Yi watches as Nets come back against Bulls

February 25, 11:09 PMAsian-American Sports ExaminerMichael Street

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Yi responded well to being blocked by
Tyrus Thomas (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

Yi Jianlian was in the lineup for the second straight night, but he was a starter in name only, as his Nets sizzled in the fourth quarter to beat the Chicago Bulls, 111-99.

Since coming back from injury, Yi came off the bench for several games before getting back into the starting lineup against the 76ers.

Coach Lawrence Frank doesn't have much of a choice at power forward, as rookie Ryan Anderson lacks Yi's outside presence and rebounding ability.

But Frank had to make an adjustment when his starting five came out of the gate slowly, letting Chicago shoot out to a 14-4 lead.

The Nets came back to get the score to 16-14, but Frank pulled Yi and small forward Trenton Hassell in favor of Keeyon Dooling and Bobby Simmons.

Dooling and Simmons are smaller but faster and more athletic than Yi and Hassell, allowing New Jersey to match the pace of Chicago's game. It didn't help that Yi missed both of his first two shots, but he had trouble with Tyrus Thomas, who picked up 4 points and 5 rebounds before Yi departed.

The Nets kept things close with Yi out of the game, and New Jersey trailed by five when Yi entered. Yi, unfortunately, responded by almost immediately embarrassing himself.

After getting the ball almost under the basket, Yi went up for a dunk, but Tyrus Thomas went up with him, and blocked him. Yi gathered the rebound and jumped up again, this time unchallenged. He didn't have a good grip on the ball, though, and missed the putback.

Two shots at point-blank range, and Yi missed them both.

But, as a mark of his character, Yi didn't hang his head, but came back strong.

He pulled down a rebound at the other end of the floor on Chicago's next possession, then blocked Tyrus Thomas on the Bulls' next foray down the floor. Brook Lopez pulled down the loose ball, fed Devin Harris, who missed a jumper—but Yi grabbed the rebound and, this time, made the putback.

Yi would score again before the half, heading to the locker room third among the Nets with six points, and with New Jersey ahead by one. That one-minute burst would be the highlight of the game for him, however. He played the first eight minutes of the third quarter, picked up two more free throws, and then watched the other Nets finish off the Bulls down the stretch.

Though Yi and the other starters had done a good job against the Bulls for three quarters, New Jersey was still trailing 69-65 when he left. For the remainder of the game, New Jersey would outscore Chicago 46-30, and Yi could only watch.

They started the fourth with an 18-4 run, sparked by the shooting of Harris and Dooling, as Chicago went ice-cold. It's hard to argue with Frank's decision to leave the same five players in for nearly the whole quarter, and the team on the floor didn't need Yi's height.

At the end of the game, Yi would finish with just 22 minutes, fewer than two bench players, and second only to Hassell among starters in minutes. That he managed 9 rebounds, 2 blocks, but only committed one foul, means that he's getting more comfortable and avoiding the problems he had last game.

Those are good indicators his game is improving, and it's way too soon to panic about his playing time issues. Bobby Simmons played very well tonight, but he's more of a threat to Hassell's starting spot than Yi's.

The next three games, facing Boston, Milwaukee, and New Orleans will likely tell more about Yi's future development than tonight did.

Boston's one of the best teams in the NBA, New Orleans means a tough matchup with the powerful David West, and facing Milwaukee means returning to the venue where he broke his pinkie.

Yi needs to step up and continue his post-injury improvement, or risk watching more New Jersey victories from the sidelines.