While it's uncertain whether Yao will ever, no matter how much time he is given, recover from his injury waiting an entire year for the lockout to be resolved would be a great way to start. He's said before that he might have rushed his return, I think given last season's performance we can all agree that more time couldn't hurt. Would missing the entire 2011-2012 NBA season give Yao more than enough time to rehab his body and come back ready to contribute for the remainder of his career?
With all the youngsters we have on the team compared to older teams, this is more of a benefit for the Roxs. As for Yao, hopefully this gives him plenty to recover and let his bones heal.
No. He would be 32 years old when the season started and he would have not played meaningful NBA minutes in 3 years. If an injury requires a 3 year rehab time, and you're in your 30's, and you're 7'6....you should probably call it a career. He's done. I love the guy, but he's done. Clutchfans really needs to accept this inevitability. The sooner the better.
Yeah, seriously, rehabbed right past his prime. If he keeps on playing, I bet he will be rehabbing til he's like 40 and we will still hope he can come back and be effective.
After this one last attempt. Let us see what he can do once this season gets going and by the looks of things it will be a shorten season like in 98-99 season. Yao will have plenty of time to get to the point where he can attempt another comeback. I hope he can do it but it will be a long shot.
Great thought I just kept thinking about the negatives. If we can figure out away to allow our players that need full-time weight programs Hill, Thabeet, Chase, Parsons and let Yao recover and this season is completely canceled it would suck for the draft and the fans, but next season a major miracle Yao can play from day one we would be seriously dangerous.
I don't think the time spent not playing the game will hurt that much. He'll be lacking defensively, but his offense won't really regress at all.
Yes, it should be. Why wouldn't it be? His whole problem is the pounding his foot takes from playing. It's not like he's going to be literally getting more rest, as in not doing any work outs or playing ball. He actually has to start doing more from now on to get ready and rehab back. If the lockout goes into the season, all it'll do is give Yao the opportunity not to miss games officially and possibly start with the team from day one, but it shouldn't determine when he's cleared for full contact or when to start new workouts. Fans are assuming, for example, if Yao is ready by November and the lockout ends in Feb, that he'll just push it back and get dec and jan off...but thats counterproductive for Yao. If he's ready before, then he needs to keep going to be ready for a possible season. If he's not ready before, then he has to stick to his timetable. The only way it may not be an issue is if the lockout goes deep into the season and then Yao only has to play half a season or even less. Then it lowers the probability of getting injured again, either by a freak accident or wear and tear, but the important thing to remember is that it still won't say much about his long term health. He needs to go through a good season and half, including playoffs, to show his foot is making progress andor healthy.
Yao would need to get down to a playing weight of like 275 lbs. because his feet seem small for his frame.
