What did you guys think of Yao?

[DaDakota]

As a Rockets fan, I have expectations, and thoughts about Yao, but I am wondering what you guys thought of him last night?

How did he look from the Spurs perspective?

We have a lot riding on him being able to be healthy, and there are serious doubts about that very thing.

So, I would love to hear what you guys thought as an impartial observer.

Thanks,

DD

[DrSteffo]

He is very tall.

[bus driver]

i am glad he's not on the spurs

[dougp]

As a Rockets fan, I have expectations, and thoughts about Yao, but I am wondering what you guys thought of him last night?

How did he look from the Spurs perspective?

We have a lot riding on him being able to be healthy, and there are serious doubts about that very thing.

So, I would love to hear what you guys thought as an impartial observer.

Thanks,

DD

I wasn't impressed, his shot looks drastically off. I personally thought that they should have traded Yao last year, keeping TMac and then using the huge amount of cash for a big name free agent, building around Scola/Brooks/Whoever was brought in with the Yao trade. But, I doubt Yao is in game shape - hence why his shot is off and he's not playing a lot. He has to get used to his new balance, especially during games since you're not really doing drill-type shots.

[DaDakota]

Thanks Dougp,

My worry is that with the minutes being severly limited, he is not going to get in game shape for a while yet.

They might trade him, if they can prove he is healthy....someone might take him at the trade deadline....you listening Denver?

Either way, he is huge, the question is, whether that hugeness will continue to break his new bionic left foot.

However, if anything, we need his defensive presence at the rim.....

DD

[SpurCharger]

He Looks Along ways From Being the Yao Of 2 Seasons ago.... But maybe by January he will get his Feel Back... Its hard to not play Basketball for over a year and just pick up where ya left off.....

Ask Ginobili And he only took a few months off last year.... and by January he was scorching the League...

[mountainballer]

rockets fans should be prepared to not get back a franchise player in Yao. those days are over.
more likely is a role and impact like big Z delivered to the Cavs in the last 5 season.
(question is, would the Rockets re sign Yao for that contribution, or better, at what price.)

[Brazil]

Even on a limited role with limited minutes Yao makes Houston much better. When Scola is on the floor with him Houston has dissuasive enough interior presence and Offense is much better.

I'm happy he is back he is really a nice guy

[DaDakota]

Mountain,

I am not sure. I mean the problem with Yao for us Houston fans is that he generates so much $$$$ for our owner, that he makes you sort of have to sign him.

And with his injury history, if he does not get all the way back, it will ruin the better years of some of our best young players.

I think the Rocks will sign him, but I hope that it is not for a max contract.

Maybe the limited minutes thing is a way to limit his production too, and get him on the cheap?

Either way, we are hoping for a Big Z like recovery where he was very productive for the next 5 seasons or so.....if we can get like 15-9 out of the guy in 30 minutes a game, that would be enough, IMO.

He would become a super efficient role player....

Honestly, our biggest question right now in Houston is that we have too many NBA quality players, we are too deep, there is no way Adelman can play 11 or 12 players a night, someone is going to be unhappy...

DD

[Obstructed_View]

He had some pretty decent production, but most importantly, he didn't have any setbacks. We all know how good he is. The biggest problem is that with a history of stress fractures, it seems pretty certain that he's going to have them again; I just don't think he's the kind of guy you can tell to take it easy and then put into a competetive sport. I wish they could develop some sort of sleeve for his lower leg that helps distribute his weight.

[spurtech09]

trade bait

[Giuseppe]

Gosh, everybody treating each other with kid gloves.

How sweet.

[DaDakota]

Nothing wrong with being a mature adult Giuseppe.

DD

[Giuseppe]

Hard to blend in at the playground.

[ohmwrecker]

Sound advice.

[Obstructed_View]

Hard to blend in at the playground.

Only if you're the kid that gets the shit beat out of him on a regular basis. I'm sure you're familiar with that.

[ChumpDumper]

He looked pretty horrible, but so did most of the players who were out of shape.

[cd98]

Yao is untradable because of his history of injuries and the public announcement about a severe reduction in minutes. He can only play reserve minutes.

The question is: can he be very effective (at his salary) for 20 something minutes a game?

No way I'd sign him to another contract. Even if he is popular, he misses half the season with injuries, so you can't really cash in on his popularity.

Unfortunate for Houston because he is a good guy and could have been a superstar but for his injuries.

[Leetonidas]

Hard to blend in at the playground.

http://www.demotination.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/nice-to-see-you.jpg

[Giuseppe]

Only if you're the kid that gets the shit beat out of him on a regular basis. I'm sure you're familiar with that.

Anything to blend in.

[kaji157]

If i understood correcly from what the rox said, Yao is going to be limited to 24 mins a game.
I think that coming back from a fracture that is a good move only if you ease him in the lineup and if the rox avoid overusing Yao even in those 24 minutes.
Rox didn´t seem like a team that has trouble scoring, hence, i would avoid using Yao as a primary offensive option unless all other options are lacking (Scola, Brooks, Martin).
I think Yao has to understand that for his team to win, he has to be a Dpoy during those 24 minutes for his team to have a chance, Scola can handle the scoring inside and he can focus on putbacks, easy lyups and a pick and roll and a post play here and there when the defense is not focusing on him. But his main focus should be defense to avoid banging up a lot under the rim.
On the other hand, i think if the rox are going to use Yao as yesterday, 8 shots in 12 mins, i believe he won´t last long and his limitations offensivelly will be exposed.

[ElNono]

I thought he was out of shape... obviously, it's gonna take a while to shake the rust after so much time without playing.

[beachwood]

I wouldn't expect anything out of Yao until around the ASB, granted he doesn't get injured again. I think his minutes will be extremely limited till then, making it harder for him to get into shape. But I hope he makes a come back, seems like a good guy.

And I hope Manu dunks on him again.

[ohmwrecker]

I thought he looked like a limp noodle, but that's just me.

Pull up your pants.

[rmt]

Mountain,

I am not sure. I mean the problem with Yao for us Houston fans is that he generates so much $$$$ for our owner, that he makes you sort of have to sign him.

And with his injury history, if he does not get all the way back, it will ruin the better years of some of our best young players.

I think the Rocks will sign him, but I hope that it is not for a max contract.

Maybe the limited minutes thing is a way to limit his production too, and get him on the cheap?

Either way, we are hoping for a Big Z like recovery where he was very productive for the next 5 seasons or so.....if we can get like 15-9 out of the guy in 30 minutes a game, that would be enough, IMO.

He would become a super efficient role player....

Honestly, our biggest question right now in Houston is that we have too many NBA quality players, we are too deep, there is no way Adelman can play 11 or 12 players a night, someone is going to be unhappy...

DD
Isn't that a great problem to have? I wish the Spurs had even one NBA quality backup 3.

Hope the Rockets re-sign Yao (even only playing him 24 mins/game). 7'6" players with that kind of post game don't grow on trees.

[JR3]

He is a 7'5 guy who plays like a 6'10. His shot looked terrible, but i have a feeling he will get that back. Its the rest of his game that I worry about.

[elemento]

Houston will re-sign him unless he wants to retire.

He is a smart guy. If he realizes he can't be the franchise player anymore due to his injuries, he won't ask for the max because he knows it will hurt the Rockets in order to build a contender.

As dadakota said, he generates too much money for the Rockets and even if he can't play 30/35 minutes/game, he would be great for 15/20 minutes.

[GSH]

I'm not so sure that Yao could be traded, no matter what. Houston had to go through a lot of negotiation with the Chinese government before they would allow him to come play here. Houston's large Chinese population was definitely a factor. And the Rockets' organization also had to make a lot of promises, like sending coaches over to work with the Chinese basketball program.

Things may have changed now, but when Yao came into the league there weren't many cities other than Houston that could have closed the deal. I'm not so sure that the Rockets would be allowed to ship him just anywhere, even now.

I didn't think he was in game shape, but I also thought he looked tenative - like just about any other player returning from a bad injury. It's almost impossible to commit to an injured leg right away. I thought that had as much to do with his shot as anything else.

The biggest problem is that Yao has never been very swift getting up and down the floor, and that is probably only going to get worse after the injuries. Yao is huge, and he's still good enough to build a half-court offense around. But the Rockets have a lot of other players who are made to push the ball, and I don't see Adelman slowing them down.

[007nites]

He is a 7'5 guy who plays like a 6'10. His shot looked terrible, but i have a feeling he will get that back. Its the rest of his game that I worry about.

He's 7'6"

[dbreiden83080]

Potential for all time greatness and a class act but injuries ruined his career..

Sad really...

[ezau]

Lakers intentionally hurt Yao two years ago. Those fags should be ashamed of themselves.

[TJastal]

Lakers intentionally hurt Yao two years ago. Those fags should be ashamed of themselves.

Who haven't the lakers taken cheap shots at? By far the dirtiest team in the league led by the scumbag Bryant.

[Mark in Austin]

They might trade him, if they can prove he is healthy....someone might take him at the trade deadline....


I hear Portland is looking for a center, and Yao is just their type...

[ChuckD]

Either way, we are hoping for a Big Z like recovery where he was very productive for the next 5 seasons or so.....if we can get like 15-9 out of the guy in 30 minutes a game, that would be enough, IMO.

You'd better hope he heals a bit quicker than Z. He played 29 games over a total of 3 seasons before he stabilized his foot.

98-99 5 games
99-00 0 games
00-01 24 games

[duncan228]

Caption this. :lol

http://d.yimg.com/a/p/sp/ap/d7/fullj.4b744d804cb0cfbb0ba45e4ad6087d2b/96083e074ddc41669753dbcd4e006e1e.jpg

[DaDakota]

Caption this. :lol

http://d.yimg.com/a/p/sp/ap/d7/fullj.4b744d804cb0cfbb0ba45e4ad6087d2b/96083e074ddc41669753dbcd4e006e1e.jpg

Offensive foul on Yao....or no call.

:)

DD

[Manufan909]

He is a 7'5 guy who plays like a 6'10. His shot looked terrible, but i have a feeling he will get that back. Its the rest of his game that I worry about.

He's always seemed to play like the giant he is to me. A giant that might be too big to stay successful in the NBA for very long. It's not like his shot will go away, he just might have to play outside the post more.

[jdiggy0424]

He needs to work on getting back in game shape and hitting his midrange. as someone earlier posted he is 7'6 playing like 6'10. Its really sad cuz he was actually not bad but being that tall has its disadvantages. its tough being a skinny 7'6 thats 300lbs and running up and down the court for 30 minutes a night carrying all that wieght. its no wonder he's had a history of injuries.

Hopefully he gets better.

[AlleyOopNazi]

His defensive presence is noticed in the paint once he's taken off the floor. Fact is, he is an elite force in the paint, albeit extremely slow at rotations. Capping his minutes this year obviously leaves fans wanting more, but its the best way to ensure hes at his best for the playoffs (a similar strategy in place for Duncan and his deteriorating knees).
If A.Brooks shoots lights out like last year from beyond the arc, and B.Miller/K.Martin/R.Adelman combo from years past works; expect this team to get to the line a lot and have a ton of Offensive match-up nightmares for opposing teams. They were just on the outside of the playoff picture last year without Yao all season, with T.Mac drama for half the yr. which lead to K.Martin coming to town. Its K.Martin's second season (similar to Jefferson situation) and should improve his game being healthier and more familiar to his old Coach back from SAC town. I'm not a fan of some of thier young guards, but they are fast, aren't shy of physical play, and want to beat you down, an admirable trait short of raw skill and talent.

They play in China tomorrow, thatll be cool. It's at 7:00am though so watching it may be difficult.

Spurs>Rockets

[Latarian Milton]

thanks don't cuss in the thread's title next time, thanks.

[Sean Cagney]

You know sooner or later Yao will come around and be fine, then again with his history he is due to get hurt at the end or near the end of the year so maybe not. If healthy he will regain his touch.