I think the blame goes all around. On Yao, the Rockets & the CNT. He was playing too much period hence the stress fractures. As a Rocket fan, I would've like to see him rest in the offseason right off the bat. Yes play in the Olympics to represent your country but playing every year for a team that was a long shot to even place seemed pointless to me.
Yao has been used up more than a deadbeat hooker. What else did the commies expect, him playing way into his 50s, wining 20 rings and riding off in a unicorn? Book it boys, Yao will be the first and last superstar NBA player from China. Its not worth it putting up with these idiots who run the sports labor camps in China especially after the flop of Yi who whined endlessly before ever playing a single game in a Bucks uniform. Yao has my respect for being able to handle these lunatics and still have one of the most productive careers for a big man this decade.
I doubt the 5-6 games and maybe 3-4 practices Yao attended was enough to break him. I mean look at people like Ron and Rafer playing in Rucker during the summer. Its not China, its not the NBA, its Yao Ming. Hes 7 effing 6, unless he grows feet the size of phonebooks, hes going to have foot injuries.
Tell the NBA to match the 20 game schedule for CNT and maybe the Rockets make the Western Conference Finals!
2004 and 2008 olympic are the only times, i see Yao should play during the summer. Every other times are just bs by CBA period.
When you say 5-6 games do you mean the Fiba/Olympic tourneys? They are much more work than that, especially for China because they have to qualify most of the time, thus more games. It's not something players just show up to like a rucker game, those guys just show up. That's what had Team USA beat many a times, just throwing together a group of players and having them show up. Look at the Team USA documentary, it's more commitment than a Rucker game. But for the most part...yeah Yao's body isn't built for 82 game season. It's just funny how they are blaming the NBA and saying other players get hurt.
Its time for him to make a choice. HE either decides to go back to China or only play for the NBA and maybe Olympics. He cant play all year round. Yeah, i said all year. Even if there is far less games and practices in China it still means less rest. Its a known fact you cant play at a high level for so long. Some players may be able to play at that intensity longer but eventually they would all fall.
Who benefit most from Yao's playing in NBA: in order: NBA and Rockets. Yao and his family. team Yao. US government. China sport news websites, TV stations. Chinese sport reporters following Yao in Houston, in USA. Who got little to nothing form Yao playing in NBA: Chinese NBA fans. Chinese government Chinese National team
Yet most NBA big men don't break down like Yao has. The reason, they have time to heal their bodies, before being yanked into tournament play, but let their state influenced media keep yapping. All they're doing is ensuring than a Chinese national will never be drafted with a lottery pick ever again.
I'm actually surprised to see so many people agree with me that it is the long NBA season. These threads are usually straight China-bashfests. I think Yao and the Rockets would actually be best served for Yao to voluntarily sit out the first 2-3 months of the season. We're ruining our own investment.
It's a bad investment to begin with if it can't be put to work. If we're going to pay Yao like a superstar but lose him for 2-3 months per season, then it's just not worth it. Honestly I can't imagine anyone making those concessions for any other player in the league.
Wrong, this is probably the biggest myth around Yao. He paid a ONE-TIME fee to his club in China, a buyout. I don't remember the exact number but I think it was around 8 mil
We wouldn't have to do that if he just rested in the summer. I specifically quoted in the article that the CNT run their players into the ground with their training.
Besides Yao's case, there are many other coaches/players talking about the number of NBA games. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/2009-04-29-82-games-cover_N.htm But shorten the season? That is unlikely just for the money issue. Increase the season period with the same number of games to reduce the back-to-back games is more possible. But seriously, Yao never played for so many NBA games in his career until this year. ( 1 playoff game >= 2 regular season games) Is that a good thing or bad?
