Monday, March 28, 2011

End of the Ming Dynasty: Where Talent Meets Injury

 The Houston Rockets were experiencing the aftermath of losing a dominant big man. But in the draft, they made up for it by taking 7'6'' Yao Ming, and he was supposed to change their fortunes. They had a dynamic scorer in Steve Francis, but then they traded him for an even more talented scorer named Tracy McGrady. They were on their way up, but now, they have been waning. One of the biggest reasons for this decline is Yao Ming.

Yao Ming was supposed to be a talented player. Though he did have a massive voting push from the Asian population, Yao was still arguably a deserving a starter for the All-Star when he is healthy. But, health is something that has eluded Yao. Yao has a good range for a center, and his height allowed him to dominate in the post. But injuries kept him sidelined, and as the Rockets continued to get more talent around their centerpiece, their centerpiece was kept out of the game. Yao Ming could have been one of the best centers in the league now, but his injuries kept him from reaching his potential.

After back-to-back sidelined years, the Rockets have to determine whether Yao can come back and return to his All-Star form. You can't teach height, so the Rockets may be tentative to release such a versatile and tall player. But you also can't avoid injury when dealing with as injured a player as Yao. The Rockets seem to be moving past Yao after making moves to get #2 pick Hasheem Thabeet. He is still a great center and can fill in a void for any team looking for reserve big man. It is a sad story because this is what happens when talent meets injury.

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