Forget about 7'6''. Just look at guys who are 270 lbs+. These guys put nearly as much pressure on their feet as Yao does as far as the force it takes to move that body mass around. It's just physics. You don't think Shaq's foot or Ostertag's foot endures at least as much force as Yao's as they run around on the court?
Do either run around chasing guards on the perimeter? Check out Shaq during games. Did either have foot surgery at Yao's age? BTW its not the same. Shaq at 7-1 or so and others around him are not the same as Yao at 7-5. Now we are dealing with center of mass. It will take much longer and more energy out of Yao to change direction that it will take Shaq to do the same. Those inches matter!!
It's not Reebok's fault. Obviously you're playing too much defense. Didn't you know? Gameplans should be designed around the shoe. Otherwise, Van Gundy is at fault.
I don't care for Reeboks either, but I must admit that I own a pair of Iverson XI's. They are pretty good shoes. My old pair of $40 Magic Johnson shoes caused a horrific ankle sprain coming down off a rebound which will probably result in surgery one day. However, if you go and try on a number of $100+ basketball shoes, you will find that many of them are quite uncomfortable unless your 6'5 250lbs. Most newer Nikes, including the Lebrons, are rediculously uncomfortable and poorly made. I find it hard to believe some of these players play in these same sneakers for games without padding modifications. Air Jordan's made in the early 90s were much more comfortable and looked better than pretty much any shoe you can buy now. Right now, I would say Converse makes the best b-ball shoes right now. I love K-swiss too, but their b-ball line is quite limited. Adidas is a little bit better, but T-Mac 5's are way too bulky. My Iverson's have a built in pump that tightens the shoe as you walk, good ankle support, incredible grip. The plastic on the outside part seems to be wearing too fast, but it probably dosen't help that I'm usually playing outside on 100 degree concrete. I would like to buy a retro pair of the old Charles Barkley shoes if i can find a place that sells them, I dont know my size to order online.
What I dont understand is why reebok still exists.. its a pice of **** brand and it shouldnt even make basketball shoes. I can honestly say that I have never owned a pair of reeboks in my life. a pump on the sole? what the f*ck is that.. the dumbest invention I have ever seen.. lol..
You sure Shaq has a lower center of gravity than Yao? I mean, Shaq's got a lot more upper body bulk than Yao, whose body mass is pretty much concentrated on his massive ass and legs. If you look at Erick Dampier too... that guy's 6'11'', but he's all upper body. Avery Johnson calls him Tweety Bird because of his r****ded looking skinny legs. The point is while Shaq, Damp, Fortson, Z, etc don't play for Van Gundy like Yao, Ewing, Oakley etc. They get injured just as often. Also, IIRC, Yao's foot and toe were an issue even before Van Gundy's arrival. He "toughed it out" with that messed-up toe for years and didn't miss games until the infection after being stepped on last season finally required surgery (and he managed to come back stronger, free from the toe problem, finally). Pryuen can probably update us on the facts on Yao's foot history. Either way, I see TMac, Rafer, Keith Jones, and JVG trying to figure the problem out, while the Reebok folks are busy denying responsiblity and not acting concerned... reminds me of the Bush Administrationo on Iraq.
JVG just set a record in NBA by blaming a pair of shoes for his failure of coaching the Rockets to anything better than the last place in the division! I don't think there ever been any coach, or player done that before, this has reached a new low in his career. Yao is the one who has been wearing the shoes for many years, you think he didn't know if the shoes had the problem? Nike might have the fancy looking shoes, but Reebok always has more comfortable ones. I wore the Nike ones in my younger days, but not when I passed my 30s, when I need to look after my aged feet. I got bloogy toes a lot due to smaller guys always step on my foot, Yao will always have this problem with his toe, nothing will change that, he just has to play throught it.
Where did he mention anything about the shoes' relationship to the record? He talked about the shoes' relationship to Yao's toe injury. He constantly said the Rockets had "enough to win" last year, he's the one guy who blamed the injuries for the record less than anyone else. (Mostly, he blamed the team that's left not playing smart enough or hard enough).
Maybe the shoes don't have any particular problem per se...maybe it's the intensity of the workouts and the world championships, etc. However, if the shoes can't handle the intesnity Yao is expected to bring to the court, then it's time to get better quality shoes. You would think Reebok and his agent would want to maximize Yao's full potential by providing him with the best quality equipment available.
From Oct 7 Chronicle by By JONATHAN FEIGEN "This is a repetitive thing," Van Gundy said. "It plagued him last year and cost us dearly." So, yes he blamed the Rockets horrible performance last season to Yao's injury, and already set the execuse for this season if we fail again!
i would probably wager that the amount of stop-starting that a non-Gundy coached center does in an actual game is considerably less than the amount that Yao does in a single Gundy led practice. i think it is very possible that his current toe condition could have been caused by continuous trauma to his feet in a short period of time (intense practices every day allegedly working on his PnR defense) rather than the supposedly gradual and less traumatic abuse his foot took in the WBC games and practices involved. you can walk thousands of miles spread across decades in crummy or decent shoes and not get a single blister, but try hiking 15 miles straight without a liner sock under your regular socks even in the best of shoes and you'll likely get blisters within the first several hours. it's the amount, severity and duration of the trauma without any rest or recovery that appears to do the damage. Yao's career is by far from over. he can more than handle 3 days of practice. "we're talking about practice," Allen Iverson. he was only taken out of "practice" for precautionary measures and later had his toenail removed because it was practically falling off. he stated (lying or whatnot) that he felt "no" pain and could continue on. and of course he could have. up to the point of the toe getting seriously infected again. who knows how long that would take, but i'm sure it would take a lot longer than 3 days.
This will destroy Reebok in China....they should have thought about this before and taken care of the problem....if they had to, they should have sent somebody from Reebok without having the Rockets ask for it....they should have a Yao Toe Specialist position for reebok who looks after Yao's toes..massages them sucks on them whatever....
you DO realize that Iverson's shoes are the "best of the best" that Reeboks make right? They put all their R&D into his shoes. It's night and day. All high end Nike basketball shoes utilize zoom air. The Lebron's, Kobe's Huarache 2k5s, Steve Nash's shoes, etc. Bigger players tend to wear the shox line or the air max line because it has more structural support and helps deal with more stress/weight that's placed on their feet. As for Jordans, there's a reason why they're always the most expensive shoes Nike produces . First was because of the name and second is because they put the best technology into the Jordans (just like Reebok does w/ the Iversons). You never heard of a shoe that had a carbon fiber shank plate until it was put in Jordan XIs. You must not like your feet to be putting on shoes by Converse. I rather take a pair of And1s (who, btw, makes some great basketball shoes for like $60-$70) than a pair of converse. Ever tried on a pair of Dwyane Wade's? Little ankle support to speak of.
