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Yao Ming is done. By John Nguyen
07.30.2009 - Updated on 07.30.2009
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The fans do not want to talk about it. Houston Rockets management doesn’t want to discuss this. David Stern and the National Basketball Association do not want to hear it. The entire country of China does not want any of this to be true. I’ll step up and admit it. I am not in denial. I think Yao Ming is finished. The Great Wall of Yao is a shadow of what he used to be no matter what you fans say. I just do not see it anymore. He’s no longer this worldly superstar threat. Simply put too many injuries on his legs. One person cannot handle all of that.
2005 through 2009 has been just filled with injuries left and right. He developing osteomyelitis in the big toe on his left foot, and surgery was performed on the toe on December 18, 2005. He broke his right knee on December 23, 2006 while attempting to block a shot. On February 26, 2008, Yao missed the rest of the season with a stress fracture in his left foot. Then he got injured again with a broken bone in his left foot and will undergo surgery in order to repair it. It has been reported that Yao will most likely miss the entire 2009–10 season. This is just too much.
The first Asian player to be taken number one in any NBA Draft, he was labeled a potential bust coming in to the league. He proved people wrong, didn’t he? You knew he was a unique player when the Rockets usually let him shoot technical free throws. Didn’t Charles Barkley kiss a donkey’s ass for betting against Yao to score 19 points in one game during his rookie year? Those times were fun. He was blossoming in to an MVP player. I knew he was not a bust, but he looked like an injury plagued player.
Those years when he was playing with Steve Francis must have been killing him. The guy wasn’t Chris Paul, Deron Williams, or Avery Johnson. Yao’s numbers would have been higher if Francis just did not dribble the ball so much like it was an And 1 street ball game. Then he had to play with Rafer Alston. Come to think of it, he never got to play with a pure distributor.
And he still managed to put up “20/10” games consistently when he was healthy. In 2008-2009, The Rockets finally advanced to the second round without the other injury plagued star, Tracy McGrady. It’s bittersweet for the franchise to finally get there and to lose both stars in the process. Is it time to ponder about the possibilities of trading Yao Ming? He can never be healthy just like Gilbert Arenas. Missing the entire 2009-2010 season is not a good look either. Playing for the Chinese government in the summer without proper rest is partly to blame – another case of being overworked.
What do you do with the Rockets knowing that Yao Ming is like this? Plug away at it or jump ship to rebuild now?
[image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/keithallison/2311332544/] |
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Posted by
J. Nguyen
on 08.24.2009 | How is it nonsense? These things are opinion based. Most of my articles are opinion based. Too afraid to admit that Yao is probably done? . | Posted by
Anonymous
on 08.7.2009 | this article is so lame. nonsense. . | Posted by
badfish
on 08.6.2009 | ill mark this one out and when yao mings back. im gonna first to be the one thatl tell the author is stupid . | Posted by
on 08.3.2009 | NO,Yao is a Chinese ，heis never done . | Posted by
allnet38
on 08.2.2009 | i also think that ming is done. he always was one of the most overrated centers anyway. for his height he always got way to few rebounds, i mean in best shape jason kidd has 9 rpg! he never was a real post dominace (again for his size) and only an average shot blocker. he was simply a marketing strategy of the nba to get a huge market place in china! shaq has passed his prime some 3 years ago but he still could dominate ming every damn night! i mean this years playoff series against la also proves my point: yao out -> rockets almost eliminated the lakers! don’t get me wrong: yao was one of the better centres of the last decade but his game is closer to andrew bogut than abdul jabbar or chamberlain! you all know it! ps: he never would have been allstar if not for the new internet voting! . | Posted by
Snika
on 07.31.2009 | I like Osbourne Cox’s take, the Knicks might be able to get some value back with T-Mac or strictly his contract. Give Lee to a team that you won’t have to battle every night, and not have to worry about overpaying him for 5 years. Knicks will get Ramon Sessions. The Bucks are excited about Jennings, and they don’t want to overpay Sessions. So the Knicks can afford to lose Duhon and/or Larry Hughes . | Posted by
gm 4 hire
on 07.31.2009 | I think Yao might be done as well but damn he was fun to watch over the years! I hope hes not just because he is a high character player. The nba can not have enough high character players that adults and the youth of our nation can admire. I can only forsee maybe the miami Heat or the knicks trying to trade up for Tmac! the knicks have the players but the heat have J. Oneal and that what the rockets are missing is a ceter who can score. I know J.O has gone a lil soft but he can still score espespecially with a good coach, play making point guard in brooks, Hard nose forward in Scola and Ariza and whatever hungry free agents out there this season lol. Trust me there alot . | Posted by
Osbourne Cox
on 07.31.2009 | houston has to move on. if i was gm morey, i’d try to get a sign-and-trade with the knicks under way. give ’em t-mac’s expiring contract, and get david lee and larry hughes or al harrington in return. or maybe chris duhon, if the knicks can get ramon sessions. adelman then would be able to let the rockets play faster then before, with lee at the 5, scola at the 4, battier (or harrington) at 3, and hughes (or battier) together with aaron brooks in the backcort. sounds like a nice starting lineup with some potential, without relying on yao. but well, it’s just a thought.. . | Posted by
ronh
on 07.31.2009 | Boy ron artest was smart to get out of houston. He must seen that this was coming. Yao is just fragile we got to get use to it. . | Posted by
Snika
on 07.31.2009 | I seriously hope you’re wrong, it would be devistating for a kind-hearted guy who has been so uplifting to the franchise. But when you are 50% taller and bigger than EVERYONE else in the world, your body has to take more pressure and hits. If I am the Rockets, I let T-Mac go, because that is over... and go after someone young and talented. You won’t be contending for a championship for another 3 years, and that is if Yao comes back and you get lucky in the 2010 sweepstakes. . | Posted by
Gin
on 07.31.2009 | Don’t give up hope so soon, maybe this will work out and everything will be fine in Houston. I know the picture is very cloudy at this point, but with a little prayer Yoa will pull through this ordeal and return to form. It’s unfortunate that he has experienced so many injuries to his foot and always at the moment when he seems to be dominent, sometimes those are the breaks. Before you give up hope, let some things play itself out first. . | Posted by
john
on 07.31.2009 | OMG what a useless article. How the hell do you know he’s done? If it worked for Z then there is a chance it can work for Yao. Must be a slow story day. . | Posted by
on 07.30.2009 | z got through it, so can yao. you can’t teach size and that’s what he has more of than anyone else. as long as he has time to get to where he can run, he’ll be fine. . | Posted by
40inchleaper
on 07.30.2009 | i always respected Yao Ming as a basketball star of the world but i was never impressed. He’s just an improved version of Shawn Bradley and Georghe Muresan. . | Posted by
on 07.30.2009 | Yao has never relied on his hops or his athleticsm... he’s always relied on his height and his ability to shoot well for a guy who’s 7’5/7’6. This is why I think he can come back and be a 20/10 guy. Guys like STAT... you worry about their legs, b/c that’s their livelihood. Yao is a technical player, fundementally sound, and anytime you have that you can be a productive NBA player. What do the rockets need to do? Find some consistent support, someone to take the pressure off him so these injuries are less frequent. Injuries for these guys are inevitable, their almost freakish when you think about it. It’s easy to see why a guy who’s 6’6 has a lengthy NBA career, when you consider how much pressure a guys legs take when their 7’0+ in relativity to that. . |
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