If the first month of the season is any indication it’s going to be a lot of fun to follow Yi Jianlian and the Milwaukee Bucks this year. Prior todays loss to Philadelphia the team was riding a 5-game win streak and was tied with Detroit for first place in the Central Division.�

Yi has been even better than most would have thought possible, averaging close to 10 points and six rebounds a game. He comes across as an affable, normal guy and apparently speaks English as well as or better than Yao does now.

I think the potential holdout talk prior to the draft, and the subsuqent chatter of Yi contemplating staying in China once the Bucks had drafted him, did him few favors in the states. Thank you Chinese officals and agent Dan Fagen. I remember when Yi first got here there were a smattering of very pensive articles, as if Yi had arrived from Mars.

Surely this can be partially atributed to his being Chinese. China, and Asia in general, can seem like Mars to people who’ve never been or learned much about it. The reverse is true as well.

Which makes it all the sweeter that the Bucks are winning and everyone is happy. This is from an ESPN the Magazine article sidebar entitled Yi to the City.

If you’re rolling along North Milwaukee Street and you see a black man and a Chinese man strolling side by side, please don’t panic: No one is shooting Rush Hour 4. It’s just new ‘mates Michael Redd and Yi Jianlian. Other teammates and the local Chinese community have reached out to Yi to make him feel more at home.

The main article is about Michael Redd (Bucking the Weight) and in it Redd says Yi can be, not the next Yao Ming, but the next…get ready for this…Dirk Nowitzki.

Indeed the Bucks beat the Mavs on Nov. 23 in a game that saw Yi matched up with Dirk. While Dirk outscored Yi 20-9 and added one more assist (3-2), but Yi outrebounded Dirk 9-3. Each had a blocked shot.

The Bucks also beat the Cavaliers and Lakers last week and are 7-4 despite having played the 3rd toughest schedule in the NBA. Yi would seem likely to win rookie-of-the-month. In this evening’s loss to Philly Yi scored 13 on 5-of-9 shooting and grabbed five rebs.

He’s also revealed he prefers Chinese pop to hip-hop music.