Yi makes a good start

　　PEOPLE are saying he's the next Yao Ming. But Yi Jianlian, the latest Chinese player to join the NBA, thinks differently. He doesn't like this kind of talk. Back in June he said, "I am not going to be the next any one. I am who I am." He also said it doesn't make any sense. He and Yao "play different positions and we are totally different players."

　　The 2.12-meter forward (前锋) from Shenzhen played his second game for the Milwaukee Bucks (密尔沃基雄鹿队) last Wednesday. His 12 points helped Milwaukee to a 93-88 win over Utah Jazz. In his first outing for Milwaukee he hadn't played well. This time he did much better. "I feel better compared with the first game," he said.

　　Both Yi and his team agree that he has to get used to life in the NBA. Yi said he had "a lot of bad habits to overcome". NBA basketball is very different from the kind of game he's used to. But the support the 19-year-old is getting from Milwaukee fans will encourage the young man. Club manager Larry Harris says he's surprised at the excitement Yi's arrival has caused.

　　It's all a matter of practice. It's a different style of play in the big league. Bucks coach Larry Krystkowiak says Yi is not the typical NBA beginner: "He's played a lot of basketball. He's mature (成熟的)." Some day soon the NBA may have another Chinese star to stand beside Yao Ming.