I'd rather expect all-star-like performances and be disappointed, rather than to outright say that he's going to take a huge hit, and then be forced to eat crow.
I may not be a genius with numbers but if alot from you don't expect much to expecting much, think Yao can average 15 PTs and 7 rbs per game at 25 minutes....adjusted mins to 35 minutes it means he is 20-10 player easily. That's back to form. He would have to be a 10-4 in 25 minutes to suck really bad. Somehow I can't see that. Most of the time he scores 5-8 pts in the 1st quarter in the first few minutes....back to form? Very possible but he is just 1 foot injury away again. I don't care what he averages, he needs to finish the season with no CAST.
miss <7 games. be a leader. less minutes, less turnovers, beat the fronting. too much to ask i might say. good luck to us.
I feel very happy. I am a realist. I regard history. My impressions have reasons. How many injuries has Yao sustained? How many consecutive seasons have ended with him being injured? Has his performance been affected by injuries? Is there a statistical probability based on his physical metrics that he will be injured again?
Thank you, I take no pleasure in casting a negative vision of Yao's future, I am fan. However, history tends to repeat itself, and many fans are being unrealistic about their expectations.
On offense: I'd like to see him at the high post for P&Rs and G&Gs and hitting the backdoor cuts. I'd like to see him scoring from outside, maybe even extending his range to the three-point line. In other words, I'd like to shorten the court for him, to see him passing like Divac and scoring like Ilgauskas. Leave the low post to more athletic bigs. On defense: Just stand there with arms up. Block out. Then trail in transition.
To ppl who use TMac as a comparison. I think at least half of TMac's problems are mental. Even at this stage, if TMac works as hard as Yao, plays as tough as Yao, with his exceptional talents, he can still be an elite player. My point, TMac cannot come back from injuries does not mean Yao can't either.
That's only true if you have control of the outcome. We (the fans) have no control on how Yao recovers physically from this injury/surgery, therefore our expectations do nothing for the outcome. I'm just going to watch Yao next season, hope he improves as the season progresses, and pray that he doesn't have another season ending injury.
