T-Mac, he was until his knee held him back. Yao was bothered by the foot injury, too. Miss the good ol' days.
Yao was a great guy, great player, and hard worker. You can never hate on that. The only two things that made me want to trade him later on, was his injury history and how easily nullified by fronting he was (though that was also the fault of our guards). I still feel that it would have better to trade him for a solid double-double big that could play the majority of the season and all of the playoffs and a potential star wing to replace the departed carcass of T-Mac. If Yao was not injury prone, Dwight would have been the clear number 2 in the NBA.
We have always owned the Chinese market. But with every year passing with Yao retired, the ownership weakens slightly. By now, every player other than AB (who was brought back after a year in China) on the Rockets team while Yao was here have since moved on. There will always be some loyalty and interest in the Rockets. But you're not getting Rockets nationally televised for 82 games in China any time soon. But Lin does bring more of an interest back in the Rockets. It is common sense. There is no need to belittle the significance of Lin in this. Yao was the reason. Lin will help keep it going. As simple as this.
This is in the paranoid and insecure Lin fan's mind. Yao Ming is significant, he's probably going to get his number retired by the organization. Plus Yao is 100% PURE ROCKET. Never a Knick, Never a Golden State player. ONLY A ROCKET.
I agree with tinman that Yao is criminally unacknowledged by--of all people--Lin fans. Yes, Yao is 100% Rocket. I do hope they retire his number. He was a great team member, the no-"I"-in-"team" kind. And a great player. And I will not forget when a poster in this thread said (last year) Yao doesn't count because he is a "genetic freak." 1) Didn't know genes were why we should like/dislike people. 2) Everyone in the NBA is a genetic freak.
Yao's significance will never be reduced. He's number will be retired. He's going into HOF. He was never a player for another NBA team (unliek Hakeem). But it takes a paranoid 1999 Otis Thorpe fan to actually have to keep stating these "FACTS". It also takes an insecure Rockets fan to not be able to acknowledge that 20,00km away, after Yao retires and does not play, fans in China might lose interest even somewhat in the Rockets (****, that's where Yao-only-fans came from, right?). That CCTV will not live broadcast every Rockets game on TV without Yao. And that Lin, being of Asian heritage (yellow skin, black hair, look similar to me) will generate interest in China for the Rockets. You can't have it both ways. All these fans when they want to say Lin suck, it is because he's on the Rockets because Le$ wants him for marketing/endorsement purposes, and turn around and say Lin has no effect on the China market. Complete and utter foolish arguments. Grow some security Tinman. It's 2013. You can still love the Rockets if Lin is on the team or if Lin has an impact on Asian marketing/endorsements/publicity.
It rubs Rockets fans the wrong way when lof try to anoint a player "Lin" a superstar simply because he's Asian and had a good run and is now a solid player, when the Rockets had a real Asian superstar really the only real Asian superstar in Yao. I know Asians want to have someone to cheer for that is like them and while I think Lin is good and a nice guy to boot it's the force feeding of he is a superstar or has that potential that is hard to take.
He's the one making this a race issue or a 'lof' issue. As far as I know, the facts are Yao is irreplaceable, but the impact of one person will not last forever. Otherwise British soccer fans will still be glued to every Los Angeles Galaxy game (and we know this is not true). If it's not a "player's fan" issue and we're just talking about the player and his impact, which is what I'm talking about, then I don't see what I've said as being wrong. Lin has a big impact in China. Not anywhere near as big as Yao. But it's been acknowledged it's pretty big. Why does China want Lin to play for their national team? Why does China try to claim Lin as their own via one side of their grandparents? Why is there demand for Lin to do clinics and commercials (yes, even that silly KFC one) in China? Why not go for the 'real' superstar players?
I understand completely the impact he has for the Chinese culture in general but i think it's hard to rationalize with some fans his actual ability versus marketability is all. Granted there are not a lot of options in general for the Asian population in basketball as for a lot of races besides African American but I still think you can be a fan and at the same time be realistic about the certain player. My only complaint is there are too many delusional fans that overstate what Lin is and that's unfair to him and the fans of the team he plays for. I like Lin as a person and as a player but he simply is not an elite player at this point and I think his limit with any type of usage rates is borderline allstar. Basically it would be like me saying if Parsons was given the opportunity he could be the best small forward in the league, it's just not really an option he is good but not Lebron.
And there are a lot of examples of players who stand the test of time, Russell Dr. J, Jordan tons of them and I think Yao is one of those types not only because of basketball but what he did internationally for the game of basketball. There will never be another Yao IMO
The LOF aren't Johnny Gills that's for sure. they argue, Jeremy is Asian American and Yao is just Chinese. you know what? Yao is a HOUSTONIAN. Notice he says "Houston" not Rockets. http://houston.cbslocal.com/2012/03/21/yao-ming-enjoying-time-in-houston-now-excited-about-future/ “I have to say I appreciate,” Yao said of his career in Houston after being the Rockets No.1 overall draft pick in 2002. “I am pleased I can have a career spanning Houston and a great team I played with and great fans and great media. “I grew my family here and I also grew myself mentally from a young boy.”
Why should Lin fans have to be fans of Yao? The only thing the same about them is that they both have roots going back to China. Everything else about them are completely different from each other - from the position they play to their backgrounds. For instance: Yao - born and raised in China Lin - born and raised in US Yao - #1 draft pick Lin - Undrafted from Harvard Yao - 7' 6" center Lin - 6' 3" PG Yao - back to the basket post-up player Lin - penetrating scoring PG I'm sure there are Yao fans who are not Lin fans. I don't think there's anything wrong with that either.
Yao Ming got the key to the City.. What? City? HOUSTON . HOUSTON, TEXAS. Not California, Not New York. HOUSTON, TEXAS. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/h5_suUyQz94" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
It takes time to built roots and affinity for a place especially if a person is not originally from there.
I agree with you they are different players. But on Clutchfans, lots of LOF's connect Lin to China--all of Asia even! To them, in the context of Clutchfans, I ask: "If you're so into China and all of Asia (!), where's your respect for the Chinese superstar Yao Ming?"
Try not to make a controversial comment, do you see a pattern here? Those who love Yao are likely white people, and those who hate Yao are likely black people. Even as for today, Reggie Miller is still saying Yao is just bit of better than Rik Smith on TV. I rarely heard a white NBA player who was keeping saying Yao was overrated, but black player like Barkley just keeps saying Yao was not good, sad thing is that those people generally do not like European players too. Hate to post this kind of stuff, but it is true.
