Max, You hit it right on point..... This is why I can't and couldn't understand why everyone was putting Yao in the starting line-up.
kool-aid fan: "Yao is so humble!!! The news said Yao has decided to quit basketball because he has cancer!!!".
Set aside the obvious fact that Yao's quote was taken completely out of context for a moment and take a look at what Yao intended his quote to do. First, he's trying to minimize any commitments to the CNT. And second, he's basically setting expectations low so that any reasonable outcome will be seen as a resounding comeback. My prediction: Season averages: 17pts, 8rbs, 1.4 blks Playoff averages: 22, 10, 1.8blks They'll manage his minutes during the regular season.
Link from nba tv commenting on Yao: http://www.nba.com/video/channels/nba_tv/2010/07/27/20100727_gametime1.nba/
I guess that fire / desire to play basketball is fading. No more killer instinct, can't really blame the guy. Poor guy had to deal with so many devastating injuries like TMAC. It's destroyed him....
Good Post. I would LOVE to get a young center like that. Cousins would have been awesome to scoop up!
I`m done with this crap. The faster we move on without an injured Yao with no confidence, the better we are as a franchise. He probably will never be the player he was, and if he isn`t, then in no way should we be paying a guy that much. Not only are we paying that much, he won`t net us a championship. We just need to move on.
In any event.....thanks to Yao and most importantly Mr. Alexander for giving us the opportunity to play. I remember when there where those who doubted Yao's game b/c he was gangly, slow....and Asian ( yes it was hidden below the surface and then). I remember when Barkley had to kiss the ass b/c Yao scored more than 20 points LOL that was great. I also remember the playoff heroics of our most recent run. The perfect Portland Game.....the epic return to the court in LA in game 1. The guy is a warrior....and often injured warrior..but a warrior nonetheless. Regardless of what happens next season, thanks for the memories Yao. :grin:
I'm no T-Mac apologist or anything, but it's amazing how much hate he gets in the media, and by contrast, how much the sports journalists love Yao. They both have had injury riddle careers. Neither one of them can be counted on to last a full season, much less lead a team to the promise land, i.e. NBA championship. This latest Yao revelation is nothing but the reality check everyone has been expecting in the back of their minds, but hoping that would never happen. It's here folks. Or at least the opening stages. The whole Yao Ming thing has been a failure, and it is time for the Rockets to look in another direction. And I like Yao. He just doesn't have any luck when it comes to injuries.
Yeah, 'cause someone with killer instinct keeps playing even if he's physically unable to!! How does this make you think he's lost his killer instinct? Because someone asked him what he'd do if his injury did NOT heal, and he said he'd retire? That's a huge leap to go from that to his "desire to play basketball is fading."
It's amazing how so many people on here consistently read way too much into a single quote taken out of context, or a rumor from an anonymous source, or a very nonspecific comment from columnist, or a tidbit from a reporter paid to dredge up whatever intriguing rumors he can piece together based on bits and pieces of discussions managment has about various players, whether those discussions are serious or just ideas being briefly floated and then discarded. Folks, not everything you read on the Internet is the Gospel truth, or the whole truth, or even a little bit of the truth.
Please do not tell me that everyone on this board hasn't thought of the same thing. Yao knows himself, that if he re-injures his feet, then he has to call it quits. If he is able to hold up, then we all know what he is capable of.
I threw in the movie Year of the Yao the other day and even back then he was icing his feet and ankles and looked in pain. He was a rookie
