费根：姚易对决仍看点十足 阿联应锤炼必杀绝技

　　以下是费根专供搜狐的原文,严谨转载！

　　By Jonathan Feigen

　　Last season, the first meeting of Yi Jianlian and Yao Ming was quite the event, or at least we all treated it as such.

　　They did not match up against one another and a mid-season game between the Bucks and Rockets did not inspire national television coverage in the United States. But over the years since Yao joined the NBA, we have come to consider the interests on the other side of the planet and on occasions such as that, to respond with wonder with the enormity of the world’s most populous nation and its growing affection for basketball.

　　So it was widely reported that the NBA meeting of Yao and Yi would be the most watched basketball game in world history, knowing only that it was available to be viewed in more homes than any game before.

　　There were press conferences, complete with the well-considered Yao comments about the rookie who had been and would again be a teammate on the Chinese National Team.

　　There was even fun had with the oddity of a game that featured players from six continents – Asia (Yao and Yi), Europe (Dan Gadzuric), Australia (Andrew Bogut), Africa (Dikembe Mutombo), South America (Luis Scola) and North America (everyone else.)

　　The whole thing was reprised to a degree when they met again in Milwaukee later in the season, though without the buildup.

　　There will likely be more of the same when Yao and his Rockets face Yi and his new team, the New Jersey Nets. A huge contingent of Chinese Americans is sure to flock to the New Jersey Meadowlands where there are always plenty of tickets available for one night purchases inspired by the arrival of the greatest of stars or for occasions such as these.

　　Yet, now that Yi is something of a veteran (and surely in the years to come) the novelty would seem to be gone.

　　Yi is already on his second team, a move that seems to be working well for him. The Olympics and the rush to prepare his game in a one-season taste of the NBA have past. It no longer seems unusual for there to be players from China in the NBA, or for stars from the CBA to be facing one another in the NBA.

　　Though by far the best player ever to move from China to the NBA, Yao was not the first, making the jump after Mengke Bateer and Wang Zhi Zhi. (In some ways, Yao’s first NBA meeting with Wang, his former CBA rival, in Los Angeles probably inspired more anxious moments for Yao than a meeting with Yi.) Yi is not the last, with Sun Yue following him this season to take a place on the Lakers bench.

　　It now is about the basketball. It’s about their abilities, their contributions to their teams.

　　At this point, they probably should not be compared to one another any more than any other two players in the game. But since Yi and Yao will likely always be the subject of some comparisons because of what they share, there might be something to be learned from their differences.

　　Despite their unusual height for their positions, they are wholly different players.

　　Yi is a fluid, nimble athlete, with unusual grace for one so large and a versatile game.

　　Yao, while far more agile than any player of his size to have come before him, has grown into a power player, using his size and bulk to overwhelm opponents.

　　Yi has grown since struggling through much of his rookie season. Used largely as a small forward in Milwaukee, he had the athleticism and shooting touch for the job but no longer had an advantage on opponents, other than size which he did not know how to use.

　　In New Jersey, he has played at power forward, where his size can allow him to match up with opposing big men and his shooting touch (he is hitting a healthy 40.6 percent of his 3-pointers) can not only bring the Nets 10.1 points per game, but can draw opposing power forwards away from the paint so they cannot clog things up for the one-on-one moves and drives of Devin Harris and Carter.

　　That is a useful role, particularly for a second-year player in his first months with his current team. But Yi always seemed to be the sort that wanted and expected more from his gifts than to have been the LeBron of Guangdong.

　　To take that next step, Yi needs to adopt a bit more of Yao.

　　Yao, too, arrived in the NBA with a remarkably versatile set of skills. He was a willing, sometimes creative passer. He had surprising shooting range. By the time Rick Adelman became his third NBA coach, Yao began to spend time at the high post, where he could mix in some passing to cutters as was so successful in Adelman’s Sacramento offense.

　　Yet, the more that Yao does, the more it becomes clear that he can do nothing as well as the one thing he does best. Get him the ball deep in the paint, let him use his size, strength and offensive touch and he becomes unstoppable.

　　“At the beginning of the season, I tried to get some clean shots, very clean looks,” Yao said. “I didn’t want contact. I think this month, or late last month, I started to try to use my body to try to get inside to draw the foul or draw the contact. I tried to use my size to my advantage.

　　“I think that has given me more deep touches and more free throws.”

　　Yao averaged 16.8 points on 49.5 percent shooting in November.

　　He has made 71 of 113 shots (62.8 percent) in December, averaging 25.2 points per game

　　The strength of Yao’s game had become so extreme that it has rendered the other skills more interesting than useful, as if he was a skilled juggler. That is a nice skill, but not terribly useful. So rather than have Yao spend too much time trying to fire one backdoor pass or hit one jumper, the Rockets have sought (with the occasional exception forced by the defense) to keep Yao deep in the paint and to get him the ball there.

　　Yi is not ready to be the focal point of his team’s offense. Eventually, however, his ability to move beyond skillful role player to a star will be determined by his ability to develop one extreme and unstoppable part of his game.

　　As a perimeter player, he will likely always need to be more versatile than Yao. But at some point, whether he is too quick for the power forwards or too strong and large inside for the small forwards, Yi will be measured by what he does best.

　　The stars are the players like Yao, who with the game on the line, can take it over. You give them the ball and let them go to work, confident that they will get good shots or generate good looks for teammates. The role players play off them.

　　There is nothing wrong with being a dependable role player. They help turn contending teams into championship teams. But if the comparisons of Yao and Yi start again next week, it will be clear where Yi can find his next step.

　　If he can pull that off, the meetings of Yao and Yi really will be events – and for more than their shared heritage.