My thoughts are that it's too early to tell. Right now he just needs to get used to playing again. Better to try and reassess it later. There are things to work on, like defensive positioning and not allowing lay ups, but nothing that says he's done or he's still a super star at this point.
i bet you are totally wrong. Yao will get his game in about 3 months to the level close to what he is used to be. as long as his medical Dr. didn't make any mistakes on his foot condition.
All these guys coming on here talking about Yao's career being over and all that mess... Have any of you played a sport and faced a big injury or operation? It takes time... I hope the best for him and yes, some people do not come back from injuries but usually, in most cases, injuries are tougher to get over mentally than physically. Yao seems to be a tough, hard working guy who is indeed headstrong... Im gonna say he will be OK. Do I expect him to be the greatest center in the NBA immediately, NO! Nor should anyone else...
Jonathan, do you think Yao will ever regain the dominance over Howard, that he has had in the past few years? (No. -- Jonathan)
I am doing my best to repress that depressingly reoccurring thought. It was what flashed into my mind when he went down over a year ago. I want to be wrong.
Look... I never doubt Yao's commitment or desire...ever. I like Yao, I think he's one of the class acts in the league and I'm glad he's a Rocket...I was optimistic after seeing him injury free in his first 2 years, but it's obvious that his body isn't cut out for the NBA. I think it's honorable how he's tried to come back from his constant foot problem, but it's all in the name of China...I don't think he gives a damn about the Rockets...but that's his prerogative and we just happen to benefit from it. After watching his first real game back, and seeing how much pain he was in....AND YES he was in pain I don't give a damn what he was trying to say, it was easy to see that his ability to stay on the court will get worse as the season carries on. You folks on this board can pretend to say..."oh we don't really know, we need to wait and see" but in my opinion, which has no future telling substance behind it, says he's done. He's an accident waiting to happen and we're just waiting for him to miss one of the grenades he's juggling. This isn't going to be pretty before the seasons over...mark my words.
I wonder if the believers/non-believers split up in terms of who was around in 2002? The first few weeks of Yao's rookie year there was ZERO chance that he'd ever turn into something special. He was getting dunked on, blocked, called out on National TV, getting crossed over etc. To me, he looks better now than he did his first games as a Rocket. Don't count him out. As long as he doesn't get reinjured he'll work himself back to form.
Damn like I said in a different post in an another thread he looked good. Did he look bad enough to feel this way?
You had the bravery to say what alot of us think.Kudos to you. We got rid of one crippled over the hill star(Tracy) and it's time to trade yao or let him go in 0-11
Just one preseason game ... and you're wishing an injury on him??? And for what? Just to prove you are right??? Geez, are you a fan or not? We're worried enough as it is he won't get back to even half of his pre-injury form and how that will impact our team, but we want to hold up positive thoughts for him. So many in the Rockets organization are rooting for him. Why can't you?
I don't necessarily agree with what Severe Rockets Fan said, but I must point out: he never wished injury on Yao. Not true. He may have predicted that it could and probably would happen, but he never stated that he wanted it to happen. Quite the opposite: he seems concerned about the state if the Rockets if Yao can't make it work (I mean, his moniker is "Severe Rockets Fan"). I don't want to crucify the guy for being concerned. There's a difference between "rooting for him" and "denying reality". His opinion is that the reality of the situation is: based on the progress we've seen so far, we need to start preparing and bracing for the time when we're told Yao isn't going to make it back. I don't agree with him, but I don't interpret that as rooting against him, either.
