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Chinese rookie Yi settling in at Milwaukee
2007-12-01
Yi Jianlian struggled to impose himself in the Milwaukee Bucks' 91-88 loss to the Knicks in New York on Friday, but the towering Chinese rookie is adapting well to life in the NBA. The 7ft (2.13m) Yi, who had eight points and two rebounds in less than 30 minutes of court time against the Knicks, has blended in well with the Bucks and is averaging just under 10 points and six rebounds a game. "I'm happy to be here," Yi told reporters through a translator before the game. "I know there's a lot of Chinese people watching this game and that makes me really happy." Milwaukee coach Larry Krystkowiak said there was room for improvement as Yi grew stronger and more confident going to the hoop, but he said the young Chinese had more than satisfied expectations. "When you draft a rookie, you never know exactly how that person is going to respond when they come into the NBA," he said. "I think it's safe to say he's one of those people who has surprised some people, opened some people's eyes." Yi was the Bucks' first-round pick, sixth overall, in last year's draft after helping the Guandong Tigers win three Chinese Basketball Association titles in a row. "He's very impressive," said Milwaukee's leading scorer Michael Redd. "More than anything I love his work ethic and I love his ability to be coached. "He can shoot the basketball and take you off the dribble. A 7-footer doing that, he can eventually be a matchup nightmare." Bucks starting center Andrew Bogut said Yi was a big part of the team. "He's fitting in fine," Bogut told Reuters in the Milwaukee (7-7) locker room before the game. "He's ready to play in the league, no doubt about that. He's very athletic and very, very fast." Despite falling to their sixth loss in seven road games, Yi said there was lots of time for the Bucks to improve. "This leaves a strong impression in our minds," the slender Chinese said. "I had two fouls early in the game and it was hard to avoid because (Zach) Randolph is a really strong guy and that contributed to my play later. "But we still realize we have more than 60 games to play. This is just an opportunity for us to think about how to play better in the future." (Writing by Larry Fine; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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