You're Offside

Yo, so if you haven't heard yet, Yao is done for the season. The 7'6" giant from China has a stress fracture in his left foot, and is out of commission for the next four months. People get injured and I understand that, but for this to happen just as the Rockets were starting to soar is a blow that will most likely ruin their season.

The worst part about the Yao Ming injury is that the trade deadline just passed, so the team can't make a deal to get some help at center. Sure they have Dikembe Mutombo, but at 41 Dikembe can't really play starting center minutes. They've also got Chuck Hayes and Luis Scola but they're both a little bit undersized at center in the West.

You'd think the Rockets would have planned on something like this happening at some point. Yao hasn't played in more than 52 games since the 04-05 season, so it's fair to say he's injury prone; however, it's kind of understandable when you're as huge as Yao Ming. What's worse is that doctors say the injury was caused by Yao being on the floor for too long every game, which pretty much puts the injury on the coach. Big men will always be dominating in the NBA buy only if they're healthy and not fatigued which is why having a solid back up is crucial.

It will be interesting to see if the Rockets can continue their success, and it would be awesome if they did because pretty much everyone has written their season off...but I just can't see it happening. With Yao on the bench the only consistent threat is Tracy McGrady and every other team in the NBA knows that.

It will also be interesting to see how Yao recovers from this injury because his feet are under intense pressure whenever he's standing and I don't know if that will cause problems for him in the future even after he recovers. Who knows if there will always be discomfort or a heightened chance of re injuring his foot? Not me, but I would imagine so. I just can't believe the Rockets didn't prepare for this at all, what brutal management.