Filed under: Nets, Rockets, Suns, NBA Injuries, The Works
Today in The Works: why Nets fans should curb their enthusiasm; comparing Steve Nash and Jeff Bridges; and a bit of streak numerology. But first, making sense of Yao Ming's latest bad news.
The Ballad of Yao Ming
Yao Ming's foot is hurt again, enough to keep him out for the rest of the year, and the entire basketballing world now weeps in sorrow. After playing only five games to start this season and none in 2009-10, he's now at a sub-Oden level of health. To call this moment a career crossroads would be wildly optimistic -- at this point we should start wondering if he'll ever be able to play again.
Virtually everyone but the most anti-China businessmen agrees that this is terrible news. Yao is a beloved gentle giant, a kind soul who almost single-handedly makes basketball fans forget that he's deployed as a soft-diplomatic tool by a totalitarian government hellbent on becoming the top global superpower. Yet Yao has always seemed above these kinds of barriers even as he acted as the face of China's great unveiling to the world at the 2008 Olympics. He's a great uniter, someone who's gotten along famously with such disparate personalities as Steve Francis and Shane Battier.
Yao's reaction to his latest setback defines his personality as well as anything: "I haven't died. Right now I'm drinking a beer and eating fried chicken. What were you expecting, a funeral?" No matter the situation, Yao always seems keenly aware of the fact that there's a life beyond basketball. Still, to see him incapable of playing basketball is a cruel blow.
Source: http://nba.fanhouse.com/2010/12/17/the-works-whats-next-for-yao-ming/
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