Yi Jianlian endorses the authenticity of the cuisine in Chinatown.
“It’s pretty similar [to home] because the people all come from China,” said Yi, who named Tony Cheng’s when asked if he had any local favorites.
Verizon Center’s proximity to the restaurant has helped the Chinese big man adjust to Washington, but he’s still finding his way with the Wizards (1-4), who hope he’ll get an extra helping of motivation against his countryman, Yao Ming, and the Houston Rockets (1-5). Yao has won all four of their previous meetings.
“For me, nothing special,” Yi said. “Maybe a lot of people watching in China.”
That’s an understatement, although Wednesday’s game will be broadcast on regional cable in China, and won’t have as wide of a distribution in China as the Wizards’ Nov. 27 game against Atlanta, which will be on Chinese Central Television. More than 100 million viewers watched in 2007 when Yao and Yi faced off in the NBA for the first time.
The Wizards have turned the pair’s first clash in Washington into a celebration, dubbing it Asian Heritage Night. Whether it’s the occasion, the opponent, or the Wizards’ struggles, head coach Flip Saunders said Yi had one of his better practices in the last few weeks on Tuesday.
But that’s where the well-defined 7-footer with solid fundamentals and a silky jump shot notoriously excels. He’s been far less assertive in games, and in the last two contests, he’s hit just 3-of-10 shots and has only two rebounds.
“Yi’s the type of player, he plays off other people and so when other people aren’t playing at the high, high level, it takes away a little bit from his game,” Saunders said.
Rebounding and defense are where the Wizards need him most, especially against Houston, which is fourth in the NBA in total rebounds — Washington is last.
Coming off a foot injury that cost him all of last season and threatened his career, the 7-foot-6 Yao (12.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.8 blocks) has been limited to just 24 minutes a game and doesn’t play on back-to-back nights. Saunders said he’s still preparing as if Yao will be in at the beginning and the end.
“I think the biggest thing is that it’s the Wizards against the Rockets,” Saunders said. “You hope that it overrides any individual. There’s no question, growing up Yi has respect for Yao because of what he’s done for their basketball over in China. He gave Yi an opportunity. I think they both have a lot of respect for each other.”
