Yao should tell JVG that he wants to play more minutes. I think he clearly has much better stamina than last season. But he is playing same amount of minutes. I guess JVG is saving him for later so Yao wouldn't run out gas at the end of the season like last time. But now the team is in big trouble. They need to win some games quick to get back on track.
I think that Yao is definately in better shape, and could handle a few more minutes. Cut down his rest time a little bit, what can it hurt? In a minutes time, this team can lose a 10 pt lead!
It also depends on how long you want him to last for the season. This isn't a sprint. It's a marathon. Yao getting an extra 2 or 3 minutes per game now does us no good if he is wearing down in April. Besides, I think you seriously overestimate Yao's stamina.
His minutes are fine. JVG just needs to be more strategic with when to rest his superstars.. maybe try to set it up so that there rest periods are not overlapping. IE: Yao rests two minutes...Mcgrady plays Mcgrady then rests two minutes: Yao comes back in something like that
Overlooked fact on Yao's conditioning One thing fans outside of China probably would never think of is at the time Yao was born China was still very poor. Food was all rationed, like rice, eggs, oil, meat. The amount was barely enough for regular people, certainly not at all for a family of giants like Yao's. Yao didn't get enough nutrition when he was little, and that probably contributed to his poor physical conditioning. It is hard for people here to imagine what it can be like. But in Yao's biography he mentioned that he and Liu Wei didn't have any money to buy food after the coach left when they two were playing in the US as teenagers. Yao and Liu were living on 3 cheeseburgers (2 for Yao because he was playing while Liu was injured) every day for a couple months.
I think Mutombo is a more than competant sub, so I'm not worried about Yao getting enough minutes. If anything, I think Yao should rest more early in the game so he'll be more energetic in the 4th.... part of the problem in the last two games I think.
Yao used to play 48 minutes in China. His coach won't take him out if the game is close. Guess the style there was much less taxing. One big thing is he has to fight for position so hard all the time. That takes a lot energy.
It is said that if it wasn't for his parents had a hard time feeding him they probably would have another child.
I think you are probably taking Yao's words a little too seriously. China was very poor, but Yao's family is not a normal Chinese family. There are 2 national team members in that family, I don't think food was a problem. Maybe they weren't eating very scientifically, (overcooking protein etc)but I'm sure they had more food than they need.
I am going to put you on the ignorelist. Not sure if that would make all of your trash threads invisble
You're probably right. At the games, you can really tell when he is gassed. That said, he seems to recover really quickly. Wish there was some better way to maximize his playing time.
You guys don't understand what it was like when you can't buy food even you have money. You have to have some kind certificate to do that. There was certificate for rice, for meat, for eggs, for oil, for clothes, almost everything. Barely enough for a regular person. When I grew up, I dont remember ever had milk. It was a totally different world. I used to play soccer in college here. We Chinese players on average are taller than Koreans and Japanese, but they normally bulkier and have much better stamina. Our conclusion was those guys grew up when their country's economy already took off so good nutrition, just like today's kids in China. Today's Chinese kids have much more likely being fat. China was strictly communist back then--everyone is supposedly equal, so even Yao's mom was former NT captain, it wouldn't make a difference, unless you are top official. BTW, his dad was never a NT member. It was reported that his parents could barely meet Yao's appetite because they had the same rations as everyone else. Growing tall doesn't mean good health or strong physical build. I am 4" taller than my dad, but was very skinny.
Never cross JVG's line!!! If yao approached JVG askin for more minutes, JVG will start Mutombo and keep yao's ass warming the bench!!
