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| | | July 2 - There is no doubt how big a boost talented basketball center Yao Ming gave the NBA's Houston Rockets when he joined the team seven years ago, but the player's future has now been thrown into doubt with reports that his broken foot could keep the 28-year-old Chinese giant out of the game for good.
If this turns out to be the case, it could change everything for the Houston Rockets and affect the way fans of the Texas team bet on their team in the future. For instance, news of Yao's irksome injury has already spurred some NBA pundits into rethinking future wagers on the Rockets for the 2009-10 NBA season.
As in don't bet a cent - for now. While leading online sports betting site BetUS has the Houston Rockets down as +1500 to win next season's NBA title, with Yao potentially on the bench, it's more likely that next year the Rockets will be considered a 'lottery' team as opposed to a feasible and bankable 'playoff' team.
Following Yao's injury on May 8th this year in a second round playoff game against the Los Angeles Lakers (a game the Rockets lost incidentally), doctors said that the 7 ft 6 in player had sustained a hairline fracture in his left foot. Devastated by the news, the Rockets looked forward to getting Yapo back in three months.
Alas, three months down the line, doctors confirmed that not only is Yao's foot not healing properly, but is in fact getting worse. They even threw around the two words that every professional sportsperson from Texas to Timbuktu dreads - career-threatening. So assuming the worst, where does that leave the Rockets?
Not in a particularly good spot is the short answer. The NBA team has one of two choices. One, pick themselves up and accept that Yao may be out and try to find a suitable solution to keep their 2009-10 NBA season hopes alive. Or two, admit they are probably screwed, and regroup for the 2010-11 NBA season.
Both big choices. But for now Yao's injury has forced the Rockets to make a decision regarding free agent, Ron Artest. No matter how quick he is, he is surely an unlikely candidate to put all of one's NBA eggs in, plus he has proven in the past that he doesn't perform as well as he should when he is the star of the team.
Also, Tracy McGrady will likely miss the first six months of next year following knee surgery. And with T-Mac's hefty contract up after next season, he could well be traded. This means that worst case scenario, Yao and T-Mac will miss most of next season leaving the Houston Rockets stranded on the launch pad.
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| | 7/2/2009 5:32:18 PM |
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