http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/sports/5733676.html After reading the sunday chronicle about how motivated yao is at trying to get ready for the Olympics and next years season....he really is working hard. Yao has been steadily improving each season, and with aging shaq/duncan/kobe....yao will def. be the best complete player in the west....save for chris paul. All you people talking about trading the yao/mcgrady combo....watch out for next year, yao will be 30ppg easy.
Yao would have been dominant in the 90's, but the game has turned in favor of guards. Also, a team with two superstars and a solid supporting cast tarnishes the contributions of an MVP candidate. People like dark horses like Chris Paul and Steve Nash.
why don't they put titanium screws, pipes, plates, in all parts of easily injured body parts at once? that way, he won't be need another surgery. i would think most players don't want to bang with a walking steel giant.
heard morey saying that the league is gonna talk about this and try to tilt the rules back a litte as they have felt the rule changes had been overdone. there's hope...
wow, it's a little too late. most of the teams now have turned into a guard league, and majority of them will not complain. not that i'm complaining. more help for yao, after all the refs screwing him up. maybe players won't be so relentless fouling yao since they get no calls. thus, yao has greater chance of being healther and not banged up.
I've thought this before. I think that he would have been a better player because of the different rules but that was also a good era for centers. He definitely would not have been the best center as he is now. Lets see dream, shaq, robinson, ewing, Maybe 5th edging out Mutombo and Mourning.
It is virtually impossible for Yao to win MVP. Here are the reasons... 1) He'll have to stay healthy for 73+ games or so to even have a shot. Maybe, but not likely. 2) He has too much bias working against him in the media, no matter how much he produces. Hell, some people still consider Shaq more effective! 3) He won't get any help from the NBA to promote him as MVP, which is important when you're trying to win a vote. He's already extremely marketable, so there's really no bonus in vaulting him to MVP status like there would be for a guy like Dwight Howard or Chris Paul. 4) The Rockets were too good this year, even with Yao out of the lineup. Even if they win 60+ next year, it's not a huge attention-grabbing improvement. 5) He has another not-quite-considered-MVP-caliber player on his team in Tracy McGrady. 6) Did I mention bias?
All we need is an early elimination in the Olympics to get him extra rest before next season. Just kidding China.... DD
This is going to be interesting considering that 3 of the 5 things I listed are pretty much inarguable (#2, #4, #5)...
I love Yao, but that article is kind of depressing. It's like he doesn't understand why his bones keep fracturing. He was sad to see himself thin, so he goes back to building muscle mass, which will put more weight on his poor feet, and so on, and so on... It's not like rippling foot muscles would have prevented the stress fracture... Ugh. I think there's no way we see him get an MVP. For him to get through a season, an NBA coach has to get him at or below the 30 mpg barrier. If you do that, he can't get the stats to win MVP. It's very simple.
I already gave up on that.. we've heard the same "he's working hard and motivated" thing last year.. and that's not the problem with him.. he is always motivated, he has by far the best work ethic of any player on this team.. the guy truly wants to win, he has a great mentality and he never quits.. I am so damn proud of him for the improvements he has made.. HOWEVER, I don't think his health can hold up.. I used to think it was bad luck, but apparently, having a huge 7'6 body and 300+ pounds body is enough to ensure an injury almost every season.. I mean seriously, a stress fracture? how unfortunate is that? it's such a B.S injury.. not in the sense that it's not important, but it's just, it isn't supposed to happen.. what in god's name is wrong with the Rockets? I mean, absolutely NOTHING caused this injury.. it just happens.. we have the crapiest luck ever! god I'm frustrated
