[Chronic] Yao Says Foot is 100%

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/6033215.html

Yao puts best foot back on the floor

Center ready to go after injury cut season short

With sweat soaking through his practice gear and his once-fractured right foot fully healed, Yao Ming was finally back on the Toyota Center floor Tuesday. There were weeks of work to be done, rough edges to be honed. But he was back.

Freed from his surgery and rehabilitation to be the face of a franchise again, he looked around the arena and imagined himself ready to return to where he was when his season was so abruptly and shockingly ended last February.

Training camp had begun with a simple refresher walk-through. The arena was largely empty. Even preseason games were still a week away. But the disappointment and frustration of a season lost were at last gone.

“I can’t wait to go,” Yao said. “I can’t wait ... for first preseason game, for first regular-season game. I want to go try out myself.”

Yao again declared the condition of his foot at 100 percent, showing the familiar sense of humor that had abandoned him when a third consecutive season was interrupted by a major injury.

“I feel good,” he said. “I can’t say it’s like brand new, but it’s like my foot.”

Yao has looked forward to a chance to start over since he blamed himself for the Rockets’ first-round exit last spring in Salt Lake City. As much as he cherished his experiences in the Beijing Olympics, he said Tuesday that in many ways it was valuable as preparation for the Rockets’ season to come, forcing him to prepare early and then pushing his conditioning to the point he reported 13 pounds lighter than last season and feeling far more fit than a month ago.

“That was not 100 percent, I know that,” he said of his readiness for the Olympics. “I was about 70 or 80 percent in the Olympics. I tried my best. Because of my injury, I could not give them 100 percent. But in a way, the Olympics were a very good tryout for me to prepare for the Rockets’ season. If you throw this out there, probably some of the Chinese fans will not be happy, but that’s just being honest.”

Still, the Rockets approach the season planning a delicate balancing act with Yao. They want him to start the season playing as well as he was when he was hurt the past two seasons, but they also plan to keep tighter reins on Yao’s celebrated work ethic to keep him fresher and perhaps even avoid injuries.

No time out

Yao has often balked at limiting his preparation or playing time. But after three consecutive seasons ended or interrupted by injuries, he is ready to try a change.

“I have to let up a little bit, not let my body get too tired before a game,” Yao said. “Let’s try some new schedules; just put the best shape into the game. I need to learn something from the last three years, seriously.”

While avoiding injuries would be the greatest goal, the Rockets hope that better play off the bench will allow them to reduce the career-high 37.2 minutes per game Yao played last season, nearly five more than his career average. But more than trim his playing time by a few minutes, the Rockets plan to make a greater impact by cutting back on his practice schedule.

“People say, ‘Limit minutes,’ ” Rockets coach Rick Adelman said. “I don’t know what that means. You need him on the floor. I don’t think we want to play him 40 minutes. What he played last year, maybe down from that. The biggest thing with Yao is monitoring him on off-game days, too. He’s such a hard worker; he just runs himself into the ground. He keeps saying he wants to rest, but he never wants to sit out. We’re going to try to monitor him as much as we can, be smart in how we use him.

“Practice is probably the biggest thing for Yao, back him off a little bit there. I remember last year, I told him, ‘I’m going to play you this kind of time frame’ and he was all for that — until the game. Then, he didn’t want to go out, then he wanted to go back in. It’s something you have to say, ‘This is how we’re going to do it, and this is how it’s going to be.’  “

Freshness counts

There has been no medical evidence, or even suggestion, that the workload led to Yao’s injuries. The Rockets, however, see other reasons to force Yao off the court more often.

“Let’s take the stats out of it,” Rockets assistant coach Jack Sikma said. “Yao is the type of guy if you watch him play, you can tell when it’s going good. When he’s not tired and he’s in game shape, he makes better decisions. His turnovers go down. He’s more active to the boards. There were times last year we needed to keep him on the court, but he got tired and struggled a little bit. That’s the situation we hope to reduce or eliminate.

“The most important part for the staff, Rick’s staff, and Yao, is we’ve had a year together now. We learned to trust each other. My input to him can be better because of what I know.”

Still, Yao was far more excited about finally being back on the court than the times he will be off it. The Rockets continued winning without him, including adding 12 more to the winning streak 10 games long when he went out.

Call him the streak

Yao, however, still has a streak going, having won the last 16 games in which he played.

And as happy as he was to be back Tuesday, the Rockets might have even been more exultant to see him.

“It’s great. It’s great,” forward Luis Scola said. “He’s a big part of our team, a huge part. If he’s good, if he’s healthy, if he’s mentally fine and physically fine, we’re going to be way, way better.”

Yao can hardly wait.