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New Discussion topic: Yao, strategies for Houston.
Premise: It's pretty much shown through data and stuff that due to his height and weight, staying healthy is going to be a CONSTANT concern throughout his career. Presumably he'll be healthy again by the start of the season.
What should Houston do? Here's what I propose:
1) Houston has shown they can play well without Yao
2) IMO it would be better for Houston to limit the number of games Yao plays during the regular season so he'll be healthy enough and have enough energy to actually play in the playoffs at full strength. He played 77 games this season, and got injured early in the playoffs, and as a result Houston's chances are drastically smaller (sure they played great in Game 4 but you can't suspect that the Lakers will continue playing that badly and Houston will play that well).
3) Maybe do what Phoenix did with Shaq and rest him for back-to-backs... or just sit him out once per week, get him around 50 games or so, then he'll have enough energy for the playoffs.
Costs/Benefits:
- Healthier Yao for the playoffs (with more energy)
- Probably better chances at winning
- Houston probably won't have as good of a record
- Might cause chemistry issues on the court with him in and out of the lineup all the time.
However, I think this is already the case since he's always in and out due to injury, so might as well have him in and out of the lineup healthy and making sure he doesn't get injured. I think Houston should look into doing that.
Discuss.
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I think Rockets should seriously consider trading Yao or just let him go. Each minute the guy plays without proper backup center shortens his life. Rockets need a young guy, poor man's Al Jefferson who could take pressure off Yao's minutes and deliver near double double games.
And if that's not enough then TMac and his injuries are. Without constantly injured near-his-career-end McGrady and his big ass contract Houston could pull average center and some nice shooter instead. Unfortunately they are stuck with him and have nothing to do..
I don't think it's wise to keep Yao just to please Houston Chinese fans either. Being 7 ft 6 and playing massive amounts of minutes for no purpose at all, without team having clear vision where to go, without getting even to the Conference Finals, with Mutombo used as back up center for the last few year back I don't see why Rockets or Yao should decide anything else than let him go to a team that can fight for a title and that has a clear vision about future.
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trade Yao??? And get who in return? Yao ming is an S level superstar in the league whoever they get for him has to bring a lot to the table.
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On May 11 2009 23:10 Dknight wrote:Show nested quote +On May 11 2009 12:33 il0seonpurpose wrote:On May 11 2009 12:05 Dknight wrote:
more importantly, celtics 2 bench points......... Yeah, where was Eddie House?? I think T. Allen could step up and get some good minutes. And Ray Allen was missing all his 3's, wow. Clearly you are making a horrible joke about T. Allen that should never be made, ever. =[[[[[
Really? I know he's not a good shooter and doesn't pass often but he's had some good games
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What's so silly about trading Yao? It's the best time to do that, because at the moment Rockets are going nowhere and Yao has still very good value. His injuries are getting worse, he's getting older, Rockets have no back up to him. TMacs contract will soon be over - get something good in exchange and start building again.
TMacs only problem isn't his knees but also back spasms. The guy will sit out like 10 games anyway just because of back spasms.
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On May 12 2009 04:32 eStoniaNBoY wrote:
What's so silly about trading Yao? It's the best time to do that, because at the moment Rockets are going nowhere and Yao has still very good value. His injuries are getting worse, he's getting older, Rockets have no back up to him. TMacs contract will soon be over - get something good in exchange and start building again.
TMacs only problem isn't his knees but also back spasms. The guy will sit out like 10 games anyway just because of back spasms.
Yao is 29, he can still play for 5-7ish years. Man, he is getting old 
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TMac has many problems, not least of all mental. He hasn't been with the team in ages for this reason - he brings everybody down (contrast with KG in Boston, or Yao now that he's injured). I think his contract runs through 2011, which means Hou will miss out on the nice free agent market of 2010. The best thing for Hou is for TMac to retire - either now or at the end of next season. This would let them be a factor in 2010.
If you DID want to dream you would hope for this: trade Yao for an expiring contract and 1-2 decent complentary players. Have TMac retire to save even more cap space. Sign a big free agent in 2010 - ideally LeBron or Wade. This + artest + battier = championship.
Of course, every step in that plan is very unlikely. Realistically, trying to trade Yao now makes little sense since you couldn't get value back, a lot of teams are weary of Yao's injuries. Probably best to add a few complementary pieces, hope it all gets a bit better next year and go from there.
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2010 will be World Championship and Yao has to probably play during that summer also so it won't get any better for his schedule. I seriously doubt that Rockets or Yao would say no to him playing for his country.
Artest, Scola, Battier and Brooks are solid guys. Get some average centers and a guy who is not afraid to take 25 shots per night at decent percentage and you got yourself a nice team.
I seriously doubt that any of the 2003 draft class superstars would change their team. Maybe Bosh, but Wade, James and Anthony are happy at where they are.
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Canada9720 Posts
you guys talking about trading yao should consider that over the past like 5 seasons, this one has been his best injury-wise. yeah he's out for now, but he'll definitely be back for next season, and he could have another great one. even though he's not the same size, take a look at grant hill. in like 15 years the guy never played a full season until now, and he;s still play great.
another thing to think about is how well yao meshes with team. by all reports he's an incredible teammate, on and off the court, full of enthusiasm and really friendly.
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Cayman Islands24199 Posts
these questions are irrelevant without knowing how much houston makes in marketing from yao's presence.
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On May 12 2009 05:28 CTStalker wrote:
you guys talking about trading yao should consider that over the past like 5 seasons, this one has been his best injury-wise. yeah he's out for now, but he'll definitely be back for next season, and he could have another great one. even though he's not the same size, take a look at grant hill. in like 15 years the guy never played a full season until now, and he;s still play great.
another thing to think about is how well yao meshes with team. by all reports he's an incredible teammate, on and off the court, full of enthusiasm and really friendly.
did you read my post?
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On May 12 2009 06:05 oneofthem wrote:
these questions are irrelevant without knowing how much houston makes in marketing from yao's presence.
part of the reason he's an S level superstar. Even with Yao's injuries (and this season he was fine for the most part) what team wouldn't be salivating at the thought of having him? Yao Ming is one of the best frontcourt players in the league and your smoking if you think teams wouldn't want him. His injury history is nothing compared to some other superstars that found teams in the past ala Chris Webber and T-mac.
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United States22883 Posts
On May 12 2009 01:51 CTStalker wrote:
lol big baby is such a retard. gotta love him though. he was so excited during the interview afterwards, he wasn't even makin sense. pushing the kid out of the way was the funniest thing i've seen in the playoffs so far
Did you know that 1. he knows how to play the game and 2. the Celtics just play the game? I learned that from his interview.
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United States22883 Posts
On May 12 2009 05:28 CTStalker wrote:
you guys talking about trading yao should consider that over the past like 5 seasons, this one has been his best injury-wise. yeah he's out for now, but he'll definitely be back for next season, and he could have another great one. even though he's not the same size, take a look at grant hill. in like 15 years the guy never played a full season until now, and he;s still play great.
another thing to think about is how well yao meshes with team. by all reports he's an incredible teammate, on and off the court, full of enthusiasm and really friendly.
Hill had a bone bruise compounded by a freak ankle injury from landing awkwardly on another player. I have a feeling Yao's injuries will be chronic, simply due to his hugeness. Still, I don't know who you can possibly trade him for and still get a decent return, given he is at the very top of his position. I'd try and get a backup and just limit his minutes, and hope Aaron Brooks keeps developing like this.
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United States22883 Posts
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If I were Yao, I'd offer a million dollars or more to develop special shoes/compression shorts/versions of the new US army bionic soldier equipment to minimize strain on his body. Maybe 5 million.
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The article says "meanwhile, the Pistons are being swept by the Cavs", then Chauncey says, "I guess they see what I meant to that team", when the last time he was on that team they lost 4 in a row to a much worse Cavs team (in no small part due to him making Daniel Gibson look like Dwayne Wade).
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Yao's already getting a lot of rest, he's only playing 33 minutes a game, i don't know how much more they can limit him w/o really hurting themselves
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Praying for Boston to survive vs Orlando...
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I hope Orlando wins, I think they have more of a chance than anyone to beat Clevland just because Dwight can limit LeBron in the paint.
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EPT
