Due to the current Yao situation, my first thoughts are disbelief and next questioning not fate or Yao but mainly the team physicians. Looking at the body of their battles with team injuries, I question them because it seems like their advice hasn't been that effective. I realize guys like McGrady and Yao are unique and had their own built in problems, but way to often McGrady seemed to only get better (or told its time to shut it down) by going to outside medical staff. In 2007-2008 season ended with Battier getting surgery early in the summer but was still held out for about a month because of swelling while rehabbing. I am starting to wonder if part of our problems are that the team docs are not giving the players the best advice when it comes to actually getting better. It obviously isn't all their fault but I think we should take a good look at who/what advice was given to Yao around the time of his injuries and how effective any of it has been.
Team Physicians and Dr. Clanton Must Go! http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4295729 If this audio report from Ric Bucher is even 50% accurate, then Clanton and all the team physicians must go NOW! Are you effin kidding me w/ this? First they miss the fact that Yao's foot was injured (excuse me but wouldn't you be running stresss tests on both feet on a fairly regular basis just as a precautionary measure given his size and history)....then they misrepresent the seriousness of the injury to the Rockets' top brass after the initial diagnosis? So we know they did absolutely NOTHING to try and prevent this injury (a la advise sitting out a few games before playoffs, limiting minutes, etc)...and now we learn that they can't even convey the gravity of the injury, whether it was initially understated or now is being exagerrated. C'mon, these guys are a bunch of clowns...how do they still have jobs ???
Dr. Clanton is the main doctor who is also in charge I believe of the other 2 Houston sports teams, Texans and Astros. Funny though, it seems all Houston teams are at the top in injuries each year in their respective leagues. Im not saying Clanton himself is a bad doctor or what not because I believe he's not, but maybe either bad luck and bad case or injuries or maybe it is the team doctors and maybe they need to be looked at? I'm not sure.
Over the last several years, besides Tracy and Yao, have we had injury problems beyond the norm for the rest of the league? It doesn't seem like it but I don't have any data to back it up. Is it simply Tracy and Yao that create this impression of us being injury-prone while no doctor in the world could do much to prevent their inevitable breakdowns?
McGrady, Yao, Mutombo, Sura in the last 3 years. Houston is the NBA hospital. It's where players go when they want to end their career with an injury.
Yes blame our doctors for Yao playing all year round while being 7'5 and over 300 pounds. Tmac was born with a minor case of scoliosis and has seen many doctors outside of the Rockets organization.
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i never believed the houston doctors are incapable before, but hit after hit after hit and i'm really questioning their ability to identify the severity of injuries and how to treat them.
if anyone is to blame its Yao Ming for playing all those fukin international games hurt and exhausted. it was only a matter of time before he broke down completely, no one can play at a professional level year round and expect to stay healthy. this is the consequence of his choices
never mind the fact that every player taller than 7'2 has had short careers due to foot injuries/problems. blame the doctors!
No one is saying its the doctors fault for Yao's injury, T-Mac's injury, etc. Its a matter of are they giving the right advice, doing proper procedure, etc.