Wizards @ Houston: 2/26/08 8:30 ET

[Vator]

Yao won't play tonight according to a local sports radio station.

[TheKingOfVa360]

Yao won't play tonight according to a local sports radio station.

Thank god, finally the Wizards get a break.

[newslowsad]

Yep, it is official - no Yao tonight. Copped this link from the Houston board:

http://www.myfoxhouston.com/myfox/pages ... geId=6.1.1

[Donkey McDonkerton]

-= original quote snipped =-



dont bet on it, yao should be fine, and he is expected to play tomorrow

Jk.

I like Yao, and definitely dont wish injury on him....but I dont feel for the Rockets...our situation has been daggerific.

[miller31time]

With Yao out, it just makes them more perimeter oriented - something the Wizards don't deal well with.

Would it be insane of me to think that we'd have more of a chance of winning with Yao taking up most of their possessions and Brendan Haywood guarding him?

[Donkey McDonkerton]

With Yao out, it just makes them more perimeter oriented - something the Wizards don't deal well with.

Would it be insane of me to think that we'd have more of a chance of winning with Yao taking up most of their possessions and Brendan Haywood guarding him?

Yes, insane. I know you really believe Haywood limits Yao, but it isn't that limiting. That, AND Haywood isnt the only one going to guard Yao...I mean we dont have to see Darius vs Yao tonight.

We need all the help we can get, without Yao, it's much better for us.

[MJG]

Would it be insane of me to think that we'd have more of a chance of winning with Yao taking up most of their possessions and Brendan Haywood guarding him?

Yep, quite I don't think it's insane though to imagine that they'll miss Yao against us a lot less than against most teams.

[miller31time]

Yes, insane. I know you really believe Haywood limits Yao, but it isn't that limiting. That, AND Haywood isnt the only one going to guard Yao...I mean we dont have to see Darius vs Yao tonight.

We need all the help we can get, without Yao, it's much better for us.

But it's not just me "really believing it". It's true. He does limit Yao. Now, you're absolutely correct that he can't be in the game at all times (I was thinking around 34mins compared to Yao's 38 ), but the amount of time he'd be out and Yao in would be insignificant.

Don't get me wrong - Ming is a tremendous player and an MVP candidate in my opinion, but you can't deny that he takes up a lot of Houston's possessions. Now normally, those possessions are completely efficient since Yao, himself, is an ultra-efficient player, but (and statistics back me up on this) Haywood defends him as well as anyone in the league. If we can get Yao to use up a lot of Houston's possessions without a high efficiency, it just seems to work out better for us.

With him out, they're going to rely completely and solely on perimeter players like McGrady, Alston, Jackson, Battier, etc. We do a HORRIBLE job containing perimeter shooters. Possibly the worst in the league.

It's a pick-your-poison kinda thing, and I pick the one that's less likely to kill us.

[closg00]

Holy crap, Yao is out for the season and post-season with a stress fracture....

Feb. 26, 2008, 12:07PM
Yao out for season with stress fracture

By JONATHAN FEIGEN
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

Houston Rockets center Yao Ming will be out the rest of the season and post-season with a stress fracture in his sore left foot.

Yao was examined after Monday

[closg00]

We need fresh legs tonight, DS had his big game last night, so it's time to turn Young loose tonight with heavy minutes, Pech too for that matter, the guy can't stink-it-up forever.

[MDStar]

Yao being done for the season has got to be a supreme let down for that squad. Honestly, we might have a good chance to take this because of that.

[dobrojim]

Sorry to hear about Yao....I generally don't like Texas teams
but somehow I was generally sympathetic to the Rockets,
except when they play us of course.

The thing about Yao was that we would probably 2x team him
in spite of Wood doing a good job on him. Or they would figure
out some other way to get open looks for their shooters like Head
who did the damage last time.

Now I see this game as not nearly un-winnable

[pineappleheadindc]

^
Man, I feel bad for the Rox that Yao is out for the season. I take no great pleasure in seeing NBA stars - ours like Gil/Caron or the opponents' teams - out for long-term injuries.

If any Rox fan happens to read this post: Hang tough guys. Difficult break for your team.

Pine

[Ruzious]

.
This is our 4th game in 5 nights. Teams that are playing their 4th in 5 almost never win this last game. Coupled with the fact that Houston is hot and we're coming off of an emotional victory last night, this one could get ugly.

This is why - along with it being the back end of 2 nights on the road - even with Yao out - Houston has to be clear favorites.

But if we can keep McGrady down (DeShawn his arse), that's the key. Otoh, Alston is a tough matchup for our lack of quix at the point - esp with Daniels gutting it out with multiple injuries. Maybe Mason plays hero tonight. Ride that Stevenson/Mason backcourt for all it's worth!

It'll be interesting to see the big lineup against a smaller than usual Houston front court.

[ZonkertheBrainless]

Argh, the problem is that the game immediately after a star's injury is when all the bench players feel an adrenaline rush -- "I've got to step up!" and play out of their minds for the next five or six games.

Not particularly helpful.

[Donkey McDonkerton]

Totally sucks for the Rockets and their fans...just sucks.

We know what it's like to lose our top player (two players) before the playoffs. I'm just glad this year, there is hope that we are getting them back, instead of this type of injury hitting now.

[gowiz999]

This game is simply unfair. Rockets are fully rested at home riding an 11 game winning streak. I have no idea how we are supposed compete in this one.

Rockets 109 Washington 88

edit: Who deleted the DS appreciation thread? Must be a hater.

[nate33]

That really sucks about Yao. Condolences for Rockets fans. That's a real tough break.

[TheKingOfVa360]

Wow, I feel sorry for the Rockets fans. But hey that's part of the game.

[Wizards2Lottery]

AJ can surely do better than 3/16