http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/4468124.html it's official Jan. 13, 2007, 1:20AM ROCKETS NOTES Yao won't play in All-Star Game By JONATHAN FEIGEN Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle Though the timing had seemed clear since Yao Ming was hurt Dec. 23, Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy made the team's most definitive statement so far on Yao's chances of playing in the Feb. 18 All-Star Game, ruling Yao out. "It's going to be a long time," Van Gundy said. "To put a timetable on it wouldn't be fair to him or to us. You won't see him there (in Las Vegas.)" Yao is not scheduled to begin "active rehab," on-court workouts, until the All-Star weekend. Advantage: T-Mac With Allen Iverson moving from the 76ers to the Nuggets, and from the Eastern Conference to the West, Tracy McGrady has competition for his starting guard spot. In the last update before the Jan. 25 announcement, McGrady led Iverson by 31,263 votes. McGrady said he was more interested in the honor than the starting spot itself. "I don't care about being a starter," McGrady said. "Once you've been a starter for a certain amount of years, it's an honor to be a part of the All-Star weekend. Being a starter or not doesn't matter. "It's a great honor to be a starter because your fans vote you in. You're one of the most popular players. But it wouldn't matter if I start or not." Iverson impressed With the Nuggets struggling following all their changes, guard Allen Iverson said he admired the Rockets' success despite injuries. The Nuggets went into Friday's game 3-7 since the trade for Iverson. The Rockets were 7-2 since Yao Ming's injury and 10-7 since Tracy McGrady was hurt Dec. 9, including the win that night. "They've overcome a lot of adversity," Iverson said. "Tracy was down and Yao stepped up. Now Yao is down, Tracy's stepping up. It shows what kind of character both of those guys have and what type of team they are. "And they're well-coached, too. When a superstar guy goes down, it's important for everybody else to do more, step their game up, and that's what they've done." Kings update The Kings bring a four-game losing streak in tonight's game. Guard Kevin Martin has emerged as their most reliable scorer, but with Ron Artest and Brad Miller back from injuries, the Kings are at full strength. Rockets update The Rockets, who are 8-2 since Yao Ming's injury, have done well in the second halves of road back-to-backs. They went 4-1 when playing the second of two games in as many nights on the road. ... Bonzi Wells, who played for the Kings last season, is not expected to play. Check this out on Saturday Watch the Rockets' defense. The Kings average 101.6 points per game and don't rely on the inside scoring that the Rockets seek to take away. Statistically speaking Though the Kings still fill the arena; with a sellout streak of 333 games, they are just 10-10 at home. jonathan.feigen@chron.com
i guess it's a loss but hey...if we rush him into ASG and dont probably rehab his leg...our playoff chances could be jeopardised...
not a big deal the ASG are not really yao's thing as he is not flashy or anything the only thing people want to see is him shooting threes.
Completely understandable. Even if there was a timetable that allowed him back for ASG it would be cutting it so close with his rehab time and theres just no need to take unneccessary risks.
No shock here. I also do not mind. I really do not care about the Allstar game. it is importent to get him back healthy soon.
Yao's votes should transfer over to Mutombo's. It's only right. Or people... VOTE FOR MUTOMBO!!! GOGOGO!
we pretty much knew that after the last article about yao. confirmed now of course. if he's in good game shape by early march we should be happy. interesting that tracy thinks he has an all-star spot wrapped up regardless of whether he's starting.
Amare will take Yao's place at Center, Yao won't be ready to make a comeback fuly when the all star game comes around so it's best for everyone if he doesn't make the game.
First off; if Iverson surpasses tmac in votes they should simply move him to SF since he would still be ahead of the forwards in votes. And why does it seem like Rockets players miss the most ASG?! Barkley, Olajuwon, and Drexler have probably missed more games due to injury than Kobe has even played in.
Just to let y'all know, I broke my ankle back in March. Even though the cast came off in June, my leg still didn't feel right. It's now January and it still isn't 100%. Yao will be playing in March, but I doubt he'll be the dominant Yao he was until next year.
good decision! there's no need to risk anything. and it's not that the all star game is so suited for yao's play anyways.
different severity of breaks FFB. Yaos break is not only a milder break(more of a severe crack as I understand it) but ina totally different location (which of course affects length of rehab) and if I know you, you probably didnt strictly follow the doctors orders about moving and putting weight on it(which Im sure Yao is)..which might also affect the length of time required to be back to normal. sry to hear about that bro...how did you break it?
Cool thing AI said about our team and our coach. He probably wishes he was on our team running the point, hehe.
Crap. I'm catching the Orlando Magic game exactly one week after the all-star game. Too bad I won't be able to watch the entire team play in person.
Good, i won't miss him. Let him get healthy and be ready for the end of the regular season and the playoffs. By the way i won't miss him because he won't put up a show in the allstar game. Damn i wouldn't mind if the all star game was all guards and some sf or pf.
