I agree during the regular season. Then in the playoffs, you can dial a bit more Yao minutes and still have him make a deep postseason run. Unlike now, Yao dominates the regular season and if he is lucky to not get injured--just wait b/c he'll get hurt in the postseason. It won't be from a specific incident, rather a wear and tear issue with some bone, or ligament or whatever.
dont expect anderson to be anything spectacular.... the guy can't even guard yao during their meetings and he is a typical softy international player
How about the new Robert Horry. Sit him until April - Just be a decoy until the conference finals. And then let him go to work.
The problem I see with this has always been the same. How do you keep his minutes down in a tight playoff race? He did only play 30 something minutes per. Would 25min make that much of a difference come playoff time? The West is just too tough, you risk not making the playoffs. The ony way the Rockets could get away with this would be if they were in the Eastern conference where 35-40 wins still get's you a playoff spot.
No. When Yao comes back, he will be a starter, but not get as many minutes as he used to. I'd say around 25-30 mins max. Just because the Rockets are planning on becoming a more up-tempo team, doesn't mean they're going to be the next Phoenix Suns. There will be plenty of plays for Yao.
Maybe you're posting something that's an insult to everything that Yao is... benching Yao is not only an insult to him, but an insult to basketball.
I bet manu and ben gordon cried everynight. I bet the sport of basketball cried too. Every morning the equipment manager had to get new gear because the jerry west logo cried all night for insulting basketball.
Apparently you haven't read any articles about the Rockets in the last several months. Yao could handle a full NBA season; the problem is that he was also playing a second season in the CBA. I don't think he'll be doing that any more. Also, the point of his surgery is to allow his feet to handle his weight better, so his frequent breaks should no longer be a problem. Thus, there isn't a need to limit his minutes as you suggest. Second, Adelman's new offense isn't a "run-and-gun" like Phoenix. Get that notion out of your head. The offense sets up quicker, but it doesn't necessarily mean they just jack up shots immediately, but they will if an open shot presents itself early. It will yield more fast breaks. More fast breaks means more possessions that Yao can take off (he doesn't have to run with everyone else). If anything, he will benefit from it all. Bad thread is bad.
It is true in my opinion that playing in the CBA after his NBA seasons did contribute to his injuries. But, before Yao ever played in the NBA, he had already broken his foot twice in his basketball career. So I am not sure that he could handle a full NBA season where he’s playing nearly the whole game due to the design of his body and the constant stress that is placed on it. It is also true that this most recent surgery should allow him to handle his weight better and should prevent any future breaks, but I think the key word here is, should. It isn’t in the bag that another injury won’t occur; it is rather medical optimism, and the sincere hope of fans. Therefore, I think he should be played sparingly for two reasons; as a preventive measure against future injury, and to make the Rockets more dynamic and unpredictable offensively against opponents.
so the measuring stick of whether a player can be anything spectacular is whether he can guard yao now? hmm... I'm wondering how many players are in your "spectacula" list... and for some strange reason, I think andersen would be flattered to have his name mentioned with that list...
Sparingly is the wrong word. I think he shouldn't log as many minutes per game though as he has in the past.
Now go back and look at the minutes that Gordon and Manu usually played. Gordon played 36 min per game last year. Ginobli plays about 30 min a game. Its not like they get a ton of rest by not starting. Yao off the bench would still log starter minutes and that does nothing to prevent wear and tear. Plus, you mention this floor spreading center we can pick up. Please identify who that is. Everyone keeps saying get a backup center who can play but its not like they are out there to be had for cheap like everyone wants. Like others have mentioned. You can try to keep Yao's mins down, but late in the year when playoff seeding is on the line, you know he is going to play 35+ min if it is a close game. Also, like others mentioned, the notion that yao is completely ineffective in a run and gun system is wrong. If he can defend and start the break with a good outlet the team should score before he can even get to half court. Look at the suns in their prime. They were scoring buckets 2-3 seconds into the shot clock. You think all five players were past half court in that span of time. If the break is there go for it, if not, Yao will get there and you set up a half court game.
Seriously unless he's willing to take a major paycut it will never happen. Besides that you don't bring center's off the bench for scoring punch like a Ginobili because center's are a different beast altogether.
Of course you realize that as substitutions go, coaches generally don't swap out the entire starting lineup for the entire bench... ever. The majority of the starters will be in the game throughout the majority of the game. I mean, even if the 1st and 2nd strings on the team were like that, you would NEVER see that secondary lineup you posted all in the game together...
Yao is playing in not one, but TWO professional leagues? Can you provide a link to back this up? I wouldn't think the Rockets would allow a player to sign a contract with another team for the offseason...
I see some crazy thoughts again! When Yao comes back Coach 'A' will make adjustments to our game to accommodate our star player.Y
