"Clanton said there was no specific event that led to the injury, but rather an “accumulation of stresses on the bone. Yao first experienced soreness and pain in his ankle before the All-Star game and tests were done Monday when the situation didn’t seem to be improving."
So, basically he's been playing with a broken foot for a little while. crazy.
I'm thinking we can only expect 3 or 4 more years of watching Yao play. This foot problem isn't going away.
11 comments:
So, I stay up late to watch sportcenter so I can get some analysis on the Yao injury.
What do they give me?
Steven w-A-steofspace Smith screaming at me at about how they have no chance of making the playoffs. that the Rockets should "Shut-up and give the ball to T-Mac."
Thanks Steven A Smith. You have been quite insightful.
Seriously. what a douche.
Oh. hollinger Insider Free Preview. copy and pasted before it goes away.
Obviously, the loss of Yao Ming for the season is terrible news for the Houston Rockets, not to mention a slap to the egos of those of us who picked them to win the title.
But the more immediate question today is: How will they fare without Yao? Can they hang on and still make the playoffs?
The first instinct is to say no. It's a nine-team battle for the West's eight playoff spots, and with the conference being such a powerhouse it seems as though Houston is the obvious team to fall out of the race.
But when we go through the math of the Rockets' schedule, a different conclusion emerges.
Houston is 36-20 this season, with 26 games left to play. According to the Hollinger playoff odds, it will take 48 wins to make it to the postseason in the Western Conference.
Thus, the Rockets need to go only 12-14 the rest of the way to have a good shot at qualifying for the playoffs. Given that they've been roughly a .500 team over the years when Yao doesn't play (28-34, to be exact) and that his teammates were playing extremely well at the time of the injury, 12-14 doesn't seem that daunting a task.
That's especially true when you consider the remaining cupcakes on their slate. The Rockets have nine home games left against losing teams (Washington, Memphis, Indiana, New Jersey, Charlotte, Sacramento, Minnesota, Seattle and the Clippers). At a minimum, one would think they'll take seven of these.
A few of the road games don't seem so daunting either: Seattle, the Clippers, Sacramento and Atlanta, for instance. Suppose they split those four.
That's 9-4 out of those 13 games -- easily attainable provided Tracy McGrady doesn't join Yao on the sidelines. If so, that means Houston needs to go only 3-10 in the other13 games, five of which are at home.
If they really want to help their odds, three of those games will be particularly meaningful. Houston still plays Golden State once and Denver twice. Wins in those games would help them gain ground overall, push down their competitors and perhaps win an extra tiebreaker or two. As of now, the Rockets are 1-1 against Denver, with two matchups to go -- and 1-2 versus Golden State, with one game to go.
So, considering their schedule, I suspect they'll pull out a No. 7 or No. 8 seed.
Furthermore, the Rockets have quality depth, unlike in some previous seasons.
To fill in for Yao, there's Dikembe Mutombo, who fared well while Yao was out a year ago. Additionally, many of Yao's minutes will go to rookie Carl Landry who, unbelievably, leads the team in PER -- he averages 19.1 points and 12.8 rebounds per 40 minutes and is shooting 61.6 percent. I'm not saying he'll keep up such a prolific rate, but clearly he's not chopped liver.
We should see Houston play small more often, with Shane Battier as a power forward and Landry, Luis Scola or Chuck Hayes as a center. Last week's trade for Bobby Jackson lets the Rockets do this more effectively because they have an additional creator in the backcourt.
One way or another, I think they'll manage. So if you're a Denver or Golden State fan and think this injury has brought you a reprieve from the lottery, you might want to double-check that assumption. With a three-game lead and less than two months to play, Houston should be a playoff team, even without Yao.
if i'm the rockets i don't care about the playoffs now.
i think the important thing for them is to concentrate on next season (cliche, i know), and continue to improve their understanding of adelman's plan.
this may (prolly will) at least get them to the playoffs, but do they really have a legitimate shot this year without the big guy?
I can't believe this has happened to Yao 3 years in a row. Somebody get this guy a golf cart so he only has to put weight on his legs for basketball practice & games. Better yet buy him a cow and make him drink more milk. Fix that OsteoporYaosis. Best idea: make him pull a cow behind his golf cart everywhere he goes so he can get a squirt every time he stands up.
I feel pretty bad for the rest of the Rockets players but terrible for Yao. Did anyone else watch his press conference (http://www.nba.com/rockets/indexmain.html)? Sheesh - Poor guy!
Anyhow, I've been meaning to write up a flushed out arguement for Jimi's 1-16 proposal but haven't had time. And then I read this last night: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/steve_aschburner/02/26/playoff.format/
Since it's directly relevant now to the Rockets (see Jake's comments above), I figured I could throw it in here. I never even considered the lottery pick issue! The fact that Pop thinks the NBA is actually giving Jimi's idea credence makes me giddy. I mean, usually the 16th best team in the league kinda sucks but can you imagine this year? 1-16 would be pretty sweet.
As for the Rockets... Assuming there's consensus that they won't have much of an impact in the playoffs, maybe missing them wouldn't be such a bad thing? Rick Carlisle mentioned that every playoff game nets each team approximately 1-1.5 million (so a 7 game series actually benefits the owners more than a sweep) so the playoffs are still valuable in some sense. From a Rocket fan perspective though; I think I'd rather have a 47 win team in the lottery. The Lakers missed a few years ago and what did they get? Bynum at 10. Not that the Rockets absolutely require more firepower but it couldn't hurt. A future cornerstone? Someone more motivated that TMac? A second defensive utility man? Trade it for a valuable edgy veteran? And imagine if they beat the odds and made it into the top 5?
I hope whatever happens, there'll be another WC team stronger at the start of next year than they finish this one. I didn't pick them to win it all this season as they just got a new coach but I could actually envision them rolling hard next year.
Yea, Steven A is a fucking retard. He's worse than Bill Walton.
As for the Rockets, of course, they don't really have a chance to win the championship, but I think they'll prolly make the playoffs. As my previous post shows, they have the second easiest schedule behind the Lakers.
And to say they are gonna go less than .500 for the rest of the season is to say you haven't been watching the rockets play. You don't win 13 straight without some team ball.
My worry now is whether Yao is having Walton-like problems. However, I really think people who harp on that are putting way too much drama on this injury. I'm pretty sure I remember when he hurt his foot. It was a twisting of the ankle under the basket. Fucking docs shoulda checked him out earlier. How does an injury go a MONTH without finding it? He had actually been slowing down for a few games. Lots of people on boards were asking if he were injured.
So, I'm pissed at the docs, but still have a dreamer's hope for the rest of the season. Mutumbo is still a defensive force, as shown in last night's game. Rockets probably still have the best defense in the league.
juh? i already posted here. oh well.
Condolences rockets fans; that is sad news. I feel crappy and i don't even care about the rockets.
three things.
1. Is it jsut me, or have they been saying Mutombo is 41 for the last three years.
2. I would have the cow -pull- the golfcart.
3. Shut-up and give the ball to T-mac
4? Steven A. is about one million and fourty-three times worse than Bill Walton. Billy is just an air-head. He's like the opposite of Shaft. A simple man, his woman totally understnads him.
steven a smith is the devil
It's funny. 3 or 4 years ago, if you told me that there would be a time when Bill Walton would be a more reasonable and palatable NBA commentator than his counterpart, I'd probably have laughed at you and said you were a fucking moron.
Yet, here we are. My version of hell would be S. A. Smith yelling at me through a loudspeaker while doing........well while doing anything really. I could be cutting my eyeballs with lemon soaked razor blades. Or drinking a Rum'n'Coke on a sailboat watching hot chicks spread lotion on each other. Either way, if Steve-A is there, I'd be in hell.
what if stephen a smith was cutting his eyeballs with lemon soaked razor blades on the boat while you hung out watching the hot chicks? i mean, thats a scenario where, you know, he's there, but it wouldn't really be all that bad.
because, well, you know, he'd be mutilating himself and all...
go UTAH!
it's like if dr. lara got a new co-host and it was glenn beck
sorry, i'm done.
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