Yao is a very intelligent, sensitive, and humble person. His remarks are expected. As some of you know, I have had a bad feeling since the last injury occurred. Given all available information, I don't believe that Yao will come back and stay back. I hope I am wrong. My prediction is that he will retire before his contract is renewed, unless, Les signs him up before viewing a good sample of his comeback. That would be a huge mistake.
Watching Hakeem play in the PVJ should be a preview of what Yao's new role can be. He was the defensive anchor and center-of-attention on offense. Yao no longer has to shoulder the offense on this current team because we have capable scorers at each position. One thing that Yao adds to our '10 lineup is that he is the only player on our team that can command a double team on a regular basis. His presence alone will force other teams to make adjustments. I still remember watching Tracie hobble around and STILL see double teams from time to time.
i love that about yao. he doesn't try to say what he thinks ppl expect like tmac. he says it like it is. nobody knows if yao can return to elite level. talk is cheap. if it can be done, yao can do it.
I agree! I think people misunderstand Yao when he speaks english (even though, he's spoken it for years and very well now). He still has the eastern mindset with words. When he does step on the court, he WILL NOT be what he was in 2009 Playoffs, but like DD said, he is definitely the guy that is willing to build himself back to that, or close to it. He hasn't lost his shooting, just took a hurting on his mobility. I just hope the Rockets minimize his playing time alot in the 1st half of the season and not playing him more until close to playoffs (where we need him the most!)
WTF have ya'll who are saying this never seen yao play or something. In his prime he was clearly the most complete center in the league (at least when shaq got older). Who would you argue was a better center in 03-08? Shaq was getting old and Dwight has the worst post up game on earth
...and get cut in the face and body, get bone on bone contact from others, get knocked around and poked in the eye and above; and does it all with little complaining and great work ethics!
Well IMHO anybody who expects Yao to return to 100% is just fooling themselves. He's had like what, 4 surgeries already? The good news though is 75% Yao Ming is enough to contend. Even at 75%, he's better than 90% of the league's big men, and his huge size will hopefully be enough to bother Gasol/KG/DH.
if we can get into the playoffs with a healthy yao, i like our chances. we should be extremely conservative with his playing time in the first half of the season.
There were fans that expected T-Mac to return to elite status, after his surgery. Don't be surprised if Yao doesn't come back to elite status. Yao is just stating the obvious.
I don't think there is anything here that should cause alarm. In fact, the idea that Yao is unsure means he will take his rehab seriously and won't take it for granted. I think he is being honest though and the one thing that it does have some minor concern about is his confidence. But that can be rebuilt.
Only peoiple who cant except yao is done as an elite player are YOF's. Even he knows that after 3 surgeries, the stress of carrying that monster frame around has taken it's toll.His days as an 20-10 are over even if the rockets were built around him. Thank god we no have Martyn and brooks
If the injury is healed, I don't know why there would be an issue of him returning to elite status. It's not like he has torn tendons or ligaments. Ilgauskas had a similar injury and returned to have a successful career relatively injury free - he just signed on with the Heat. And Ilgauskas had his best seasons in points, rebounds, and blocked shots AFTER the surgery. I don't expect that from Yao - but historical precedent indicates that once this thing heals, Yao should be able to become his former self.
Ilgauskas weights only 260 lbs vs 315. That's a 55 lb difference, which is huge. It is an additional 220 lbs(4 x weight) of force per stride vs Ilgauskas. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/6515048.html
