http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/2507574 Tired excuse With the playoffs days away and center Yao Ming citing late-season fatigue, coach Jeff Van Gundy knew just how much he wanted to use Yao in a regular-season finale that could in no way change the standings. "He's going to play big minutes," Van Gundy said before the Rockets' 92-89 loss to the Mavericks on Wednesday. "That excuse that he's tired -- well, guess what? That's tired. No one cares if he's tired, least of all me, least of all his next opponent. Here's a good quote: `I'm tired of reading that he's tired.' "I never hear Shaq (O'Neal) say that he's tired. Never. I never hear that. I never hear the great players say that they're tired. It's interesting. "He (Yao) goes through this a lot; two weeks or so his play is mediocre. He bounced back the last time he had one of those two-week periods. I thought (against) Seattle he was back on the upswing. So I was surprised to read about his state of fatigue." Yao, who wound up playing only 22 minutes against Dallas, sounded nearly as tired of talking about it. "I don't want to think about it," Yao said. "The more you think about it, the more tired you are." Van Gundy and Yao were in complete agreement that the Rockets will need Yao at his best in the postseason. "We need him to always be on an upswing," Van Gundy said. "As you saw by our record in his downturn, it's hard for us to win if he's not as good as we need him to be. That's where maybe our lack of depth hurts us. We found it hard to make up for it. If we're not getting his best, it's hard for us to win whoever we play or wherever we play. I don't think it's any secret. He knows he's got to play well." Pretty harsh words. In long term, I agree with JVG's strategy. But in short term, I still hope he would have rested Yao for the last two games. Very confused.
Damn straight!!!! I am so sick of hearing about his fatigue. Yao must step it up. I have no doubts that he will, BUT he really must. I am looking for him and Stevie to tear it up against the Lakers.
What an ass. I wonder if YM will remember these comments when he becomes a FA. Wasn't this the same head coach who said, just a few days earlier, that YM was being too hard on himself? Does JVG have a split personality? Raven
interesting that jvg is publicly criticizing yao over whining about fatigue. what's in his head?? is he merely being his typical tyrannical over-demanding self, or is he trying to get a rise out of yao, get him mad and all hyped up? if that's the case, hope it doesnt' back fire and send yao crying home to mommy.
I'm tired of JVG. All he seems to do is b**** to the media and be negative about everything-- Even when the Rockets play really good he has nothing but negative things to say.
*shakes head Your franchise player is in the paper almost everyday whining about how tired he is and you jump on the coach when he calls him out in the very same forum. Sometimes I think that's the only English Yao knows, tired. Never have I seen a player who has accomplished so little whine so much. I guess that is the biggest thing that bugs me about Yao is that 90% percent of the time he comes off as a guy who thinks he's the Chinese Michael Jordan, well I got news for you that don't mean squat here. The way he uses the Chinese media as his mommy or whatever, he goes off whinig to them and then we hear about it that way. I seriously doubt his character sometimes not that he is a bad guy just that he is an over grown baby who has been coddled all his life not by his mom or dad or aunts and uncles but by a whole freaking government and a nation. Everytime he gets knocked to the ground or fouled he looks to the ref as if he is owed the call because of who he is.
wow i completely disagree with your assessment of yao. he certainly needs to toughen up but i think you're way way off on this chinese michael jordan thing. do you honestly believe that he b****es more than your average american player? give me a break. considering the absolute abuse he takes with little to no calls his way, i'm pretty damn impressed with what cool he has.
Unless Allen Iverson is the average american player then yes I do believe he b****es more than most. Every time he opens his mouth I hope you're thirsty cuz here comes the whine. If you read what Gundy is saying he's making a point that when things don't go Yao's way it's because he's "tired", that is exactly what I'm talking about. i know alot of my perception may be based on most of the whiny assed yofs but this came from the coach, it also makes me wonder why the other players on this team have not completely rallied around Yao makes me wonder if they don't get the same vibes that I do.
No, it's called split personality. I repeat, didn't JVG say that YM was being too hard on himself, just a few days ago? Raven
Uhhhh.... What have you been reading lately (or smoking)? I hardly ever hear Yao whine in public. Whenever he mentions fatigue, it's always because the MEDIA asks if he's tired. He never straight up says it himself. I've never heard him say he's the MJ of China and he's always come off as a pretty humble guy IMHO. So please provide links to where "he b****es more than most".
I have always had the same thought. I am tired of reading that he's tired. I'm glad that someone told Yao Ming about this. Best of all, it came from JVG. Put up or......
Yao should be tired. No human being can go through what he's been through and not be tired right now. Even someone in superb shape (which Yao Ming was not) would be absolutely exhausted at this point.
i) I agree with u that Yao should suck it up. But from the articles I read, I have never found any of them where yao used "tired" as an excuse of his poor performance. He simply answered the media questions of whether he's tired. My impression is that he's tired after wins or losses. Did u really read that he used "tired" as an excuse of his poor performance? ii) Would u mind to enlighten me how did Yao behave like he's Chinese MJ? iii) Do u imply that yao uses chinese media to let the fans knowing that he's tired? Then yao must be pretty stupid. It doesnt have to be an expert to know that his endurance is VERY poor. I thought it was a known fact of every nba fans. iv) U think yao whine too much to the ref? Then he must be adapting to this team's culture pretty well. But from my personal observation, he still has a long way to go. v) Your sig. is very interesting. Would u mind to tell me does it refer to Yao?
i now firmly believe that jvg is a complete **s. how could he publicly questioning his star player's character at a time like this when he knew perfectly well that yao wasn't whining. he said last week that yao was too hard on himself? yao's 7'6 and played non-stop bball for years and when he said he's tired i think it's reasonable to believe he was telling the truth rather than whining. we all obseved that yao trying to catch his breath on the court from time to time. that's a fact. if i was jvg i'd just find ways to help yao, my core player, rather than to b**** him in public. it doesn't help a bit.
I think JVG criticism is more than okay. But I really dont understand the hatred of some fans here. I can understand u dont particularly like Yao as he has so much deficiencies. But why hate a pretty good person who's at your team? This implies to SF as well. U can criticise him for bad basketball decision maker but why insult him as brainless and stupid? THE GUYS IS IN YOUR TEAM. I call myself YOF but sometimes I feel like I love the players more than some of u so call rocket fans.
with all the articles where ming mentions catching up on sleep and being tired all the time i wouldn't br surprised if he had a thyroid problem.