General

Yao Could Return to Rockets This Season

Aug 31, 2009, 3:08 PM UTC

Yaoâ†µwas supposed to miss next season with his umpteenth stress fracture.â†µYao could go the way of Bill Walton, the player everyone dreamed heâ†µmight become—minus the part where the career’s cut short.
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â†µNot so fast, says GM Daryl Morey. We might see Yao in action as soon as spring 2010. From an interview with ESPN.com:â†µâ†µâ‡¥“Yaoâ†µâ‡¥Ming is progressing well. I don’t think that [a career-ending scenario]â†µâ‡¥is something that will happen, based on what I’m hearing from theâ†µâ‡¥doctors,” Morey told Alipour. “They do know that the bone will heal andâ†µâ‡¥he’ll get back on it. And they have not actually ruled out [his return]â†µâ‡¥this season. I think that’s less likely than likely, but they haven’tâ†µâ‡¥ruled it out.â†µâ‡¥
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â†µâ‡¥“And next season, the outlook is very good. He just took off theâ†µâ‡¥cast for a short period [two weeks ago], so the doctors could examineâ†µâ‡¥it, and everything is going well. Everything is on track.”â†µâ†µ

â†µBear in mind, this is the same Daryl Morey who just recently pronounced Tracy McGrady "way, way ahead of schedule."â†µAnd Morey came into the league as a stats guy, which is to say, heâ†µdoesn't have a lot of experience with medical observation. With Yao,â†µthough, he's quoting doctors, not drawing his own conclusions. And theâ†µprognosis there always was a little murkier—potentially much better andâ†µmuch worse—than the open/shut T-Mac microfracture recovery.â†µ
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â†µThis doesn't save the Rockets for 2009-10, but hey, at least theâ†µteam isn't on the verge of collapse anymore. And who knows, they mightâ†µwell be able to win some without either of their big-name stars. Neverâ†µput it past Morey and Adelman. Don't forget, they did sign Trevorâ†µAriza.
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â†µFor more NBA coverage, visit SportingNews.com's new NBA blog, The Baseline.â†µ

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