Star vacuum fails to excite hoop fans

If last week's NBA exhibition games in China are anything to go by, star power rules in the world of professional basketball.

Bereft of local icons like Houston Rockets all-star center Yao Ming, New Jersey Nets forward Yi Jianlian, or Team USA standouts LeBron James and Kobe Bryant, the two games between Golden State Warriors and Milwaukee Bucks in Guangzhou and Beijing were not as successful as expected and did little to expand the NBA's foothold in increasingly prosperous China.

According to a public poll by leading Internet portal Sina.com, 34 percent of respondents paid no attention to the games. For those who bought tickets or watched on TV, 26 percent described the games as "boring", 23 percent bemoaned the lack of Chinese players and only 17 percent commented positively on the experience.