More Than an Injury

Will it be cuff-links for Yao?

Yao is having surgery to repair his injured foot and will most likely miss the entire upcoming season with a small chance his career might be finished as well. I can't believe how fast things can turn for the worse in life. The Rockets seemed to have it all a few years back. Drafting Yao out of China with the 1st pick in the 2002 draft and pairing him with T-Mac for the 04-05 season. It seemed like the Rockets had the big inside presence and the outside scoring that would lead them to the NBA Finals.

After years of first round exits and disappointing results, people kept saying, "Next year, next year." Well, that never materialized and now, for the 09-10 season, the Rockets will have both big studs, that were suppose to take them to the promise land, sitting on the bench with no contribution except for some charity events.

I have always been a fan of Yao and even bigger supporter of T-Mac but I am finally going to give up on both of them. I will still proudly wear my T-Mac jersey and will most likely find myself buying a Yao jersey the next time I'm in New York visiting the NBA Store but honestly, I'm sad.

Watching your favourite athlete fall apart isn't something I wish upon any sports fan. I understand that all athletes, as age takes it's cruel toll, will slowly fade from superstar form but with T-Mac and Yao it was different. Both players seemed to have such potential, which they never found. I was itching for an NBA Championship for the two and the Rockets but it never happened. Watching T-Mac and Yao fall short every year took a toll on me.

All those years I watched and cheered on the two from start to finish I never thought about the possibility that they would never set foot on the court together ever again.

This Week in Basketball

Things are moving pretty quickly now that the Laker's have been crowned the 2009 champs.

Hedo to the Raptors

If the Raptors sign Hedo to the reported 5yr $53million deal, I will be forced to find a new team to cheer for. This deal makes no sense! Dude is 30 years old. If he was named Kobe Bryant than being 30 at this point would be fine but he's not, he's Hedo Turkoglu. As expected his stats peaked when he was 28 years old. This season, his stats dropped just a little. He is not worth $53million over 5yrs. I know this move is all about making Bosh happy so he will stay in Toronto (in my mind he's already gone but I'll leave that for another day) but this move doesn't help Toronto keep Bosh. The only way this move helps Bosh is if the Raptors take the championship away from the Laker's next season which is not going to happen. Hedo is not the solution for the Raptors. If this rumour does come true, the Raptors will be screwing themselves for years to come.

Artest to the Laker's

I love this move! Having a guy like Artest on the team adds that physical, gives no mercy, I'll kill you, get the hell out of my way, mentality that the Laker's will need when they defend their championship next season. Artest can play lockdown defence which allows Bryant, and his 30 year old body, some down time on the court instead of him shutting down the opposing superstar on defence. Just looking at the Laker's team it seems more and more like the Jordan, Pippen, Rodman, and Jackson combo. Absolutely dirty!

The Rockets are Cursed

This is an off-season that the Rockets wish never happened. McGrady is most likely out for next season and if he does return he's a shell of what he used to be. Artest is off to the Laker's and rumoured in return is Trevor Ariza. Ariza is a role player and nothing more. His great play in the playoffs will bring some cash but the GM who signs him (thinking he'll be a true leader instead of being a role player) for big bucks is going to look stupid when the season unfolds. Now to the big news. Yao Ming, their superstar centre, seems to on the side of not returning next season due to injury. I feel for the Rockets. Losing their "big 3" is something no GM could anticipate. I always thought that the combo of Ming and McGrady would do damage in the NBA and bring them to the Finals but it never happened.

Yao Ming

Funny but at the same time sad. There is absolutely no reason why a professional basketball player in the NBA should miss from that close with no one around him. Just use the dam window Yao!!