Yao Ming Inteview on the Injury and Playoffs

[Indazone]

http://sports.sina.com.cn/k/2009-05-...04374340.shtml

Reporter Wang Meng of an Sports reports from Houston

It’s May in Houston; The scorching sun is roasting the whole city; heat waves one after the other just make it difficult for people to gasp for breath. The summer has arrived.

There was only 3 hours left before the start of Game 4 between the Houston Rockets and the LA Lakers when Yao Ming drove to leave his home. The sceneries on both side of the road had become familiar to him but at this moment, it seemed to be of a different favor and he was in no mood to appreciate them. Just a little less than 24 hours earlier, he came to learn of this: due to a heavy sprain and a hairline fracture on his left foot, there was no way that he could continue playing. The doctor’s diagnosis was that he had to skip the rest of the playoff and to take rest for 8 to 12 weeks. That is to say, Yao Ming’s 2008 ~ 09 season had prematurely ended. Summer had genuinely arrived.

On the road to Toyota Centre, he was no longer psyched up or excited (about playing); that fighting spirit and desire to win in him had gone; it was just mixed emotions with all sorts of feelings. (Once again) he smelt the odor of summer in May, the month when he should still be fighting on the court.

Yao Ming did not know how to describe his mood at this moment. It was piercingly uncomfortable; it was torturing as he did not want to give up; but also it was mixed with hope (for the future). In all previous years, once it was May, his season would have ended much earlier; he could just sat at home, watching from TV enviously other players of other teams fighting in the playoff. This year, he also had his first taste of playing in the second round of the playoff. But now, his team is still fighting, yet he has to dress in proper business suit and be a spectator from the bench. Other than waiting, there is nothing more he could do. So once again, in 2009, Yao Ming has to be parted with playing due to another injury. So after realizing a most important dream of this season of making a historical breakthrough of passing through first round of the playoff, he has to wait for at least another year for realizing his much loftier goal.

an Sports: Now’s your ankle feeling right now?

Yao Ming: It’s still painful; the entire ankle area had already become swollen, and the joints there at the ankle area had become protuberant. It’s like a big white radish. Have you ever seen a much bigger radish than this?

an Sports: You never thought you’ve fractured the bone again?

Yao Ming: No I have not. I just felt hurt and painful. Once we completed Game 3, I was rushed to have this inspection in the hospital on the same night. I got this severe sprain on my Achilles tendon and muscle; it was all swollen; I felt pain once I tried to move. At that time, I thought the possibility for me to play Game 4 would hang in the balance. Once after the inspection by the doctors, it was almost certain that I could not play in Game 4. How could I play if I feel pain even by walking? Dr. Tom Clanton, the doctor that had operated on me previously, told me on the spot: if you can run after 2 day’s rest, then you can resume playing, but I don’t think you can run; the probability of you being able to run (in 2 day’s time) is close to a miracle.” It was really painful; if you took a look at that last spin-around jump shot I took and missed in Game 3, you’ll know that I really could not sustain any longer; that shot was completely off target.

an Sports: But you’re still thinking at that time, that maybe you take rest for a game (i.e. Game 4), and then you can resume playing (in Game 5)?

Yao Ming: Yeah, I really want to be able to resume playing. At that time, I thought I will take rest as far as possible, and see how long it will take to recover. But once I completed the inspection, I knew deep down inside that I was done. I felt so upset and uncomfortable inside and the foot really hurt. I was driving home from the hospital after the inspection, and my foot hurt terribly all the way back. Luckily my car was auto shift, so I can just use my right foot. If my car is manual, then there was no way that I could control the car clutch to drive home. Last night, I had to eat pain-killer so as to be able to sleep. However, I was still not willing to give up; I was still thinking let’s wait until we reassessed the situation after another day’s treatment and recuperation. It was until that I was back into Toyota Centre, and right after my treatment and further inspection/diagnosis, that other than the severe sprain that there was this hairline fracture on my bone, only then it was determined that there is no way that I can continue playing.

an Sports: But you were feeling all this pain during the game, why did you still want to tough it out and persist to continue playing?

Yao Ming: Now that I’ve retrospect and thought it over, maybe if I chose to come out of the game once I got hurt in that second quarter, then maybe there won’t be this fracture with my bone. But you know people live because they want dignity and success; I really want to win that game. At that moment, we were closing up the deficit, and I felt we saw hope. I still remembered we were down by 6 points only. I did not want to give up. I was thinking at that moment, let’s take this as my final game, and I’ll give it all. Just think, if I can tough it out, you think I will request to be replaced? I definitely will play to the last second of the game. But finally I really could not sustain any longer. Towards the end of the game, I was running with the heel of my foot, and it was in real pain. I was thinking at that time, if we could reduce the deficit to become a 2-point game, and if opportunity prevailed I definitely would have taken a 3-pointer (to end the game). If the game was to go into over time, there was no way I could sustain and stay on the court. Who would have thought that I could not even persist to the last second?

an Sports: Have you now recollected how did you got injured in first place?

Yao Ming: (Well, I don’t really know); anyway it got turned several times. The first time, it was towards the middle part of second quarter. At that time, I already thought it was a little serious. Then I stepped on other’s feet twice in the third and fourth quarter. It was Carl Landry that I stepped on for the last time in fourth quarter. I did not know it at the very first beginning. When I came back onto the bench, I told Keith Jones that I stepped on someone’s foot and I turned my ankle. Carl Landry, sitting at my side on the bench, with his head down, whispered: “It was my foot.” His facial expression was as if he was afraid that I would punch him in the face. I said to him: “Why you have to be afraid? I won’t punch you. And it is not only you that I have stepped on and tweaked my ankle”

And there was this situation: I was making this consecutive jump and fighting for an offensive rebound; I missed the put back; I jumped again for the rebound; I got pushed at my back and I fell onto the floor. Actually that push at the back was not that heavy, but as I fell, I stepped onto someone’s foot, and I could not even stand. Yeah….it was a bit unlucky but what can I do?

an Sports: You had a surgery on your left foot last year. Has this anything to do with it?

Yao Ming: It was not related; it was not the same bone that was operated on last year. There was nothing wrong with that bone, and even the stainless steel screws that were inserted during the previous surgery. It was just a tiny hairline fracture; no surgery is required this time round; just pure rest. It’s going to be more than 2 months. I will take rest for a few days. Then I will resume my strength and conditioning exercises on other parts of my body. This will pass very quickly.

an Sports: Do you feel sad now that your season has to be ended like this way?

Yao Ming: Who said our season has ended? It has not finished, right? If my team mates all make a concerted effort and give their all, perhaps we can take out the Lakers.

an Sports: That hope has become so bleak that you yourself cannot believe in what you’ve just said.

Yao Ming: AAAAAAhhhhhhh, how could I not be feeling sad? You know how much effort I have put into this to become the team we are now? (I have played in) 70 some compe ions in the regular season; all the problems and adversities, and all the ups and downs of this season; then beating the Portland Trailblazers in 6 games to get past the first round of the playoff; and then to be able to beat LA Lakers in Game 1 of our round 2 playoff series with them on their home court in Los Angeles. It just felt so good. Really I was so unwilling and reluctant to see my season ended this way. For more than half a year, we had not had a single day that we can relax and through all those thick and thin, all those pain and stress we have come to this point. They said God will reward the hardworking, and no pain no gain. I really am unwilling and reluctant to have to give up just like this.

an Sports: Let’s talk something about how you feel about the second round of the playoff. Compared to the first round, does the second round taste better?

Yao Ming: Oh compared to the first round, second round is much shuang (literally much more crispy and delicious). The intensity and level of compe ion is just another level; it is just like how you feel when you proceed to a higher level in your electronic games. Playing basketball is just like that: as your opponents become much stronger and more compe ive, then it becomes more interesting, meaningful and challenging to you as a player. Besides, actually (I think) LA Lakers is the only team in the entire Western Conference that is more superior than our team. If we had played a little better in the regular season, including our last game with Dallas Mavericks, we should be a team able to sneak into the Western Conference Final.

an Sports: Well, after all, you now have passed the first round of the playoff. And you can view it as sort of consolation.

Yao Ming: Well, possibly because of this, I am not feeling as bad as I would have thought. Yeah that (getting past the first round) was a ridge, a barrier. Before I got past the first round, I did not have this self confidence in me. Now that finally I have overcome that barrier, I now know what it will take. I now know what kind of effort I need to give before I can take my team back to this point again. How you say it? I feel I now become someone with that experience. It is just like marriage. If you have not got married, how will you know how a married couple live and spend their lives together?

an Sports: Up till this moment, do you consider this season a successful one?

Yao Ming: I thought you can consider this a successful season. I think we now fully demonstrated the character of our team. We do not easily concede as a team, and we do not easily give up regardless of any given situations or adversities. If you looked back on this season and you’ll realize how much difficulties and adversities we had come through. I think I’ve told you before, there was this one point during the season I was not even sure and suspected that whether we could make it for the playoff. But now, we are fighting on even feet with the LA Lakers. This already gave you an answer to the question. We are not the same anymore. This team is a different team now.

an Sports: For this season, which on-court scenes will remain as your fondest memories?

Yao Ming: It comprises of scenes in broken bits and pieces: the streaming blood from Shane Battier’s eye brow; those forearm muscles of Ron Artest that resembled baseball bat. There was this scene back at the locker room; we were discussing about how we should guard a certain player of a very strong team. Luis Scola told everybody that when he was with his national team, he was a nobody; and people just ignore him during the game. But now that he had changed to a new team, and people started calling him a winner.. When he said that, everyone was psyched up. All these details just told me: We are a strong team.

an Sports: So do all these details project more confidence to you for the future?

Yao Ming: Well, you may say that. I think when we complete the playoff this season, we will have become much stronger; our young players are growing and maturing and the key players once again demonstrated our strengths and will power. I have this feeling, once we have passed this major psychological barrier, issues and problems will be easier to be resolved in the future. We have already cultivated a resilient and tenacious team character. But to be able to advance further in the Western Conference, there are more things we need to do. For instance, in this playoff series with LA Lakers, we saw and felt the disparity. Indeed, our team does not easily concede and we kept fighting and gave our all to the very end; but there are really disparity between us and the LA Lakers in terms of gifted talents; they are much stronger than us in terms of abilities and athletism. We have to review and be absolutely clear what we have and also where our deficiencies are. Then we need to strive to make up for those deficiencies. We are currently on the correct trajectory. We should continue to move forward from here. I believe we will have the ability to advance much further in the future.

an Sports: Then I will have to wait until next year.

Yao Ming: You have been coming to Houston for six years. I had let you see the second round of the playoff. I’ll strive to let everyone to see what is beyond Round 2. Now I have to keep following my team for the rest of this series. I need to cheer and rave support for them. My team should not lose our morale and momentum just because of me.

an Sports: And now you are in the good accompany of Uncle Mutombo?

Yao Ming: Yeah that’s true. We have a total of 14 feet plus height there on the bench. But I’m stronger than Deke. He can only slowly stroll along leaning on his walking crutch. I can still walk and take the flight to Los Angeles; I need to be there to cheer and rave support for my team until the final end.

an Sports: Hope you have a steadfast and rewarding summer.

Yao Ming: Yes, I must start to lose weight. I need to control my weight starting from now. I need complete rest for this injury to become fully recuperated. So I must pay ultra attention to my diet (to what I eat and drink). My diet has to guarantee the nutrition contents, but at the same time, I cannot indulge to become chubby and fat. Luckily I had had those experiences before, and I am absolutely clear on what I should do.

[Indazone]

I took a few things from this article.

a) Injury was preventable if Yao had taken himself out of the game earlier instead of playing on a bad ankle.

b) He has to reduce weight to preserve his bones.

c) He and all the Rockets knew they were in over their heads against the Lakers but layed it all out there anyway to push the Lakers as hard as they could and maybe steal victory.

d) The locker room comraderie was strong.

e) There is hope for the future.

f) Oh and also Yao is stupid crazy when it comes to pain

[Rogue]

solamente conclusion, usted es un idiota.

[Rogue]

solamenta conclusion, usted es hijo de puta

从你嘴里还真能吐出几根象牙　

[Indazone]

cornudo maricon

[Indazone]

Well Sook, so much for any arguments that the dude is soft. Couldn't jump or get much lift after the foot injury yet he played on. Are the Rockets better without Yao? Not just no but no. We need a backup center.