Horford vs. Yi

[oiatlhawksfan]

Horford

PPG 8.4

RPG 10.0

APG 1.0

SPG 1.6

BPG 1.2

FG% 0.455

FT% 0.600

3P% 0.000

MPG 30.4

Yi Jianlian

PPG 11.6

RPG 5.6

APG 0.8

SPG 1.0

BPG 1.8

FG% 0.479

FT% 0.714

3P% 0.667

MPG 27.6

Who's better, and will be better 5 years from now?

[exodus]

Right now Yi's game is exactly the same as what i saw in his CBA games except for one difference. He is making his perimeter jumpers. He wasn't doing that at all in the games i watched.

He still has no post game and still cant take anyone off the dribble. He is still weak and gets pushed around a lot. Will that change? Hard to say.

[oiatlhawksfan]

Horford has more upside in my opinion, he's still young, and has room to grow.

Yi will get somewhat better, but he's 24 years old!

[Gambit99]

I believe that both have a ton of room to grow!

Horford has the potential of being a D. Howard type of player. He's young, big and agressive.

Yi has the potential of being a Dirk type of player. He's young, tall and a good shooter.

Age doesn't mean much between the two. What Yi is possibly 24 and Horford is 21. Not much difference there.

Both played for championship teams and both will get better, now that they are playing tougher teams. What will make the difference is Coaching, Attitude, Training, Team mates, System their in and Heart!

One thing that may kill Yi is the pressure put on him by a whole country. Horford has the same, but China's gov't is involved plus the people...Horford just has the people.

I would love to see Horford spend the summer with K. Malone and Rodman. I would send Yi to Kerr and Pippen

[kpmm]

Don't be surprised if we're all seeing a poor man's Duncan = Horford and a poor man's Dirk = Yi in the next 2 years.

[prolific25]

Yi is 23..I think.

[BusBoyIsBack]

They both are what we should have expected.

Yi is raw defenisvely and Horford is raw offensively.

We needed that interior D more than anything which is why Horford was a great choice.

[Guest MLibid]

I'd honestly rather Horford. I expect his game to get better once he starts playing less center and more power forward because of the unfavorable strength match ups that he has to face when he goes against the league's best centers. I don't know if I want Horford playing center yet. It'd be great if he can develop into this franchise's center, but I doubt he will because he's the perfect PF.

I'm surprised at how well Horford's played against other centers. I'm sure he will develop into an excellent rebounder and big man for Atlanta.

As for Yi, he's definetly got a lot of potential. In terms of age, I don't think two or three years will really determine who will develop into a more well-rounded player between Yi and Horford.

Five years down the line, I doubt I will be saying "We should of drafted Yi instead of Horford."

[BusBoyIsBack]

Quote:

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I'd honestly rather Horford. I expect his game to get better once he starts playing less center and more power forward because of the unfavorable strength match ups that he has to face when he goes against the league's best centers. I don't know if I want Horford playing center yet. It'd be great if he can develop into this franchise's center, but I doubt he will because he's the perfect PF.

I'm surprised at how well Horford's played against other centers. I'm sure he will develop into an excellent rebounder and big man for Atlanta.

As for Yi, he's definetly got a lot of potential. In terms of age, I don't think two or three years will really determine who will develop into a more well-rounded player between Yi and Horford.

Five years down the line, I doubt I will be saying "We should of drafted Yi instead of Horford."

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I think Horford can hold his own against most Cs in the leageu.

You have to remember that this league is becoming one where PFs are playing C.

Shaq and Yao are the exceptions.

Horford is very strong as he showed last night. And the scary thing is he could get even stronger.

I think that strength and athleticism of his will more than make up for the lack of a couple of inches.

[Diesel]

Quote:

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You have to remember that this league is becoming one where PFs are playing C.

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I think to your SHaq, Yao list...

You have to add guys like Howard, Curry, Oden, Kaman, Magloire, and Dampiere.

There are some real Centers out there and some of them can hurt you...

Last night, Perkins did a good job of clogging up the middle when KG was off the floor. He's nowhere near an elite center, but in these times you don't need one.

[Guest MLibid]

Quote:

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Quote:

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I'd honestly rather Horford. I expect his game to get better once he starts playing less center and more power forward because of the unfavorable strength match ups that he has to face when he goes against the league's best centers. I don't know if I want Horford playing center yet. It'd be great if he can develop into this franchise's center, but I doubt he will because he's the perfect PF.

I'm surprised at how well Horford's played against other centers. I'm sure he will develop into an excellent rebounder and big man for Atlanta.

As for Yi, he's definetly got a lot of potential. In terms of age, I don't think two or three years will really determine who will develop into a more well-rounded player between Yi and Horford.

Five years down the line, I doubt I will be saying "We should of drafted Yi instead of Horford."

---

I think Horford can hold his own against most Cs in the leageu.

You have to remember that this league is becoming one where PFs are playing C.

Shaq and Yao are the exceptions.

Horford is very strong as he showed last night. And the scary thing is he could get even stronger.

I think that strength and athleticism of his will more than make up for the lack of a couple of inches.

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Good point!

[TheNorthCydeRises]

I've said before that the best that Yi will be, is a player much like Detlef Schremph was back when he was with Seattle and Indiana. He was good enough to win a 6th man of the year award a few times. He also made 2 or 3 All-Star teams as a reserve.

Detlef was almost strictly an offensive player that was a good rebounder when he put his mind to it. He wasn't horrible on defense, but he wasn't good either.

Horford, if he can develop one or two "go-to" post moves, could be really, really special. This kid is super-athletic for his size, can run the floor, can pass, and can defend via blocks and by playing the passing lanes. Horford, I believe, could be just as good as Carlos Boozer in a few years.

Like I said earlier this week . . it's going to be interesting to see Horford play the 4 spot, once ZaZa comes back. I think offensively, Horford is going to be a much more prodcutive player at the 4, than he is at the 5.

[atlien]

I think both have huge upside, but Horford was the obvious pick for us. We needed a beast on the inside (we have plenty of more perimeter-oriented players like Yi), and Horford is gonna be a dandy.

I mean, best case scenarios, would you rather have Elton Brand (Horford) or Dirk (Yi) added to this team? Given that we already had Joe, Marvin, Smoove and Chill, Brand (Horford) would be the elite player you'd want.

[DJlaysitup]

Well I agree that Horford was the guy for us...but anybody who wouldn't want Dirk (league MVP) over Elton is nuts.

[cyman3]

Quote:

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They both are what we should have expected.

Yi is raw defenisvely and Horford is raw offensively.

We needed that interior D more than anything which is why Horford was a great choice.

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that pretty much sums up my thoughts. Yi has to work on his defense and Horford needs to work on his offense. Both have allstar potential and age IS NOT AN ISSUE. people act as if Yi is 30.

we need horford on our team more than we need Yi. Other teams may need Yi more than horford. so, as of now- theres no clear cut winner. both are on track to make the rookie 1st team.

[jian9417]

Charley Rosen on Yi :

"How good could he eventually be? With his size, length, speed, and especially his golden jumper, Yi can be as good as he wants."

....

"If Bogut had only half of Yi's potential, the Bucks could easily be playing in May."

...

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/7407128

[jian9417]

FOX SPORTS: Yi Shows He's the Real Deal Against Yao and the Houston Rockets

Yi Jianlian finished the game with 19 points and nine rebounds, including two of two from beyond the arc. Yi also had a blocked shot and two steals in the game.

Yi seemed a bit nervous at the start of the game, perhaps the result of knowing the game was being view by over 200 million people in his homeland of China, by settled down eventually with the help of his sure jumpshot.

Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets got the better of Yi however, in scoring 28 points to go with ten rebounds. Yao also went perfect from the free throw line in making all 14 attempts from the charity stripe. Yi did however score the same number of baskets as Yao in making seven shots despite taking four less attempts (12) than Yao (16).

The unbelievable part to Yi’s game is that he is already getting better in just his fifth game and his ceiling is as high as he wants it wants to be. Yi has perfect technique on his jumpshot where it seems as if the only misses he has had on it are when they are too long but never to the left or the right, and shows the will to hustle hard on every possession. There were multiple times were he was a factor in the transition game, often outrunning the entire team to the basket on a fastbreak and hustling back to defend after a turnover, which is almost unheard of from a seven footer.

His only weaknesses are his first step when he drives to the basket that he seems to telegraph before he makes his move and his inability to finish around the basket because of his lack of strength. Both, however, are fixable with good coaching on his drive move and hard work in the weight room to improve his strength that will come with time.

As it is right now though, he should have plenty of open shots that he’s capable of knocking down if defenses decided to double Michael Redd. A lot has also been made of a rumor that Yi was promised to average 20 minutes per game on the season, but if the first five games has taught us anything, it’s that Yi should be on the court for as long as possible.

http://community.foxsports.com/blogs/koski...Houston_Rockets

[jian9417]

As to yi's defence ability, according bucks fans, most of them believe he is already the best defender from their team, at least one of the best.

just check out ,you will find out i don't overstate at all.

http://www.realgm.com/boards/viewforum.php?f=21

or

http://www2.jsonline.com/idealbb/forum.asp...2C5}&forumID=37

[jian9417]

truth is hurt: the yoube is money! and so is the chair !!

[TexasPete]

Are you a Yi fan?