Reason for Optimism: a serious comparison of Yao and Ilgauskas

Well, if Yao's injury pattern is anything near what Z's were, then the Rockets are guaranteed to never, ever come anywhere close to having a serious shot at a championship, even with McGrady around.

If that's the case, then it's definitely time to unload him/McGrady and all other big contracts and rebuild now.

If you meant that there are things we can learn from Z's injury history in dealing with Yao, then I guess so but I am afraid Yao is bigger/heavier so I am not sure how comparable they are.

 

I am sure you haven't read the complete post.

 

Looks like the point completely went over your head there, Debbie Downer. The reason for optimism is that post-surgery, Z has been pretty rock-solid and has never missed a game due to foot problems. And we know that sports medicine has advanced considerably over the past decade, so we have every reason to expect even better results for Yao.

 

I think all the bone screws they put into Z's foot actually are doing their job and prevenign further bone injuries.

Therefore, I am glad that Yao is deciding to screw himself this year. He will come back more durable, I hope.

 

again, the key to minimizing stress on yao's body isn't going to have anything to do with his minutes during the nba season. 5 or 6 minutes a game is negligible compared to the wear and tear he probably puts his body through in training. it is in training that he needs to focus on ways to alleviate pressure on his knees and feet. conditioning in a pool instead of running a track or similar alternatives will do a lot more good than notching down his minutes on a game to game basis.

 

Aren't you a little old for screw jokes.

 

Thanks, topfive. It's encouraging. And it's refreshing to see someone actually do some fact finding to comment on Yao's situation.

 

Justify this statement, please. It makes no sense.

 

Bulking down seems to be a good and will help significantly in reducing
the stress. But then it would be good get experts to analyse how Yao moves, run and jump to further find way to reduce stress on his feet.

 

Good post
I do feel better after having read that. Hopefully Yao can come back and be equally rock solid as far as playing the season out goes

On a side note... wow! Poor Ilgauskas, missing 85% of games for that long a span?

Also, is there any preventative measures that can be taken so that Yao doesn't injure his other foot? I know they wouldn't normally ever operate on a healthy foot, but I duno if putting in screws permanently gets rid of the issue would they?

 

Damn your dumb. Who the hell would rebuild if their team is on a 14 game win streak. Kill yourself please - Malcolm X would be ashamed of you.


You act like Houston window of opportunity is similar to Dallas - 1 year or less.

 

With our current roster and rotation, I am seeing a pattern or a trend of winning a Championship. Part of it, we need Big Yao so badly......

 

I would say the window of opportunity is the next two seasons (the duration of McGrady's contract, basically). Hopefully, both guys are healthy.

We will see...

 

Great post man! It definitely made me feel better about Yao's future. I think our team will stay in tact for next season. Management sees this team's potential, and they'll get their shot next season IF we can stay healthy, and this post gives me hope that they in fact will stay healthy next season!

 

Below is from pryuen's thread of Yao's recent interview with Titan Sports. He talks about his upcoming surgery and makes a comparison with Ilgauskas' situation.

 

A lot of you have been underestimate the 2-3 months rest for a professional athlete especially basketball player.

You may compare Big Z's size, injuries with Yao but Big Z doesnt work as hard as Yao or doesnt has the same workload as Yao every summers. He gets a lot rest to prevent another injury!

I dont want to blame Yao's injuries solely on his CNT commitments but training hard 12 months consecutive for the past 6-7 years will stress one physically and mentally which will cause one to get injuries easier.

God bless Yao to have a successfully surgery but after the surgery he still continue to be a workaholic like he is now, the chances of him getting injuries are much more higher others.

Well then again you cant completely blame Yao to overwork. Shaq get injuries so often because he is lazy! So is the matter of getting in between!

 

I'm just going to ask a question becuz I actually think its a great post. If u thought yao career would mirror big z,when would u trade him? knowing what u know now and a team offered the rox kaman and 2 lotto picks, what would u do?

I understand the long ok career big z has had, but the rox can't win a title with big z type of production.

 

He is not saying that Yao will have the same kind of career as Z, only that he can recover and not have additional foot problems like Z did after his surgery.

For example, Tony Allen tore his ACL and has returned pretty close to the player he was. If Kobe tears his ACL, that doesnt mean he will only return to the level Tony Allen is at.

 

What I'm saying is that every injury takes atheleticism from a player. If grant hill would have sat out of that playoff game instead of playing on a broken ankle trying to tough it out, we would be talking hof. The back injury has taken a lot of explosion from tracy. If and when yao comes back and he is even slower than he is now, then what? Better yet, what is he worth?

Next yr I hope yao plays at least as he did this yr, but if he declines or misses 28 games again, then the rox should trade him.