Lock this thread if it has been posted. Yao plays in pain; Van Gundy discusses center's fouls By FRAN BLINEBURY Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle Complete Rockets coverage It only took six minutes for the Pistons' Rasheed Wallace to smash Yao Ming on his right hand, where he's playing with two dislocated fingers taped together. He seems to get hit in every game, but vows it won't slow him down. "Nothing is worse than the day I dislocated them," Yao said. "If that finger is still on my hand, I can play. I still have a left hand to shoot." Sticking with Yao The game was only 84 seconds old when Yao Ming picked up his second personal foul and some eyebrows were raised when Jeff Van Gundy didn't move to get him out. "Yeah, you always think about that," Van Gundy said. "I don't subscribe to the notion that you have to take a guy out after two, take him out after three. I don't like to foul my guys out and watch them play less minutes." Kudos from the Pistons Having been to the NBA Finals twice in the last three seasons, the Pistons have credentials to recognize teams with potential. "(The Rockets) are pretty good," forward Antonio McDyess said. "They are an excellent club and will surprise a lot of people and will sneak up on somebody." http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/4657992.html
I never get my finger dislocated, so I don't know what is like. Any clutchfans has similar experiences before can share his story in his thread. How to play in pain, like Yao did.
I keep hearing about how the Rox are so good. Ron Boone the Utah Jazz announcer said the same thing about the Rox during the Jazz/Clips game last night.
"If I happen to lose one of my hands, I don't worry; the gods were kind enough to give me a spare." -Yao
From the Brush Back -------> Yao Ming Kills Man To Prove Toughness To Jeff Van Gundy HOUSTON--Houston Rockets center Yao Ming, seeking to dispel the notion that he lacks “killer instinct,” stabbed a man to death in the parking lot of a gas station on the outskirts on the city last night. Yao, who is being held on $2.5 million bond at the Harris Country jail facility, is expected to miss the rest of the season and the playoffs. Upon hearing the news, coach Jeff Van Gundy said he was impressed with Yao’s newfound mean streak. “He killed somebody, huh? Not bad,” said Van Gundy, who has criticized Yao in the past for being too soft. “I mean it’s wrong to kill a man, but on the other hand, you have to admire the fact that he’s developing a mean streak. Bill Russell had one. Wilt Chamberlain had one. Shaq has one. And now Yao has one. How many times did he stab the guy, anyway? 72? Wow. That’s going overboard. That’s gilding the lily, so to speak. I would have been happy with a flagrant foul, or at the very most, a non-lethal bludgeoning.” Van Gundy is now faced with the prospect of entering the playoffs without his all-star center. “We’re in a tough spot now with Yao in jail,” said Van Gundy. “I can’t help but feeling party responsible for it. I told him time and time again that he was just too nice out there. I wanted him to get angry. I wanted him to be a little selfish. I wanted him to throw some elbows around. I called him a ‘p***y’ about a hundred times a day. And you know what’s even worse? I’ve been using the same approach with Bonzi Wells. Oops. Is it possible to raise the terror threat level for just for one guy?” According to the police report, Yao was sitting in his SUV in the parking lot of a Texaco station at around 2:30 AM when 42-year-old Michael Langford pulled up alongside him and went inside. When Langford came back out, Yao emerged from around a corner, grabbed him and dragged him behind the building where he proceeded to stab him repeatedly with a hunting knife. The entire incident was captured on security camera footage. “We’ve got it all on tape,” said police detective Kenneth Wolf. “Yao just dropped the guy to the ground and started stabbing him. It was really frightening. The guy was screaming his head off but Yao didn't care. When he was done, he stood up and looked right at the camera. He looked very calm and subdued. Bored, almost. Not a trace of swagger. I’m starting to see why he hasn’t won a championship yet.” While being questioned by police, Yao admitted the murder was an attempt to appease his coach. “Yao just seemed frustrated,” said Wolf. “He said he tried everything to prove his toughness to Coach Van Gundy and nothing worked. When he got to the station, the first person he called was Van Gundy. He was all excited. He told him the news. Van Gundy was like ‘the ****?’ That’s when Yao realized he did something very wrong. That’s when it hit him that he crossed a line by stabbing that man 72 times.” This morning, Van Gundy addressed his team about the incident, and encouraged them to “play with a chip on their shoulder” the rest of the way in order to make up for the absence of Yao. “The team really has to step up now in his absence,” said Van Gundy. “It's do or die. I need to see a mean streak. I need some anger. Not real anger, of course, but basketball anger. See, that’s where Yao went wrong. I didn’t want him to kill anybody. I just wanted to see him scowl a bit and punch his chest and throw a few elbows. That means you’ve got a killer instinct. If you just go out there and politely score 28 points every night, it means you’re a giant p***y.” Van Gundy added: “Believe me, if we can get our **** together and win the championship this year, we are going to look back on this day and laugh our asses off.”
Yao is strong, he'll make it no matter what. God will bless this hard working man and help him survive the obstacles on his way to the top.
"Nothing is worse than the day I dislocated them," Yao said. "If that finger is still on my hand, I can play. I still have a left hand to shoot." Yao is one tough guy.
Whoever said Yao was soft is an idiot. This guy takes the punishment and is learning to dish it out. I can't wait till Yao is in game shape. I still believe he needs 5 more games to be back to his true form, isn't that scary.
