Yao gone for the year!

Yeah, **** China!
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The only silver lining is that Scola and landry will get more playing time/experience and we will head into next season as contenders from the start.
 
Alright, I live in Houston, and understandably feeling just a little bummed. However, I don't think that all hopes are lost just yet. Sure, losing Yao for the rest of the season is big, but both Scola and Landry have been developing nicely. The team will just have to play with a smaller lineup for now. Scola at 5, Landy at 4. Mutumbo will probably have to play some, and Novak and Hayes will be playing more minutes.

Now I kinda wish we hadn't traded Bonzi away just yet...
 
It sucks that Yao is out....seeing as he is very important to this team, but this has happened before. The other players have stepped up and seem to be grasping Adelman's offense.

I bet we still make the playoffs.

Yao missed 32 games last year and we were 20-12. We have a much, MUCH better/deeper team than we did last year.

WE BELIEVE!!
 
**** the playoffs. Nothing is possible without Yao except a looongshot of playing spoiler in round one. Shelve T-Mac with a fake knee injury, see what Gerald Green has(probably nothing), tank the season and get some more ping pong balls.

You would think are ******* training staff would have figured out that when Yao is complaining about something it's different than when your average NBA'er is bitching about something. Nah, Addelman is playing his *** in the 4th quarter of a 20 pt blowout as recently as last week.
 
Talk of them missing out on the playoffs is a bit premature. Their chances of going deep in the playoffs is in extreme doubt, but they have a pretty easy schedule the rest of the way.
 
Rockets will still make the playoffs because they have the best backup center in the league.

nba_g_mutumbo_268.jpg


While Houston loses a lot of offense with Yao, Mutombo is a better rebounder and shot blocker. The offense will struggle for now, but Adelman will be able to run more of his plays back in Sacramento now that all the plays designed for Yao are thrown out the window. The offense won't stagnate as much either.

We might end up being better both defensively and offensively without Yao at least in the regular season. There will be more blowouts and the point differential will go up.

In the playoffs we are in trouble. Yao was a huge matchup nightmare and now he's gone. We won't feel his loss until April.

Selfishly, I worry about what losing Yao means to the Rockets, but I feel even worse for Yao and his future. There's no doubt China has to be pissed that their son is getting beat up in the NBA and possibly won't be able to participate in the Olympics. What if they force Yao to play when he's still not ready?

What does this set back mean for Yao in the future? Will we have to worry about this every year now? Is he really the next Bill Walton? Even though he comes back next year, maybe we'll have to considerably change his role on the team. Less minutes and not pounding the ball inside as much.
 
If we lose every single game the rest of the year we would be 37-45 and nowhere near the Top 10 in the Lottery unless we got REALLY lucky.

We proved tonight that we are still a good team, we just lost a player that helped make us elite. Maybe Mutumbo can hold up since there isn't that many games left (22 maybe?).
 
Drew--

Tyler Hansbrough, IMO, is most comparable to Mark Madsen. Undersized, not terribly athletic, great motor, fine college player, but not going to produce in the NBA.

These two mock drafts don't have him going in the first round. These two mock drafts have him going late in the first round. Definitely not a lottery talent though.
 
I don't know what to respond to first: the Tyler Hansborough comments or the Dikembe Mutombo ones. My sarcasm meter runneth over.
 
T Hans to the Rockets?? That would be sweet! O well so much for Houston basketball, we are going to get another playoff birth, McGrady will be phenomenal as usual but they will be ousted in the first round... Same song!
 
No, I would not take Hansbrough over Beasley, but I was thinking of a mid-lottery pick, not the first pick.

But Hansbrough is going to have a long, productive career in the NBA. Mark Madsen? Be serious. Madsen wasn't even close to being a consensus all-American, as Hansbrough is. He's got all the post moves, great fundamentals, and he will eat his own foot to beat you.

And I'm a Duke fan. I'm telling you, Hansbrough's going to be a beast in the NBA.
 
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