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Aldridge disses Yao again

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by mav3434, Oct 3, 2002.

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  1. mav3434

    mav3434 Member

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    Crystal basketball: 15 things that could happen

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    By David Aldridge
    Special to ESPN.com


    8) I expect Yao Ming to struggle this season
    Not because the NBA game is too different, or because NBA players are too tough, but because he's exhausted. Yao Ming hasn't had any real time off in almost two years and he'll join the Rockets -- we think he'll join the Rockets -- in mid-October, immediately after another Chinese National Team stint for the Asian Games. There's no way he'll be able to hold weight or keep his conditioning with the league's year-long grind. He may hit the wall at game 20, not game 40.

    http://msn.espn.go.com/nba/columns/aldridge_david/1440531.html
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    add him to the yao hater list thread.
     
  2. verse

    verse Contributing Member

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    i can't stand that nappy headed, charlie brown blockhead b*stard, but...


    i don't think it was all that harsh or out of the realm of possibilities. yao has played a lot of games.
     
  3. Joe Joe

    Joe Joe Go Stros!
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    I second. Its a lot of games.
     
  4. djones

    djones Member

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    Not to defend David, but I don't think this is a diss. What he says may be true. This guy has been playing for a while, not counting all the traveling he has done. The NBA season will be different for him, and it will take a big adjustment. All rookies hit a wall during the season because it is not what they are use to. Since Yao has been plaing so much he could hit it sooner.
     
  5. declan32001

    declan32001 Member

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    The things is it would be logical for Yao to be burned out when he gets here, but maybe not as much as some would think. He hasn't really been playing real minutes at the Asian games (5 mins. last game?), it sure doesn't sound like there's intense competetion going on so far (China demolishing everyone). It is also logical that Yao's gonna be pretty psyched when he gets here. The Rockets are going to be liberating for his game. And he's 22 and is going to be rich. He might hit the wall, but he's kind of used to a regimented grind (with the exception of constant travel) so he might fare better than most expect. Aldridge has been on the Yao-hater list already. Sounds to me like he's lightening up.
     
  6. heypartner

    heypartner Contributing Member

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    I don't really get this argument. I mean Yao only played 34 games in the CBA (an NCAA schedule). Even with the FIBA games, he still isn't at 82 games, much less 100 games that the Laker's played.

    Sure, he may tire out, but I don't expect it anymore than any other international player this year, like Ginobili. Argentina went through qualifyers too. In the Asian Games, I thought Yao was getting around 15mpg
     
  7. redao

    redao Member

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    But don't forget the training. It is a spring-summer-fall three season long boring training. While he missed the most important part: train with Rockets. It is a double negative to his new season.

    He is walking on the rookie wall .
     
  8. RocketsPimp

    RocketsPimp Contributing Member

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    What diss? He didn't say Yao Ming will suck or that he's going to be a bust. Aldridge simply said that coming into this season Yao Ming will have had no off time. No sooner had he finished his season in the CBA, he immediately began training for the World Championships. Once those were over he went straight into the Asian Games and when he wraps that up, assuming all of the releases come, he'll hop on another plane to join the Rockets who will be at least 2 weeks into their training camp and trudge into the 82 game marathon that is the NBA regular season. It's a good possibility that Ming will hit the rookie wall in the first couple months. The keys to him overcoming these extreme physical demands are going to be watching his minutes very carefully and making nutritional and physical routine are in order daily.
     
  9. mav3434

    mav3434 Member

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    Yeah, I was being provocative with the title, but you can tell he wants to diss him he just found another excuse this time.

    Anyway, there's a clear counterpoint like others noted; nobody is under the illusion that Yao is going to come in and play 40 a game anyway. If anything (disregarding the idiotic sub patterns of the China NT coach at the worlds) his Mpg will be drastically reduced, so maybe it will negate this "wall".
     
  10. bsb8532

    bsb8532 Member

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    Yao isn't going to be getting 40 minutes a night here and he hasn't been used and abused on the Chinese National team either. If anything it's good conditioning since most NBA players are playing during the summer in camps, etc.

    I'm not worried about how tired he is when he's playing 20 minutes every other night, I'm much more worried about how well he's going to be able to gel with the team after 10 days in training camp.
     
  11. Old School

    Old School Member

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    That's not a diss but probably closer to the truth than we hope. I expect Yao to get some 20 point games and other in single digits. I have a feeling it'll be a big up and down season for him. I sorta wis he had a month vacation to reenergize before joining the Rockets.


    os
     
  12. RocksMillenium

    RocksMillenium Contributing Member

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    The only problem I have with Aldridge's comments is he is saying Ming will hit the wall at 20 games, he is working under the assumption that Ming weighs 250 pounds not 300 pounds.
     
  13. Lil

    Lil Contributing Member

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    Pardon my ignorance, but is Yao's schedule really that much tougher than most normal players?

    Hasn't several of the Rockets (MoTay, Francis, etc.) been working hard "the entire summer" on their games? And didn't Wang stay in the U.S. to face tougher competition via the summer league? Don't some players (that anathema Karl Malone comes to mind) train nonstop like their entire lives?

    I'm not a NBA pro, but don't their lives pretty much revolve around daily basketball anyway? Playing or practicing once a day shouldn't be such a big deal should it? :confused:
     
  14. The Fever

    The Fever Member

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    The guy is 22 years old. When I was 22, I could run for days, play ball at night, sleep a couple of hours, and do it all over again the next day.

    Not only that, Yao doesn't play 42 minutes a game for China. And, they only play in tournaments, not a regular season. Games every other day for what, 10-12 days? Not only that, he only plays probably 20 minutes a game? That just doesn't seem very grueling to me.

    I personally think Aldridge just doesn't want Yao to be a success. He has never said anything positive about him, dating back to the draft lottery. I can't wait for Yao to prove everyone wrong. He is going to be waaaay better than the national media is giving him credit for. Which brings up another point:

    If Yao were drafted by the Knicks or the Bulls, I bet the national media would be saying "Yao is going to change the NBA. He will be the best player to come along since Tim Duncan." Funny how Houston never gets any respect on the national stage.
     
  15. RocketsPimp

    RocketsPimp Contributing Member

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    Yeah, but did you have to fly 10,000+ miles a couple times a month to practice and play basketball??

    He sure has been racking up the frequent flier miles over the past couple months.
     
  16. ElGrandeQueso

    ElGrandeQueso Member

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    Intelligence is often overlooked.
     
  17. Panda

    Panda Member

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    Hardworking players like Reggie Miller plays everyday in the summer. Yao played some games sporadically and flew about 28000 miles in several months. I tried flying 14 hours non stop from HK to USA, yes it's tiresome but two days rest was enough. He rested for about half a month(?) before the Asian games and is now playing about 15 mpg. Yao's summer schedule is not too physically demanding for a young man.
     
  18. AroundTheWorld

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    I agree. All this "being burned out" is overrated, especially for a guy who just turned 22. Come on, even if you played every day, it's like 30 minutes out of 1440 minutes. And flying around is stressful, but nothing that should stop you from being good at what you do.
     
  19. HoustonTx

    HoustonTx Member

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    Not a diss by any stretch, I think its a vaild point. Hell, he could have gone into the topic of how in the hell is Rudy and the rest of the team, going to communicaate with the guy, but he didn't.

    That being said, I can't stand Aldridge's Alfonso Riberio (aka Carlton Banks) ass either.
     
  20. DavidS

    DavidS Contributing Member

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    Makes you think about Gasol's schedule? Tony Parker's? Dirk's?

    I'm sure they play a lot overseas during the "off-season."

    Yet, they were able to perform well during the 82 game season.

    Also, isn't it true that the players that keep themselves in shape
    all season are the ones that avoid injury?

    I'm sure they need a break. But not for too long. It's not wise to
    balloon up like a Moochie!
     

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