Yao wows fans in China victory By Damien Pierce Star-Telegram Staff Writer Forgive Mavericks point guard Devin Harris. The rookie hadn't been formally introduced to the giant in the flattop. Harris breezed past a helpless Chinese defender with an impressive cross-over in the first quarter of Thursday's exhibition game between the Chinese National Team and the Mavericks' Summer League squad, and floated toward the basket with the same poise he showed in college. There was just one slight issue once the guard reached the rim. "The problem was Yao Ming," said Harris, who was the No. 5 pick in the 2004 NBA Draft. "The guy is 7-foot-6 and I'm sure he weighs a ton. I don't think I realized how big he was until he came at me. I totally blew the layup after that." Yao left the Mavericks and Cowtown with quite an impression. The Houston Rockets center formally greeted Harris and the collection of Mavericks summer leaguers with the same repertoire he has showcased in the NBA the past two years. He guided the Chinese National Team to an 85-80 victory at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum. Yao impressed a flash-bulb popping crowd of 6,144 fans -- nearly a quarter of which were Asian American -- by dominating inside with 22 points and 11 rebounds. He came up with a couple of key defensive stops in the final minute to stop the Mavericks. The only problem he encountered was the left big toe in his size-18 sneakers. After his dominating performance, Yao left the floor wincing in pain from a ingrown toenail. The big toe, which has half of a nail remaining on it following an exhibition Sunday, required medical attention and Yao wasn't available for postgame comments. He is listed as day-to-day for China's remaining two exhibition games against the Mavericks, which continue Saturday at Moody Coliseum in Dallas. However, Yao's ailing big toe didn't keep him from leaving an impression on Fort Worth and his fans. "I don't think Yao is quite up to speed, but he showed off his ability tonight for the fans," Chinese national coach Del Harris said. "Yao's tough. He played with pain tonight and he was a force down the stretch." The Chinese National Team, which is hoping Yao's talent will be enough to carry it to a medal game in this summer's Olympics, relied on its big man down the stretch. China's guards fed Yao inside over the final two minutes and watched him work his way repeatedly to the line. He overpowered Mavericks rookie center Pavel Podkolzine and every other blue jersey who got in his way for routine dunks. The center was just as impressive on defense. He stuffed a dunk attempt by Josh Howard in the first quarter that sparked aahs from the crowd and forced two Maverick mishaps in the final minute. He made Mavericks center Justin Brown take an awkward shot with the score tied 76-76 and rejected a Harris pass that was intended for a wide-open Howard, who had 12 points, under the basket. China closed on a 13-4 run. Yao's performance left a contingent of Chinese fans waving flags and chanting, "China" in the bleachers after the game. "He's pretty much what you expect," Podkolzine said. "He's so big and I think I learned what I have to look forward to in the league. He's a tough guy to have to face for your first NBA center." Harris, who could be in line to replace Steve Nash after the veteran signed with the Phoenix Suns on Thursday, didn't recover much from his first Yao confrontation. The guard led the Mavericks with 15 points, but he only connected on 4 of 13 field goal attempts. He also had six turnovers to go along with three assists. "I liked what I saw of him," said Mavericks assistant Charlie Parker, who is heading the Mavericks' summer team. "He can shoot and he has some real tenacity on defense. We just got to get him over seeing a big guy like Yao."
Man, to play through an ingrown toenail is TOUGH. I had one once and every time it got just slightly bumped, it felt like someone was jamming an ice pick into my toe.
Actually, I went to the podiatrist and it took him about 15 minutes - including the time for the anesthetic to numb my toe - to fix it. Honestly, I felt better almost immediately even after the anesthetic wore off. It took me about two, maybe three weeks to fully recover - meaning the toe no longer required a bandage. But, I could do pretty much everything I'd done before within just a couple days with no more pain at all. With Yao, his toughness and their skilled doctors, I doubt he'll miss any time at all. Once they fix it, he'll feel a LOT better. I know I did.
I had mine removed in 8th grade after it kept coming back ingrown. The doc just left a bunch of scar tissue where the nail was and it's been fine. Doesn't look particularly pretty, but it's functional.
I'm with you on that, Jeff. I had a problem with a re-occuring in grown toe from about age 9-through 13 when they finally fixed it permanently and it hurt something awful if it so much as got slightly grazed. I remember once when I was about 11 my 15 year old cousin stepped on my toe and the pain was so severe that I jumped up and punched him in the face. Luckily I quickly remembered he was twice my size and I ran straight to the safety of my mother before he had time to react.
You had an anesthetic?!?!? What a pansy! Back in the early 70's after a solid wood front door fell on my big toe, I developed an ingrown toenail. I went to the college infermery to have it looked at. That old German concentration camp reject simply pushed the groove down & inserted a twirled piece of cotton between the edge of the nail & the groove. It only took about 5 actual minutes, but it seemed like years. But like you said, after the initial treatment; I didn't have any problems. I was lucky enough to keep the toenail. Even if Yao lost part of the nail, 1 session should be enough to fix it. After that he should be good to go!
