# LOL.. Yao is like Ric Smits



## BullFan16 (Jun 2, 2003)

look at this... nbadraft.net compares yao to ric smits. geeze i thought yao was gonna b the next senseation not the next smits.  check it out


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## Hollis (Jun 4, 2002)

Smits was a very good player a while back.....although IMO Yao will be much better...


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## carayip (Jan 15, 2003)

I wait for the day Yao Ming is not compared to anybody.


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## RocketFan85 (Jun 8, 2003)

Rik Smits was a great player. They where compared to each other because both where tall(7-5 and 7-4) and could shoot, pass, and handle the ball well. Yao is the better player though, I think.


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## ccnp (Jun 21, 2003)

yao is better or not, it needs time to prove !!!


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## Petey (Aug 23, 2002)

He has really been more then I honest expected, and the way he has embraced the media is something more too.

-Petey


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## NYCbballFan (Jun 8, 2003)

Like many high upside players who underwhelmed in their careers, Smits was a very good player whose career was reduced by injuries. He had very good skills and when he was on, Smits was a very tough player to defend. Even with his injuries, Smits shouldn't be considered a bust. At the least, he was productive.

Yao needs to become a better defender/rebounder to ensure a higher stature than Smits .


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## Bluenote (Jun 8, 2003)

Who else could he be compared to? No other 7'5''+ player has accomplished anything other than Smits. IMO Yao has become the standard of (really) big men and will be the comparison from now on.


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## Bulls Free Press (Jul 1, 2003)

He is not as hard as Rik Smits though.


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## freeagent (May 20, 2003)

smits rebounding numbers during his entire career were way below yao's and his shot blocking skills were worse than yao's as well. yao is quicker than smits. smits had chronic foot problems. yao has more post up moves than smits and yao has a spin move to dunk. smits never had that. the only similarity is that both yao and smits are very good shooters. but yao's rebounding and block numbers already exceed smits. yao's rookie season high in rebounds is already higher than any number of rebounds smits accumulated during his career high.


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## GB (Jun 11, 2002)

I'm pretty enamoured of Yao. I question whether his body can stand up to the pounding for 15 years, but outside of that I think he's a great pickup and still has great potential.

I think Francis still has a bit to learn about playing with a big man---but if Kobe can learn, I'm sure he can too.


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## Evidence (Jul 17, 2003)

Rik Smits was not at all a bad player but when he was healthy he was actually a very good player who could do it all. But I think Yao has more upside, he just seems to have loads of talent to make people look silly, likehe did in yao vs shaq I....even though that was fot like a minute! Yao is gonna be a great!


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## Jay-Ballin (Jul 18, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>gettinbranded</b>!
> 
> I think Francis still has a bit to learn about playing with a big man---but if Kobe can learn, I'm sure he can too.


I was going to say the same thing. Francis and Mobley both need to know that Yao has to get the ball A LOT more than he did last season. From what I saw watching Rocket games, they had gone more than 10 posessions without letting Yao touch the ball. I heard Van Gundy is going to run his offense through Yao Ming which is expected as he did in New York with Ewing, though I thought the same thing with Rudy T because he knew what to do with the Dream. We'll see what happens this season, a fresh coach might do the job.


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## NYCbballFan (Jun 8, 2003)

Rik Smits was nick-named the Dunkin Dutchman before his injuries slowed him down for a reason. One thing he has over Yao - when Smits was Yao's age, he ran the floor a lot better than Yao does now. I saw some early Pacers film on TV where Smits' running and finishing ability on the break was startling. The guy had legit NBA speed and agility in his day.

Yao should finish with a better career than Smits, but it's no shame if his career ends up as good.


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