Yao Ming explodes for.... 4 points...

[Dert]

Agaist BEN WALLACE. All you Ming fans that voted for Ming should be ashamed that you put Yao up for embarassment on All-Star break...

Eastern Conference All-Star center Ben Wallace outplayed his counterpart from the West on Friday night as the Pistons grounded the Rockets 98-74 in Houston. Wallace grabbed 18 rebounds and scored nine points for Detroit, while Yao Ming was held to four points and six rebounds. Clifford Robinson scored a team-high 20 points, while Corliss Williamson and Richard Hamilton had 18 points apiece for the Pistons, who won in Houston for the first time since Jan. 2, 1992.

Will the people that said Ben Wallace was too short to guard Yao please stand up?

[Matt]

ehehe, Ben Wallace is the man, not the first time he shut down Ming

[.]

I´m still damn angry about Yao being starter over Shaq, he´s just starter because almost everyone in China voted for him (which is like ¹/³ of the entire world)

[TheBob]

I´m still damn angry about Yao being starter over Shaq, he´s just starter because almost everyone in China voted for him (which is like ¹/³ of the entire world)

No thats not why...he's there because he's an exciting young rookie who people want to see. I tmay also have something to do with people hating Shaq and the Lakers too. Dont be surprised by it, you'll probably see the same thing with Lebron if he does anything close to significant next year.

[.]

I tmay also have something to do with people hating Shaq and the Lakers too

Then why did Kobe became the leading vote getter?

[TheBob]

Because there's so much hype surounding him, people see Kobe everywhere. Plus who else is there to logically take Kobe's place at SG in the West? People have been waiting for someone to take Shaq's place for a few years now and it seems like that player MAY be Ming, this has people excited.

[Jowe]

i agree with that statement,
plus shaq hardly plays in the all star games nowadays,
u might as well make your vote count and vote for some1 who u'd like to participate in the all-star game

[MC Hao]

I tmay also have something to do with people hating Shaq and the Lakers too

Then why did Kobe became the leading vote getter?

He said Shaq and Lakers haters, not Kobe haters.

[.]

I tmay also have something to do with people hating Shaq and the Lakers too

Then why did Kobe became the leading vote getter?

He said Shaq and Lakers haters, not Kobe haters.

yeah, he said Shaq AND Lakers haters, Since Kobe is a Laker he falls under that category

[Andrew]

I think that Jowe's found the other possible reason, that being Shaq hasn't always been a willing participant, nor endearing to the fans. I remember the criticism when he skipped the 1997 All-Star Weekend in Cleveland, including the 50 Greatest ceremony. Though he was injured and unable to play in the game, he was expected to make an appearance for the ceremony.

The Shaq/Kobe "feud" (which was of course blown out of proportion) pretty much saw Shaq presented as the bad guy. He was portrayed as being jealous of Kobe's fame and status on the team, and unwilling to share the spotlight. That could have also contributed to Shaq's decrease in popularity.

Or maybe it's just that Kobe's a young, athletic player capable of making the highlight reels, people would rather see him perform in the All-Star game, so they vote for him even if he isn't their favourite player.

[MC Hao]

yeah, he said Shaq AND Lakers haters, Since Kobe is a Laker he falls under that category

Well, people can hate the Lakers and still love Kobe. Like I hate the Lakers but I still like Robert Horry.

[Chris Ma]

i think watching shaq plays is not that exciting! though he's developed skills in the past few years, he's still using his power or strength to play against his opponents and that makes his play a bit boring.....yao, on the other way, maybe a little bit more exciting because he's new to the NBA and, most importantly, this guy got skills! he can do something quite special, so I would prefer watching Yao rather than Shaq in a ALL STAR Game!

[Andrew]

Exactly. Yao has made some fancy passes and shown some impressive moves around the basket, and like you said, is new. We've seen Shaq's act for over a decade, while Yao's (and Kobe's for that matter) is new and more interesting to a lot of people, hence the votes.

But All-Star games are usually made exciting by the guards, so I'd say big men are generally voted in on either ability, performance or name recognition (whereas flashy guards can draw more votes than less entertaining, but still more talented guards), so you would expect Shaq to be voted by the fans. The fact that he wasn't suggests (to me at least) that Shaq, a previously popular player, is no longer as popular as he once was.

[JHova]

i think watching shaq plays is not that exciting! though he's developed skills in the past few years, he's still using his power or strength to play against his opponents and that makes his play a bit boring

I agree with that (and i'm a laker fan). The All-Star game is nothing more than a popularity contest. I'd imagine players take more pride in being selected on the bench by the coaches, becuase the fact of the matter is 90% of the voters don't know what the fuck they're doing, I mean, voting in players who have been injured all season, constantly picking Allen Iverson... popularity, nothing more. LeBron will be an All-Star next season, there's no doubt about it.... it's all down to popularity

[Dert]

Would you all please shut up about Fobe and the Lackers? This thread is about how Ben Wallace is going to make Yao Ming look like a fool on national television.

Yao might be an exciting new center to watch... but not against BEN WALLACE... he should be playing in the rookie challange. Then maybe he could show off some of his skills...

[EGarrett]

Yao looked fine against Ben in the Olympics. You have to remember that he's completely worn out at this point and has been having bad nights against everyone...

[Dert]

That sounds more or less like an excuse, but if that was the case he should not be competing against BEN WALLACE... he should have been given a night off and let him play against Murphy or whoever is the C for the sophomores... But no... fans think hes already an all-star. I feel sorry for Yao.

[JHova]

Excuse me, Pavenian is © Jae 'n Steve, 2002. Use of it comes only with written permission.

[Dert]

That's probably the reason I killed it.... HATER!!!

[Heiks]

Well, people can hate the Lakers and still love Kobe

yay! you're talking about me

anyways i hope ben will be blocking a lot in the ASWE - live03
style