Yao had foot problems starting from his teenage years playing for the Chinese teams. According to wikipedia, he had broken his foot twice by the time he was 20. Holmgren hasn't had any issues yet, and hopefully, his body holds up.
Yes, Yao was intentionally trying to gain muscle to stand up to the NBA, but as his later Hindenburg like condition shows, he was going to gain weight regardless. He entered the league at 296! There was a popular belief among YOFs that he was forced to gain weight and that he wouldn't have naturally been more predisposed to put on wweight as he aged unlike most other humans. There's just simply no evidence that this counterfactual is or was true. Look at Kareem Abdul Jabbar, he's still lean as hell and has been since he retired Look at Shaq on the other hand. Not the same! It's not like it's because Orlando made Shaq gain weight and the Milwaukee Bucks kept young Lew Alcindor on a diet. But that's effectively what you're saying here. Yao gained weight because he was always going to gain weight and the Rockets - logically, tried to make it good rather than bad it's total YOF insanity to pretend like he was forced to gain weight and otherwise could have played SF in the NBA if the Rockets hadn't destroyed his mobility , but it was a not uncommon and silly argument back in the day. And still is.
Ugh, completely revisionist. One day, Yao was upset because Sura wouldn’t pass to him and told him that he would be iso’d. Battier tried to make him feel better and took him for a drive. Unfortunately, they ended up in Brenham, and toured Blue Bell. It was then and there that Yao tried Blue Bell’s homemade vanilla for the first time. And then he tried mint chocolate chip. Then cookies and creme. The rest is history. It’s all Sura’s fault.
Lofton is an extremely skilled and intelligent player. He knows how to use his bulk to create space and then he's got really good footwork and a lot of different moves in the post and off drives. In the U19 FIBA championships last year, it was Lofton that led the US comeback vs France. Not Chet. If we're just looking at the offensive side of the floor, Lofton would have been a lottery pick. His issues are on defense. He's dropped 20 lb since the end of the college season but he still weighed in at 280 at the combine. His issue is always going to be his ability to switch and guard smaller players. If he can't do that then his minutes will be limited. He bullied Victor Wembanyama in a similar fashion when they were matched up in the 19u FIBA Championship game. On the offensive end, he's a load for anyone trying to guard him. When he entered the transfer portal after last season, UH was considered the favorite to land him. If he'd have gone to UH, they would have been the consensus #1 in the nation entering the season. They are still #2 or #3 in most of the early polls, but Lofton would have added a dimension to their offense. Sengun vs Chet is a completely different challenge. Sengun gets his shots mostly from deception rather than by being physical. Chet will matchup much better because he's so much longer than Sengun and he has such good lateral quickness and timing on blocking shots. If Lofton can stay on the floor defensively, he's going to bully a lot of players next year - rookies and vets.
Looks like stamina could be an issue for Holmgren in his rookie season. His outside shooting probably disappeared in that second game because of this. Stamina and foul trouble are usually things frontcourt players need to improve in their first few seasons. Sengun's going through it, and it looks like Holmgren will, too.
They played 3 games in 3 nights during the lockout season in 1999. Nobody liked it. Charles Barkley said he couldn't even have sex 3 nights in a row.
Yeah, it's a good thing he doesn't face undrafted guys on two-way contracts often then I kid, I know what makes Chet a special prospect goes beyond defending the post. But, I do think it's funny that there are a few super pro-Chet guys don't think his weight will affect his effectiveness at all his first year or two... which is fine if it does since he is a rookie! His rookie year he can still have elite help defense, excellent help rim protection against the average NBA player, and his defensive bball IQ will help him even as a rookie... which is still impressive. It's okay to see that he will get bullied some plays, but make up for it on other plays. But, he has DPOY potential someday, just not under 225 lbs and with his ectomorph body type it will might take a little more time than other guys. I do like his attitude. He'll need it as he'll have a target on his back each game.
I watched this second game. Chet looked fine. Lofton scored on him some and was also forced into bad misses and turnovers by Chet. I don't know of any Chet injury history yet many people have already confirmed this will plague him in his career. That OKC team is going to be tough. Chet will be great, but Giddey is really good and Jalen Williams looked really good last night. The Rockets are going to have to step it up to beat them in the years to come.
