Houston Rockets play without Yao Ming or not

Posted by bumeral

February 28, 2008

Yao Ming (Chinese: ??; pinyin: Yáo Míng) (born September 12, 1980, in Shanghai, China) is a Chinese professional basketball player who plays for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is currently the tallest player in the NBA, standing at 7′6″ (2.29 m).[1] He played for the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) for five years, before being selected by Houston as the 1st overall pick of the 2002 NBA Draft. A foot injury will prevent him from playing the rest of the 2007-2008 NBA season.

The Rockets’ Toyota Center practice court, filled with bustling, boisterous players minutes before, grew as quiet as a graveyard. With the team riding its longest winning streak since winning 15 straight to start the 1993-94 season that began their championship runs, coach Rick Adelman told his players that six-time All-Star center Yao Ming would be out for the rest of the season, including the playoffs if they get there, because of a stress fracture in his left foot. ’It was dead quiet,’

In this year, through 53 games, Yao Ming and the Houston Rockets have a record of 33-20. He is currently averaging 22.2 points, 10.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.2 blocks per game while compiling 30 double-doubles. On January 24, 2008, It was announced that Yao will start at center for the Western Conference in the 2008 All-Star game for the 6th consecutive season since entering the league in 2002. Yao led all Western Conference centers with 1,709,180 votes.

On February 26, 2008, it was reported that Yao Ming will miss the rest of the 2008 season due to a stress fracture in his left foot. It was announced by Rockets GM Daryl Morey hours before the Rockets put their 12 game winning streak on the line against the Washington Wizards. He was expected to miss the 2008 NBA playoffs but Morey doesn’t expect him to miss the 2008 Beijing Olympics in August. [36]. The Rockets went on to beat the Wizards 94-69 in a blowout. Before the announcement of Yao’s injury, the Rockets were considered a championship contender.

Rockets general manager Daryl Morey said. ’There was shock, total shock. Looks of disbelief.’ Yao, arguably the best center the NBA has to offer and a worldwide phenomenon thanks to his proud Chinese heritage, has developed microscopic cracks in the tarsal navicular bone — the bone that attaches the ankle to the mid-foot — in his left foot. With soreness lasting since the Feb. 17 All-Star Game, he had an MRI followed by CT scans on Monday that revealed the injury and changed the Rockets’ lives. Click here for more from the Houston Chronicle.

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