Shed some weight (about 20 pounds), regain some speed/agility and practice high post shooting range and passing about 70% of the time. He'd definitively give up the ability to consistently man-handle the defense down low and wouldn't be such a focal point for the opposing defense BUT he wouldn't be able to be shut down by fronting and he'd probably be more durable; in the three years before Yao packed on weight and went JVG low post monster, he missed two games. Not only that, but he'd probably fit Adelman's gameplan better. He wouldn't be a 20/10 player anymore but his extraordinary height and touch means he'll be pretty close. This is the only way I see for Yao to still be a star in the NBA without the constant injuries.
Good point. Time for Yao to practice those long jumpers. He used to be dead on with those hitting in high 40s at least. On the post for defense, nobody challenges him anyways.
Yao is supposed to be fit like Garnett...they should not have him weight that much. Sure he lose some pounds and may not be able to back down his opponent as much. But if you think about it the benefits are much greater: It allows him to move faster, agility is faster, not tire as much so more mins, less injure. Yao domination through height anyway, his shots are unblockable. If he lose weight, it allows him to jump up faster (to get rebound), dunk faster, block faster, move faster.
He already shed some weight. The problem is WHERE he shed the weight, and i've been saying this for over a year. Yao bulked up from head to toe about 3 yrs ago, then the staff though it was too much weight for his body and last season yao kept the bulk in his lower body , but he dropped it up top. Thats was the mistake. They assumed he needed this to keep his post position, but we've seen it hasnt made a lot of difference. What has made the difference is his inability to hold the ball and move guys with his upper body. His heavy bottom also causes a lot of force coming down from a jump, and its concentrated all in one area so his landings are much more stressful. I think we've all seen whenhe jumps high he lands very heavily on the floor, like if his legs weighed a ton. He doesn't land softly. Many would say, DUH he is 300+ pounds, but so is shaq, shaq is shorter, but probably has been heavier, yet he doesn't land as heavy, because his body is evenly built, given him more control and a more even landing. What he needs to do is lose some weight down low, train for strength not size, and bulk up a bit up top. Even out his body. I dont think he necessarily needs to go to jumpers..he needs a partner next to him at the 4 that's a tyrus thomas type to take away the pressure of rebounding and shot blocking, this will cut down a lot on his jumping. He tries to jump higher on blocks and rebounds, and those are the jumps where he lands the heaviest and probably cause most of the damage. On offense he doesn't jump as high, so he doesn't land that heavy.
that's too skinny. He needs to lose some bulk from his legs, but gain some up top, needs to find a midpoint between those two.
Wow i was thinking the exact same thing Yao should cut 25-30 lbs. he will still be bigger than ever other center outside of shaq
Rockets and Yao may want to reduce Yao's weight? I hate to say this, but it's a given that Yao's weight is a factor with all his foot injuries. Watching those workout videos of Yao and his trainer Anthony Falsone, the Rockets, Yao himself, and Anthony Falsone wanted to pack as much muscle as they could on Yao to make him a power threat under the basket like Shaq. Unfortunately, the extra weight Yao has to bear from his extra muscle mass is putting too much stress on his foot and bone structure. NBA.com lists Yao as weighing 310 lbs: http://www.nba.com/playerfile/yao_ming/ I think Yao could shed 25 to 30 lbs from his weight and still be an effective center. His strength and power will go down, but his agility will go up. Overall, he will not be as effective at the post, but at least, his career and playing season may be extended. It's not like he was a bad center in his rookie year when he was a lot skinnier. Whatever can be done to lengthen his career and playing time during the season should be on priority list for the Rockets, Anthony Falsone, and Yao to decide.
Indeed, huge slow centers are a thing of the past. Just look around the league. Yao needs to lose the pounds and refine his jumper.
Down 30lbs ----> Shawn Bradley Jr. Yao's been playing like 40 mins/game for the last 5 or 6 games, cause Rockets have to use him to guard Oden and Bynum after Deke's injury. With 33 mins a game this season, he seems to be fine.
He's not the one that needs adjustments. His minutes does and he needs a legit backup center. I do suggest he gets more upper body strength though. I don't about losing 20 pounds. Losing 10 pounds might be enough.
i don't know about weight loss. he is attacked like a football lineman in games. don't know if he would be able to fight for position if he was lighter. and big upper body means nothing. you don't use bench press muscles in basketball. i think better management of minutes and a backup that can play and fight
Ya'll do realize that he can still keep a lean muscular build while cutting of some of his bulk, right? Is elementary bodybuilding, he can still maintain above average strength with lean muscle...a lean muscular (almost shredded) Yao at 285 lbs would be a lot more mobile an durable than a Bulked Yao at 310. Just look at a sprinters physique, lean and muscular...I'm not saying Yao should get totally shredded at 4% body fat, but more in the vicinity of 7% body fat @ 285 lbs, that playing weight will add atleast another 5 years to his NBA career. I wanna see the 2k4 Yao again, at one point in the 2k4 season duke was droppin close to 30 a night, back then Yao was even in the contention for league MVP...let's bring that Yao back.
