Condolences for Yao Ming.

By Migs

I'd like to personally send my condolences to Houston Rockets fans far and wide.

Yao Ming is out because of injury- again.

Yao's been touted to miss the rest of the 2010-2011 campaign due to a stress fracture in his ankle.

The Rockets can talk all they want about Yao Ming being looked at beyond this season and how resilient the others can be in the face of Yao's latest setback, but the truth is, Yao going in and out of the lineup has rendered this team in a state of flux.

If I'm Houston, I apply for injury exceptions with the league, then trade him. With Yao making $17.7 million this season, his salary and non-existence on the court only serve as hinderances to the Rockets' signing top level talent, and a 7,5" distraction with regards to the team maintaining any kind of cohesion/tangible chemistry on the floor.

Can anyone say Ralph Sampson?

The problem with these extra large centers is the fact that due to their immense size, they become injury prone. Yao has been told that he'll be needing reconstructive surgery to flatten/smoothen out his foot so as to better distribute the stress that's put on it during games, but then, how much further can he go? How much of a franchise player can he still be with his body being so gimpy? I hate to say it, but, the future doesn't look good.

Look, injuries to the lower extremities which big men suffer often limit their explosiveness/production moving forward. Look at Chris Webber after his ACL injury. Look at what's happened to Greg Oden. Look at what became of Patrick Ewing later in his career. There are exceptions to the rule in this case (i.e. Amare Stoudamire), but generally, the bigger they are, the harder they fall.

Like most other people, I hope Yao Ming manages to somehow bounce back from this career-threatening health issue. If he isn't able to move past this and return to form, I laud him for being one heck of a basketball ambassador and, when healthy, one of the most dominant centers the NBA's seen in some time.

Should he retire, he could enter showbusiness, and hey, he's got a loving wife to go home to. Plus, he's amassed quite a fortune by being an international icon. Not too shabby, but then, Lord knows this guy's first love is hoops, and man who has a good a heart, and as tremendous a skill set as Yao deserves to be on the court- not in the clinic.

-MC-