Yao’s Postseason
Yao shut it down because of a stress fracture in his left foot. While the determination to hang it up for the year was made by Rockets’ team doctor Tom Clandon, we still have to ask the question that’s on everyone’s mind: is Yao shutting it down now so that he’ll be ready for the Beijing Olympics this summer?
During the Rockets winning streak, Yao’s played without any real sign of trouble. He averaged more than 21 points and 11 boards during the run. Truthfully he did have a sub-par game (12 pts, 6 rebs) against Chicago on Sunday before undergoing an MRI on Monday. But wouldn’t his coach know if something was going on?
“Obviously, it kind of came out of left field,” said Rick Adelman. “He had some soreness in his ankle, but (Monday) morning everything looked OK. There’s not much you can do about it. You have to do what’s best for him in the long run in his career.”
With the Olympics just more than five months away, Yao would have plenty of time to fully recover from a stress fracture.
“If I cannot play in the Olympics for my country, that would be the biggest loss in my career,” he said. “I don’t want to know (how disappointed the people in China would be).
“I’ll do the best I can do (to come back), get stronger, protect myself. Some injuries, I don’t know why they would happen. I’m not a lucky guy.”
February 27th, 2008 at 9:42 am
QQ says:
Time to bring your A game, Tracy. This is the PERFECT time to show that you’re still part of the upper echelon of ballers, and not the soft, whiny(*cough*Rockets arena affects my shooting*cough*) bitchass we thought you were.
February 27th, 2008 at 9:47 am
Prof. TX says:
I wonder how much say his handlers in China had in this decision. I guess he’ll be nice and rested for them now, instead of tired from the nba postseason run. But I’m sure that’s just a conincidence that his overbearing government owners, who’ll be hosting the Olympics and are desperate to look good, benefit from their star player being pulled out of the rotation during a win streak that looked to set up a good playoff trip.
How bad will it look for Yao if he’s on the sidelines (shouldn’t he have been in surgery last night instead of hanging out at the game and walking around?) and the one time T-Mac gets past the first round is the one series that Yao sits out? Unlikely, but it’s hard to say this year.
February 27th, 2008 at 11:36 am
GEE... let the finger waving commence! says:
I think Yao can still play. Course I don’t know how bad an injury like that is. Can anyone educate me real quick?