Big Z was 25 when he had his surgery. Prior to then he had alot less mileage as well.He was never the same either. Go look his play before the surgery and after it.Yao is older, has much more mileage and his huge frame is not getting any smaller.
Yao has shown that he can comeback from injury better than ever. There's almost no injury that he has rehabbed from and become a sub par player. Furthermore, the latest surgery is one that prevents injuries of the past few years.
I agree on the age, but doubt the mileage. Yao plays what 20 games a year? Zydrunas played more than that in Europe.
No, he hasn't. Each time he comes back, he gets injured and misses even more games. At first, he missed half a season, then he missed a whole season. What's next? 2 full seasons?
The more I read from Yao the more hopeful I get, he is known for underplaying his situation. He may be coming back stronger than ever...but doesn't want anyone to know before he EXPLODES all over the NBA.... China bomb baby !! DD
Yao's performance has dropped an average of 2.65 pts per season from the last 2 previous injuries. T-mac's performance went down slightly after each recovery also, then the bottom fell out in the last surgery. Maybe this is the last surgery for Yao, before he turns into the NY version of T-Mac. 2006-07 25.0 pts 2007-08 22.0 pts(-3.0 pts) 2008-09 19.7 pts (-2.3 pts)
Read his body language, when things are bad, you can just see it....... He is getting back, and the Rox org is not saying much either than they will take it slow. The Rockets are holding pocket Aces and are trying to get some action at the table. DD
Wow so Dream wasn't realistic and humble?? Because that was the last superstar we had on this team. After him I have yet to see a superstar on this rockets team
It's a bone injury, not a tendon / cartilage one. I think age is not as much as a factor. And Z has played a lot more games than Yao has. Z's numbers have gone down has he has aged not because of the injury - like I said, he's best seasons statistically were AFTER the surgery. Not before.
True, but the 1 and 1/2 years off can not hurt either, the guy has had an enormouse amount of recovery time, if there is ANY chance of him getting back, this is it. DD
I think he will probably be as good as he ever was after he gets 30 games or so under his belt. He really does not have much mileage due to the injuries and as someone stated already, this isn't a connective tissue issue. It's bone. It will be stronger than before. He won't score 20 ppg game ever again but that's because he has a team full of scorers around him. Let's hope the smaller offensive burden will allow him to be a better rebounder/defender than before. My concern is, of course, what will he injure next? Hopefully nothing.
Yao Ming says he isn't sure about returning to elite status. Posters think Yao will dominate as always. Morey says Yao Ming isn't sure about Yao returning to elite status. Posters think Yao will dominate as always. Rockets want Yao Ming limited to 20-25 minutes Posters think Yao will dominate as always. His performance has dropped after the last 2 injuries. Posters think Yao will dominate as always. Rose colored glasses are fun to wear. However, when the rubber hits the road, you can't deny actual performance.
If you believe that Yao will return to elite status, then why did the Rockets get Brad Miller. I doubt their recruiting pitch was that he would play 10-15 minutes a game behind Yao.
Yao is always humble and at times pessimestic. But look at his track records, has he ever came back to be "average" after each injury he's sustained? NO. Why? Because he is the hardest working player in the NBA and will always give 110% when he's on the court. He just doesn't like to promise or brag like T-wack.
