthquake that internationally famous Chinese director Chen Kaige took with Yao Ming as the leading actor. The shorts will be publicly released in China nationwide within the week.