Re: OT Yao to possibly miss next season and beyond I always believed that Yao's career would be much better had he been a few inches shorter. Anywhere from maybe 7'1 to 7'3. Considering just how gigantic he is he really moves extremely well. Imagine taking a few inches off, adding the athleticism and more importantly probably reducing injury issues. Dunno what to make of the rest of Yao's career but maybe Adelman or whoever hes coached by starts treating him like Shaq the last few years- lots of days off, rest days, extreme caution. Just make sure hes healthy and rested for the POs.
Re: In light of Yao possibly being out for next year... I wouldnt. And I dont mean it as we will have Joel forever. But I just know Greg is not ready to man the 5 spot for a HEAVY HEAVY minutes.
Re: In light of Yao possibly being out for next year... I wouldn't do it, either. I think that we can sign Artest--or someone close to as valuable as him--without trading Joel. Ed O.
Re: OT Yao to possibly miss next season and beyond Man.. adding the improved athleticism, and speed, with that Skill set.. that could be just a tier below Hakeem territory, like Ewing maybe. Scary.
Re: OT Yao to possibly miss next season and beyond I'd like to see us make a run for Battier. If Houston is really looking at rebuilding he could be had.
My mom once broke that same bone that Yao broke - the navicular bone. It never healed right and she always had pain there. That is a bad bone to break. I feel bad for him and Houston - we all saw what a special talent Yao is, especially in Game 1.
Re: In light of Yao possibly being out for next year... Such a shame. I really like Yao as a player...he's the best offensive center in the game right now, and a lot of fun to watch (when his teammates are getting him the ball and he's not killing Portland). Had he had a long, uninjured career, he could have been a Hall of Fame possibility. Hate seeing players cut down early. Houston has had really bad luck with that in my lifetime...Ralph Sampson, Tracy McGrady and maybe Yao.
I really could not care less about Yao's injury, Houston being "snake bitten" or even T-mac. Oden has been dogged unmercilessly by the media and NBA fans as "Sam Bowie v.2." When you see a report such as this regarding Yao, you feel happy that Oden's injury was far less in severity and is both younger and smaller than Yao, which leads to a higher expectation of recovery. I do not wish Yao ill will. But I do the Houston fans. They were rude and arrogant towards our entire organization and were deriving penty of glee from Odens misfortunes. Unfortunately, the injury couldn't of happened to a nicer, classier guy. But the injury did happen to a player representing a fan base that I despise second only to the purple and piss. I doubt it is karma, but if it is I ain't complaining.
I hate to see this - even for a rival team. Some Houston fans may have been douchebags during the play-offs...but Yao as an individual has always been pretty classy (and often just plain fun to watch).
Re: OT Yao to possibly miss next season and beyond YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES !!!!
Re: OT Yao to possibly miss next season and beyond Yes but look at Artest's chiseled frame now note the Pillsbury Doughboy like body of Hedo. Hedo's training of his body is routinely brought into question I think that will shave years off of his career and Artest will hold up better. The entire question around Artest is attitude. Will he defer to Roy? Will he be a good or at least neutral locker room presence? If the answers to those two questions are yes then you sign Artest and you do it July 1st.
Re: OT Yao to possibly miss next season and beyond I think he would. You heard what he said about Roy in the Playoffs.
Very sad to hear this for me too, he seemed like real mellow and cool. I don't wish this kind of stuff on rivals.
Re: OT Yao to possibly miss next season and beyond Shaq, Duckworth, and Mark Eaton are examples of big bulky guys who had long careers.
Re: OT Yao to possibly miss next season and beyond He might have been talking about the size AND the height of Yao.
I'd just posted about this in another thread a few days ago. I think Houston has to tank this year, and tank hard. Do what the Spurs did the year Robinson went out with injury, and just pray you get the right lottery balls for a franchise player. Let McGrady come off the books and don't pick up Artest. Hell, maybe even pawn off Battier for proven youth. They should have a crapload of cap space they can go after big names next summer, even if they don't have an amazing draft. And if Yao can come back, wow. They could be looking at contending a year from now with some luck. They'd have no interest in Joel this year. The team I'm describing probably wins 17 games. Why pay Joel so you can win 23? Meanwhile, I'm all about getting Ron Artest on this team. Come on, Pritchard! DO IT.
Re: In light of Yao possibly being out for next year... Of the three I think Sampson was the most unfortunate. That dude was a total freak and great to watch. McGrady was already beat down even before Houston. Yao, though. Man. Although the Rockets can look at Big Z for hope. I never thought he would be productive again, but he has managed to get his feet right enough to play quality minutes. Yao may need to set out a couple of years to get it done. On the plus side, maybe they get Yao a big time teammate similar to how things worked out for the Spurs the year Robinson was down.
