What is that all about? Up until last month Yao was still on crutches, and still wears a protective boot. It has been mentioned that he will not play for the Chinese national team this summer. The guy is not an agressive player and is very immobile, and he recently suffered two major foot injuries which will slow him down even more. What exactly am I missing in the "When Yao gets back next season all we need then is..."?
Because he can sit in a chair and be the 2nd best center in the league. His size and shooting touch make him the great player he is.
yao will still be good b/c he never relied on athleticism in the first place. the problem is, he won't play big minutes anymore and able to handle the responsibilities he once did. if we still need buckets and defense for short stretches, i'm sure yao can provide that. but if morey or the organization thinks having him back will elevate us to championship contender status without adding another all-star, that's wrong. he'll put up something along the lines of 14-15ppg, 6-7rpg on 25-27 mins a game.
OP is a Yao hater. Look at our team this year without Yao and that's all you need to know. We suck defensively and offensively without him.
yao isn't athletic, nor do he rely on that. His shooting skills and size is enough to help us to become better. Op, you do got some point of concern but only time will tell. Also he is young and this summer, he finally get to rest. (how will he react to fronting defense).
How about we just take this opportunity to use your statement and complete it: "When we get Yao back next season..." we will be a much stronger team on BOTH sides of the court: offensively and especially defensively.
we're struggling defensively without him (due to just lacking a 7' in general). but we're not struggling offensively. 100.4 ppg on 44% fg without any inside presence is more than pretty darn good. offense is the reason we're able to be where we are at right now with our record.
First, stupid thread. Second, Yao is a finesse center, he doesnt need to bulldoze his way to the paint or need the agility Hakeem had. Yao can just catch the ball down low, face up, and shoot. That is his game. Also he can back down and use his jump hook. Yao's size alone scares the crap out of people driving to the rim so the only thing i see Yao not being the same is his defense but thats ok because he is 7'6". Third, yes this is a serious injury but if big Z can recover then Yao sure as hell can too. Fourth, Morey needs to find a good back up center that can cut Yao's minutes to 25-30 a game.
Next season starts in 8 1/2 months. The Chinese National team is not the same team as the Rockets. He was never an aggressive player or very mobile so your point has is pointless. This is like saying Dwight Howard won't be shooting free throws very well next season so he won't be the player he was before. You are missing the fact that he brings what this team needs most. Those things are size and shotblocking in the paint. Of course, it doesn't hurt that he is the best free throw shooter on the team and commands a double team ever time he touches the ball within 12 feet of the hoop. If you can't understand how having that makes a team full of short guys much, much more effective then I'm not sure what else I can tell you.
From what I understand, the reason Yao's out for the whole year isn't the injured foot in and of itself. It's because he chose to opt for surgery which would fix the foot and would hopefully prevent his feet from getting injured. It's the same process that Big Z had, and he's been very consistent as of late. Therefore, we have reason to hope Yao will be back healthy next year, and this team has clearly massively missed his defensive presence as well as the "Throw Yao the ball on the post and if he catches the ball, watch him own his defender" play.
Does Cohete Rojo mean Red F%#K. Yao is better let me rephrase that, Yao is much better than anyone else we have on this team right now. He will give us better rbounding shot blocking and shooting at our weakest position. I hope that answers your question Red F%#K. Yes I neglected to mention this astute observation by Dave78. Chuck commands a zero team coverage and Yao commands a double team. That's a net result of 3 players.
When Yao went down with the stress fracture in his foot in 2008. He was averaging 22.0 pts, 10.8 rebs, and 2.0 blks in 37.2 mpg for 55 games. The next season, Yao played 77 games, his first full season since the 2004–05 season, and averaged 19.7 pts and 9.9 rebs, while shooting 54.8% from the field in 33.6 mpg, and a career-high 86.6% from the free throw line. The decline won't be by much , if any. He'll pick up right where he left off.
Also, part of that decline was a change in coaching philosophy. Less reliance upon T-Mac/Yao and more on team and ball movement. You know Yao is willing to sacrifice his stats for the team. He could have dominated more if called upon to do so.
Big Z was never asked to carry the team like yao. Plus his minutes post surgery were closer to 30 minutes or less. No chance anyone can expect yao to come back and be the same player he was. It has been shown that his feet just can't do it. The doctors cant try to reshape the feet, but they can't change basic physics. You can't have him play hard for 35-40 minutes a night
Hang in there OP..... I knew you were going to get beat up the second I read the thread title... All I can say is keep your head up and say "thank you big brother may I have another please...." Now personally, even if (and that's a big IF) Yao comes back he will not be a good fit for this team... Yao needs to be with a veteran team and as I have said before this team has moved on without T-Mac or Yao and they should continue on with this movement... Now for you who are amazed with Yao hitting free throws sitting down.. Then we should also sign Dr. Tom Amberry he holds the record for the most free throws in a row. Or maybe this guy... <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/NzYh4CGAbCU&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/NzYh4CGAbCU&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> But in the famous words of Bruce Lee.... Boards Don't Hit Back... <object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/OMaHDtiTZEA&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/OMaHDtiTZEA&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>
