Year to remember has just begun

One of the most competitive NBA seasons in recent memory wrapped up yesterday. Now the league has a chance to catch its breath before the playoffs start this weekend.

In a season packed with stirring storylines, one of the most irresistible was Houston's remarkable 22-game winning run, achieved largely without its leader Yao Ming. When the Chinese all-star was sidelined just over halfway through the streak, many assumed Houston's season was over. But they were wrong as Houston ended up firmly among the Western Conference elite.

Houston's defiance of conventional wisdom should translate into a Coach of the Year award for Rick Adelman. The first-year Rockets coach has deftly dealt with injuries to superstars throughout his career, but never has he faced the gargantuan task of filling the shoes of someone like Yao. Leading his team not only to the second best winning streak in league history but to within just two games of the top spot in the ridiculously tight West was something unthinkable two months ago. Someone who pulls off the unthinkable deserves to be rewarded.

While the Rockets look toward their first-round playoff rematch against the Utah Jazz, Yi Jianlian's Bucks tiptoe into a long offseason of uncertainty. International stars like Yi, Andrew Bogut and Michael Redd will start preparing for the Beijing Games in August. Others will wait anxiously as new general manager John Hammond decides whether or not to blow the team up and embark on a new era.

Yi's role in the Bucks' future is all but guaranteed. Hammond had high praise for Yi this year, telling the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (jsonline.com) last week, "I absolutely love his game. I think his upside is off the charts."

That must be nice for Yi to hear after his disappointing end to the season. He started the year strong, impressing everyone out of the gate and drawing comparisons to German star Dirk Nowitzki. Those days seem long ago, though, as he struggled through the final months with various injuries and debilitating fatigue.

Unfortunately Yi will have little time to rest as he expects to join the Chinese national team soon. The Bucks wish Yi could spend his summer bulking up, as his lack of strength is one of the major things stifling his development in the NBA. But the Bucks also know how important the Olympics is for Yi and are not about to make any demands about his summertime conditioning.

When Yao and Yi take the court together this summer, the development of Chinese basketball will be on full display. Their NBA experience will be invaluable to the next generation of hoops stars, which might make the team an Olympic medal contender in the future. China sure hopes so, anyway.

Contact the author at spiraledout@hotmail.com

(China Daily 04/18/2008 page23)