It seems that there a lot of posts saying how good we will be when yao comes back. The only reference we have is big z, and he only plays about 30 min a game., does not bang inside like yao, and is 50lbs lighter. When yao comes back he can not be same kind of player he was or I think injury will be unavoidable. You put a lot of stress on anything and it will eventually break.
I don't think he'll be playing 30+ minute anymore. The season is like an experiment to find out how we need to play when Yao isn't on the court. If its successful, then that will put less pressure on the coaches to play Yao his usual minutes when he returns.
I pray he doesn't play 30+ minutes and I also pray he doesn't have that stupid rotation of Whole 1st quarter and than 5 minutes into the 2nd quarter rotation and than repeat in the 2nd half, except in the 4th quarter we bring him earlier if the game is tight. (we had Deke and Hayes but we continue to use him in a r****ded rotation)
NBA is a star league. Current team can win regular season. But you need Yao to win a WC. Yao can easily get 30 points by taking 10 shots if single covered. If he's taken out the game by trible-teamed, the other players will punished them just like what they did in portlands series. Don't underestimate the star powers.
Big Z's procedure was A LONG TIME AGO so I am sure medically things have advanced enough that I can only assume Yao will return to a good level...now superstar level I don't know but I'll take a 15 and 9 center who can give us 25-30 on a given night in a heartbeat especially if he is paired with a mature AB and evolved TA along with another star to anchor the squad.
