A lot of fans believe limiting Yao's minutes creates a chemistry issue. I think it's a valid point, so i'm not questioning it. However, many also believe the solution is to just play him without limits, since he has "healed". The popular concern seems to be he'll have another stress fracture, if the limit is lifted. Now i'm not a doctor or a med student, so i definitely hope to hear from others with more medical experience, but i think i've learned enough to to clarify some things and bring up a certain point: Yao's surgery wasnt simply to fix a stress fracture. Many here still believe that's what it was for and he just needed to rehab enough to let it heal. In reality there were 2 parts to the surgery. One was to help the fracture heal by using a bone graft. The other part is what some tend to overlook and forget. He had certain bones re-aligned to lower his arch, so that hopefully he won't have another stress fracture in the future. Apparently the fracture has healed and that's why some think he's fine to play extended time and claim the team is just being overly cautious by keeping him out for half the game. However, the re-aligment of the bones needs it's own rehab and that often really begins once he's cleared to run and jump (after the healing of fracture). Technically this rehab just started 2 months ago when he was cleared for full activity. This rehab is almost purely about adaptation and integration. Usually with most rehabs you're just re-introducing movements to the body. It's been there, done that before and therefore getting everything back in sync is more of a set routine/timetable, which is easier to project. In Yao's case, the new aligment is just being introduced for the first time. The body and leg especially, has to adapt to a "new" arch. Although the difference in his arch isn't huge, it'll still be enough to change his mechanics some, so his body needs time to adapt to this in a basketball setting. For example, bone has the ability to change based on the load it's under. It can become stronger, larger, change shape, etc. With new bone aligment, different bones or parts of a bone may know be experiencing different forces/loads, so the bone has to adapt to it by basically re-molding itself. Although i dont know the specifics of how long this can take, I doubt it's immediate and even if it's fairly quick, there's a lot of different movements the foot can make and with varying loads, so the more he plays the more completly the bone, and other tissues, can adapt. This doesnt mean he needs to play without limits though. Remember this is still a fairly new/infrequent procedure and not a routine rehab like an ACl tear or broken bone where there's a lot of prior cases to use to predict and set a timetable. You have to start off by setting a reasonable limit and take it slowly. Monitor it closely and frequently and increase his minutes on the fly almost. This is why Morey has said his PT may increase as the season goes on, but is very vague as to when and by how much. Anytime you do something that's fairly new or uncommon, there's going to be less specifics, less will be set in stone, and impromptu changes are more likely. Hopefully this clears some things up......and for those in the medical field feel free to correct anything or add to this.....the more info we have the better fans can understand this process.
Doctors said so... I believe they make the best educated guess to how much stress his foot can hold. Dont forget hes friggin 7'6. Most 7'6 people cant even stand up straight.
Very insightful, RV6. Same problem for the team (and Yao) exists, to me. If Yao isn't fully healed, then even an arbitrary limit on his playing time is a hindrance to the team. Adelman makes a fuss out of thew team "using" or "remembering" Yao...in order to "maximize" the minutes Yao is available, for instance.... ...which puts everybody else in uncomfortable and unfamiliar positions, trying to execute an offense nobody is accustomed to with Yao present, all the while trying to make sure Yao's time isn't wasted.... ....it's an unnecessary mess, especially considering Yao needs time to reacclimate, and then to be reevaluated. I am not at all opposed to the Rockets being cautious with Yao's recovery. What does concern me is the nature of Yao's reintroduction to not only the team, but NBA basketball in general. There are three courses of action available, to me: 1) take the brakes off Yao, and let him and his coach and his teammates figure out how much he can go 2) get well under Yao's current 24-minute limit (say, 10-15 minutes), thereby reducing the team's dependency and focus on Yao 3) have Yao participate in practices, but leave him out of games until Yao's progress can be reevaluated. Practices can give you about the same measure of activity to gauge Yao's progress as game situations. It's all conjecture, at this point, RV6. Nobody wants Yao healthy and able to play at a high level and for a lot of seasons more than me. But there are currently too many pots on the stove for the Rockets to get anything worthwhile cooking.....
After this season it's time to for him to walk. Yao's best time was 06-07 before breaking his leg. He's a prayer shot these days that can't contribute any other way.
stop trying to work around yao. playing him full minutes will shorten his career, playing him limited minutes messes with our rhythm. we're in a lose-lose situation. trade him or play him as a back up and get a real center.
i hope you're joking. i'd only be ok with that if melo signed an extension with us, but that's still not something i'd jump up and down about.
at this point you almost want to send him to the vipers, let him get practice in and his limited minutes and come back when he's ready to play 30 +.
Why would you not do this even for half a season........ Nuggets front office wouldn't even do that dumb trade.
