One month after the last season, he gained some weight. I hate to say this, as I'm a Chinese also, but Chinese food is essentially no good to muscle and body development. Most of the Chinese food tends to overcook vegetable or meat. China national team planned this almost two-month training just for the crappy Asian Cup and look at what teams Yao had been playing with, NBA All-star? I never heard those names. And after all these traing, his face still looks fatter than the last season. Now we all know he's gonna miss preseason. If he continue to be under this much pressure, I suspect how long his body has to recover and regroup to get ready for 82 games plus all the travelling. One thing nobody wants to see is Yao injured his ankle or knee, and we all know without a solid preseason training, it's very likely. I believe Rockets officials should start talking with China Basketball Association. Or at least, send a professional trainer to China to help out Yao.
Training camp starts October 3, and Yao gets to Houston October 5. He doesn't miss any of the preseason, and only misses 3 or 4 days of training camp. Aside from this, yao gained weight because he's following the Rockets' weigh training program. He has the same amount of fat as last season. That's just a little body fat which an NBA training camp will take care of easily. Nothing to worry about. Just hope that he has decent rest, which he has already gotten.
I have the same worries as last year... too much playing in China and not enough rest before the NBA starts. Yao is destined to be the hardest working man in the NBA.
Gaining weight could be the result of the weight lifting program he was assigned. You are concerned he is training to hard there and not working on his body enough? How did he gain weight then? To me, either his weight lifting is showing result, or he is just going through light training with so much rest that he gained some fat. Either way, it is not the situation you imagined. That crap Asian cup is also the qualifing game for the Olypic game next year. Don't we fell bad that NBA superstars do not want to play for USA team? Look at how many overweighted people walk on streets outside, I think Chinese food is healthy.
You shouldn't blame his poor diet on the fact that he is in China. I saw many clips and read many articles of him eating pizza, whoppers etc. when he was here in the US.
It all depends on what you eat and how you cook. Pizza and whopers tend to be greasy and unhealthy but salads, soups, and a steak cooked in a manner to get rid of most of the fat can be quite healthy. But I do agree overall that chinese food is more healthy, as long as you eat more steamed dishes and tofu you'll be really healthy. iInstead of just stir fry, which is what most Americans think chinese food is.
The tournament in question runs through October 3. As per last year, I would expect he is required to spend a day traveling with the national team, a day dealing with the paperwork to return to the US, and a day of actual travel. If he traveled directly, he might make the back end of the road trip on the 7-8, but it would be much more logical for him to go directly to Houston and meet up with the team on October 9, in preparation for the Seattle preseason game on the 10.
Rockets to play first game at Toyota Center on Oct. 12 By JONATHAN FEIGEN Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle The Rockets' opening night at Toyota Center will be a preseason game against the New Orleans Hornets on Oct. 12 in the team's annual Clutch City Classic charity game. The game will come about a week after the arena officially opens for a concert and almost two weeks before the Aeros host the facility's first regular-season game. The Rockets also will play preseason games at Toyota Center on Oct. 16 against Sacramento and Oct. 22 against Denver. They will begin their preseason schedule with an Oct. 7-8 road back-to-back at Portland and Seattle. They will host the SuperSonics on Oct. 10 in Little Rock, Ark. They also will play at Sacramento on Oct. 14 and at San Antonio on Oct. 24. There will be an arena open house Sept. 14. Players with three or fewer seasons of experience are scheduled to report for training camp Sept. 29. More experienced players must report Oct. 2 and start training Oct. 3. Second-year Rockets center Yao Ming has been excused from the start of training camp because of his responsibilities with the Chinese national team, competing in Harbin, China, in an Olympic qualifying tournament. The Rockets hope Yao will arrive in the United States between Oct. 5 and Oct. 7. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The article, as well as the other one on the chinese website, clearly state that he will ARRIVE IN THE UNTED STATES between the 5th and 7th. AT MOST, he will miss 4 days of training camp. You have the pessimist's view, and you are projecting he'll be reporting on the 9th. So he'll easily be back on the 7th. If he's back on the 6th or 7th, that's great. You know what, if he gets here, and only gets to WATCH the first preseason game, and play FEW minutes in the second, while playing the rest pf the preseason, that's great too. The point is, he's played in the NBA, and all he has to focus on now is learning JVG's system, and he has the whole preseason to do it. He will have 4 days less than everyone else in training camp. Big deal. We can sit him out for halfof the preseason, and get him to catch up on what he missed. It's not like he needs to get into shape, he's been playing recently, and he's not unfit. Whatever it is, it's INFINITELY better than last season.
The important word there is "HOPE." The only way he gets back on the fifth or sixth is if all the paperwork gets settled, and the CNT lets him hop a plane from Harbin the minute the tournament ends. Regardless, it makes little sense for him to arrive, join the club, and hop on ANOTHER couple of planes (crossing the country to Portland and Seattle) for a back-to-back.
Chinese food makes me fat because I'm always hungry after a Chinese meal, so I end up sneaking out to Whataburger for a night cap.
Hey, I am not blaming Chinese food. I am saying "look at how many fat americans we have here, I think Chinese food is healthier."
I am watching this in my head: Ashcroft "hold on, we need to run a background check on this big dude. Somehow I feel he poses a threat to our national security, don't ask me how though."
The projection is that he'll ARRIVE between the 5th and 7th. Obviously, they took whatever paperwork there is into account, and obviously, the chinese website would know the dates of the tournament's end. They didn't say he's free to leave between the 5th and 7th, they specifically said ARRIVE. That's the difference. Either way, it makes a HUGE difference that he can be here even if he doesn't play in both games. He can learn from watching, from being there, from talking to the assistants. HUGE difference. Even if he arrives on the 10th, and doesn't play a single preseason game, he's WAY better off than he was last year. Remember, he arrived for the 2nd game, and started playing immediately. You don't think it would make a difference physically being there and watching ALL the games and then starting the season from the first game after having discussions with everyone on the team, and having watched everything being done in person? It's not the best situation. I hate that we have to worry about it. But let's be realistic. He's at a very VERY minor disadvantage this time. Last season was problem. This time, aside from having things easier, he KNOWS what to expect and how to deal with everything. Language and communication is less of a problem, and he's had some rest already earier in the summer. I'd love to have him here like all the players on Oct. 3, but I'm not worried AT ALL. I'd be pissed if he blew off the National team commitments for a few days of training camp. It's a MUCH MUCH MUCH smaller deal in the states to blow off your national team to play in any sporting event, but in Asia it's COMPLETELY different. Yao would lose a lot of fans if he decided to blow off the National team. China comes first. the Rockets come 2nd. I am sure he'd drop the Rockets before he'd drop the national team.
good point. Chinese food is very heathy and not easy get fat. I were so surprise when i first came into north America , many overwieght people anywhere. but now I get fat and fat just couple of year. I think Chinese food is better and heathy.
It's a pointless argument, but last year the Rockets "hoped" YM would be here a couple days before he actually showed up. Regardless, even if he gets here, I am *advocating* that he skip the trip. The only way it would make sense is if he joined the team in Seattle (since he is likely to fly in via the West Coast anyway), then flew back to Houston with the team. Agreed, the tournament was moved, and there is nothing that can be done about it. As far as "time off earlier in the summer," he had a couple weeks between the NBA season and CNT training and that is it. I don't count any of the time from when he joined the CNT through this tournament as "rest."
Good point about last season and him arriving a few days later. I'm not trying to pick an argument, I just think that everyone is better equipped to make a better projection than last season regarding his arrival. I also think that it's a great idea for him to join us on the second night of the back to back, if he doesn't make it before the 7th. However, I think a few weeks of rest is MORE than adequate. LOTS of NBA players rest for a few weeks and then train really hard for the coming season. Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady, and Rasheed Wallace have all done this in the past, with the latter only starting this offseason. I think we could be in a better position, but I'm sure you'll agree that we're in a MUCH better position this season than last, and the problems are minor compared to what we expected.
another thread about yao getting fat... guys, yao is not fat!! that is just a ridiculous statement... when your chinese it seems that if you are more than just skin and bones you are fat...this is the nba yao needs to carry that weight, if not more... comment about yao being over-worked however, is dead on... but what can be done?
Nothing can be done... that's how it's gonna be with Yao Ming. He knew it, the Rockets knew it, and we knew it going in. Yao Ming plays every summer, period. But think of this: when he gets here, who'll be there to work with him? Mr. Mean? Ha ha, HELL NAW, trick. Patrick friggin' Ewing! One of the greatest centers of all time. Tell me that won't help from day ONE.
