Yao Ming Retires; Was He A Bust?

More sad news from the NBA as 9 year veteran Yao Ming has decided to retired. This is the saddest news to hit China since Bruce Lee died... or the last time they checked how much money America owes them.

This is probably for the best though because at 7'6" and 310 pounds, he was probably never going to be right again. I mean, once you can't even make it past 5 games with limited minutes, you've got to know the end is near, right? Right.

Now, this brings up an interesting discussion: Was Yao Ming a bust? At first thought that might sound crazy, but when you look at what Yao's career was supposed to be, it isn't really. Yao was supposed to be the next dominant big man, but in 9 seasons he only played 486 of a possible 738 games and made it past the first round of the playoffs once. And in that same year (08-09) he only managed to play 3 games into the second round before being hurt again.

Now he did average 19 points and 9.2 rebounds for his career, but it's hard to say that was ideal for him coming into the league. He was a #1 overall draft pick after all. He was supposed to rival Shaq, not average just under 20 and 10 in an injury riddled 9 year career.

Let's put it this way: Say you are the Houston Rockets and today is the day before the 2002 NBA Draft. Let's also say I'm a psychic, but my powers only work on Chinese players entering the NBA. You ask me how will Yao's career play out and I tell you he's only going to play through 2011 and average 19 points and 9.2 rebounds. Do you still take him #1 overall the next day?

Considering the fact that the next 7 players taken in that draft were Jay Williams, Mike Dunleavy, Jr., Drew Gooden, Nikoloz Tskitishvili, Dajuan Wagner, Nene Hilario, and Chris Wilcox, you probably still do (even though you would have had no way of knowing only 1 of them would even still be a starter by 2011 at the time), but you'd think about it long and hard leading up to draft time.

Okay, maybe Yao isn't a bust, but he was definitely overrated coming into the league. Yao was supposed to be great, but instead was just very good. In my opinion, the only reason he won't be seen as a disappointment is because he was the first Asian NBA All-Star and his draft class was a pathetic cesspool of soon-to-be nobodies. I really like Yao, but he did not live up to the hype.

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NBA All-Star Reserves Announced; Kevin Love Snubbed

I'm too outraged that the 32 coaches in the NBA thought Kevin Love's 21.4 points per game, 15.5 rebounds per game, 47% from the field, 44% from three, and 87% from the free throw line weren't good enough to be on the All-Star team.

Well, here's who did make the All-Star teams: On the East there's Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Joe Johnson, Al Horford, and Chris Bosh. Out West there's Russell Westbrook, Dirk Nowitzki, Pau Gasol, Deron Williams, Manu Ginobili, Blake Griffin, and Tim Duncan.

Seriously though, Tim Duncan?? Like Chris Webber said last week, this isn't a lifetime achievement award, it's the All-Star game. If we're gonna throw Tim Duncan on the squad, why not put Steve Nash on over Russell Westbrook or Deron Williams?

But even if you're gonna give Timmy a lifetime achievement award, why is Blake Griffin on the team over Kevin Love?? Don't get me wrong, Blake is having a wonderful rookie season, but if he couldn't dunk, would he still make this team over Love? I don't think so. Again, I don't want to take anything away from Blake, I actually think both he and Love should've made the team, but if it came down to the 2, you've got to take Big Love.

Hopefully David Stern will do the right thing and choose Love to replace Yao Ming on the team, but Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski was told Steve Nash is a "strong favorite" for that spot. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Kevin Love wasn't the only snub though, here's a list of some of the bigger snubs: LaMarcus Aldridge (21.3 ppg, 9 rpg), Monta Ellis (25.1 ppg, 5.6 apg, 2.3 spg), Eric Gordon (24.1 ppg, 4.5 apg), Kevin Martin (23.1 ppg, 41% from 3), Zach Randolph (20 ppg, 13.2 rpg), Lamar Odom (15.4 ppg, 9.6 rpg, 57% from the field), Raymond Felton (17.1 ppg, 8.9 apg), Andrea Bargnani (20.9 ppg, 5.5 apg), and Luis Scola (19.3 ppg, 8.5 rpg).

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2011 NBA All-Star Starters Announced

West | East
Yao Ming C Dwight Howard
Carmelo Anthony F Amare Stoudemire
Kevin Durant F LeBron James
Kobe Bryant G Dwyane Wade
Chris Paul G Derrick Rose

No real surprises (especially on the East) but I did totally forget about Yao Ming. To be fair, the guy only played 5 games and shouldn't even have been on the ballot in the first place, so me forgetting him shouldn't be held against me.

Anyway, Kobe got the most votes overall with 2,380,016, and Dwight Howard came in 2nd with 2,099,204. Coming in 3rd with 2,053,011 votes? LeBron James. People sure do hate that guy, I tell ya. Another funny thing in the voting is that Jamal Crawford (246,130) actually got more votes than teammate Joe Johnson (224,571). $119 million well spent.

The reserves will be announced next Thursday (February 3rd) on TNT.

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Random News Shit: NBA Doom & Gloom Edition

1) Orlando Adds Gilbert Arenas, Re-swaps Vince Carter For Hedo Turkoglu
Wow, wow, wow!

Now, before I give my opinion, let's go through all the trades: In the first trade, Orlando got Hedo Turkoglu, Jason Richardson, and Earl Clark, and Phoenix got Vince Carter, Marcin Gortat, Mikael Pietrus, a 2011 first-round pick, and cash consideration. The next trade with the Wizards was a straight up swap of Rashard Lewis for Gilbert Arenas.

The biggest winner from all these transactions: the Miami Heat (no Wall or Arenas for the Wizards tonight, plus the new-look Suns Thursday). The biggest losers: Steve Nash (obvious reasons).

Who is Orlando's GM? I don't think he's getting enough flack for trading for Vince, letting Hedo go, and then trading Vince for Hedo a year later. Hedo is due $10,215,850 for this season, Vince is due $17,522,375, so why didn't they just pay Hedo to begin with?? That was essentially a waste of the entire 09-10 season.

And then there's Gilbert Arenas. Can someone please explain to me which of Orlando's problems does he solve? Why not wait and see if Hedo coming back could revive Rashard's career? It's not like teams were beating down Washington's door to take on Gilbert's huge contract and 39% shooting. That trade would've been there in January or February.

I will give Orlando credit for bringing in Jason Richardson though. Can you believe he's only 29?? Seems like he's been around for like 12 years. Regardless, he's shooting 42% from 3 this season, so he's definitely an upgrade over Vince.

2) Yao Ming Done For The Season Again
When I heard this news, I felt horrible for Yao...then I read his comments on the subject:

"I haven't died. Right now I'm drinking a beer and eating fried chicken. What were you expecting, a funeral?"

LMAO! The niggas have finally corrupted Yao! He's still in Houston too, so let's just hope he doesn't get a grill and start sippin' sizzurp.

...On second thought, let's hope he does.

3) Blazers Give Brandon Roy 3 Games Off
They could give Roy 3 years off, and I'm not sure it'd make much of a difference. His knees are gone, and it's just a matter of time before his career is over. Very sad. Somebody get this man a beer and some fried chicken.

4) Joakim Noah Out 8-10 Weeks After Thumb Surgery
Tough break for the Bulls. They have more than enough pieces to get this through this though, so they'll be fine.

5) Rajon Rondo Sidelined 1-2 Weeks With Ankle Injury
Ultimately he's only gonna end up missing about 4 or 5 more games. Boston's next 5 games: Indiana, Philly, @Orlando, @Indiana, and @Detroit. Something tells me they're gonna be fine.

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Random News Shit: NBA Headlines

1) Dwight Howard Sues Baby Momma For $500,500,000
No, that's not a typo, Dwight Howard is really suing his BM Royce Reed for five-hundred million, five-hundred thousand dollars. I know "Basketball Wives" was successful, but I'm almost positive she ain't got it. Hell, Dwight Howard doesn't even have that kinda money himself lol.

Lil Duval was joking about it earlier on Twitter because that truly is an odd number to ask for. I'm not mad at him for suing her, but $500,500,000 might be a tad excessive. Besides, suing for such an outrageous number isn't exactly the best way to get your name out of the news for non-basketball related issues.

(Side note: Can we finally change "Basketball Wives" to "Basketball Baby Mommas" (or "Basketball BMs" for short) once and for all and be done with it?? We all know that only one of the broads is even married, and her husband doesn't even play anymore. I think it's time.)

2) Rockets Limit Yao Ming To 24 Minutes A Game
Poor Yao. Maybe it's time for him to call it a career? I mean, it's not like he's gonna get any smaller, so his foot problems aren't going anywhere whether he plays 24 minutes per game or 40. And it's not like he's an old man either, he just turned 30 on Sunday. I say get those retirement papers ready.

3) Heat Take Their Talents To Fort Walton Beach
From September 28th through October 3rd the new Miami Heat will kick off training camp in Fort Walton Beach, Florida oppose to South Beach, Florida. Honestly, I don't give a shit where the practice, I just can't wait to see them play! I'm absolutely giddy for the 2010-11 NBA season. In fact, I might have to make a trip to Miami to watch their first preseason game again Detroit on October 5th. Anyone wanna drive me??

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Yao's Latest Foot Injury Could End His Career

Last week we learned that Yao Ming's hairline fracture in his foot was not healing and he was out indefinitely. Now we're learning that the injury has actually gotten worse since the playoffs and Yao could miss the entire 2009-2010 season or even possibly be forced to retire.

Its no secret that huge bodies like Yao's weren't meant to play 82 games plus the playoffs and once they break down they're hard to build back up. I'm thinking he pushed it a bit too much by coming back to play in the Olympics last summer when his foot couldn't handle it. Now the question looms, what do you do with Yao Ming?? Do you wait and let him rehab or try to move in another direction?? I honestly don't know, but the Rockets better figure it out quick.

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Random News Shit: NBA Edition

1) Magic Land Vince Carter From Nets For Alston, Lee
At first I thought this didn't make sense, but then I remembered Hedo was opting out of his contract, and I'm guessing Orlando is expect him to come back. Then again, with Carter's contract, I don't think they can afford to bring Hedo back. Its a shame they had to give up Courtney Lee though, he had tons of potential and Vince Carter is semi-washed up. The Magic just made themselves a lot more beatable because 2009 Vince Carter is not 2009 Hedo Turkoglu.

2) Yao Ming's Foot Not Healing, Out Indefinitely
This is HUGE! What if the foot never heals and he has to retire?? That would be devastating to the Rockets franchise, especially with T-Mac on his last limbs in the league. Remember, this is the same foot that Yao has hurt the past few seasons so it not healing is definitely a bad sign. Good luck to Yao.

3) Rondo's Agent Strikes Back At Ainge
Yeah I agree, Danny Ainge should pick his words wisely because he's literally one Kevin McHale gift away from being fired. It makes no sense to disrespect one of the best players on your team in public. None whatsoever.

4) Darko Headed To The Knicks
Darko Milicic will be asked to start over again as he's been shipped off to the Knicks for Quentin Richarson and some cash considerations. We'll see if he can work in D'Antoni's system...but probably not. He's Darko! lol.

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All-Star Starters Announced; Howard Sets New Record

Never in the history of fan voting for NBA All-Star games has one player surpassed 3 million votes. Not Jordan, not LeBron, not Shaq, not Yao. Well in 2009 Dwight Howard did just that finishing with a record 3,150,181 votes! That Superman shit last year did wonders lol. Before this year the most votes ever received was 2,558,278 by Yao in 2005. And not only did Dwight break Yao's record, but so did LeBron (2,940,823), Kobe (2,805,397), D-Wade (2,741,413), and Tim Duncan (2,578,168). I don't know if the NBA All-Star game is just more relevant than ever, but whatever the case you know David Stern is somewhere poppin' bottles lol.

Anyway, here are the starters:

East:
C - Dwight Howard
F - Kevin Garnett
F - LeBron James
G - Dwyane Wade
G - Allen Iverson

West:
C - Yao Ming
F - Tim Duncan
F - Amare Stoudamire
G - Kobe Bryant
G - Chris Paul

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Related:
2009 NBA All-Star Jerseys
Dwight Howard Leads All-Star Voting; Plans To Defend Slam Dunk Title

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Random News Shit: NBA Craziness Edition

1) D-Wade gave his wife an STD??
Man, I HOPE this is not true! I'm just minding my lil business at work when my homegirl texts me about this mess and I'm just in awe. I couldn't even look at Dwyane the same when he was playing tonight against the Rockets and we don't even know if her allegations are true or not. This is just so sad either way...and kinda gross lol.

2) Curry slapped with homo sex-harassment suit
My homie Drina first alerted me to this on like Tuesday, but I just didn't feel like reading the whole story until today lol. (Sorry Drina, please find it in your heart to forgive me. Possibly over the hot deliciousness of your free Whopper?? lol.)

Anyway, how random was this?? Completely random shit right here. But along with the random weirdness of this story comes the 2 funniest phrases of the new year: "Look at me, Dave, look" and "Come and touch it, Dave." Doesn't get any better than that! LMAO!!

3) Darius Miles plays 2nd game with Grizz, costs Blazers $18M
I don't really care about Darius Miles but this is exactly what the Blazers get for signing an obvious draft bust to such a ridiculous contract and then threatening people to not sign him.

4) LeBron suits up for Browns in new TV spot
That's the commercial up there at the top. I like it.

5) Yao goes 12-12 in win over Heat
It was fuckin' sad watching the 6'9" Joel Anthony trying unsuccessfully to guard Yao. If the Heat ever wanna become contenders again they are gonna need to get some size on their front line.

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Dwight Howard Leads All-Star Voting; Plans To Defend Slam Dunk Title

With 1,421,882 votes, Dwight Howard is leading all players in All-Star voting as of today. I'm surprised because LeBron James and Yao Ming are also still in the league lol. Orlando is ballin' though so I guess I shouldn't be too shocked. Other top vote getters include Kobe with 1,280,912, LeBron with 1,259,764, D-Wade with 1,229,858, and Yao with 1,114,709.

Anyway, Dwight won't just be in the All-Star game, he'll also be in the Slam Dunk Contest trying to defend his crown. Two of his challengers will be Nate Robinson and Rudy Gay (who shouldn't be allowed to participate after his showing last year lol), but the 4th will be decided by fan voting. Guess who you get to choose from?? Rudy Fernandez, Russell Westbrook, and somebody named Joe Alexander. Don't everyone go rush to vote at once lol.

Back to All-Star voting: Judging by the tallies so far, the starters for the East will be LeBron and K.G. at forward, D-Wade and Iverson at guard, and of course Dwight Howard in the middle. The Western starters are shaping up to be Tim Duncan and Amare Stoudemire at forward (though Carmelo is only about 24,000 votes behind Amare), Kobe and T-Mac at guard (though Chris Paul is just about 21,000 votes behind), and Yao at center. I can live with that.

You know what's sad?? Luke Ridnour (197,933) and Jose Calderon (193,715) currently have more votes than Joe Johnson (162,772) who's averaging 22.6 PPG. And you know what's even sadder than that?? Yi Jianlian (762,162) has more votes than Chris Bosh (500,700) and Paul Pierce (313,474). This is the reason they don't want fans to vote in these things lol.

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This Is Just Disrespectful

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Brandon Roy's OT Buzzer Beater

If you missed that Rockets/Blazers game last night you missed a good one! After going back and forth in OT, Brandon Roy scored 5 points in the last 1.9 seconds. He hit a jumper which gave his Blazers a 98-96 lead, then Yao came back and hit an and-1 turn around J to give the Rockets a 99-98 lead with 0.8 seconds left. Roy then came back down and bust a 3 right in Ron Artest's grill to win the game. Nothing but fuckin' net! So sick.

Don't frown on Artest though because he stripped Roy at the end of regulation when he was attempting a game winning shot. It was just a good ass game so too bad for you if you missed it lol. [HIGHLIGHT]

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Reebok Hexride Yao Ming Olympic

I already know most people wouldn't fuck with these, but I aint one of them, I think these joints are ill. The only thing I'd change would be the placement of that big black Reebok logo on the side, but other than that I'd kill these shits with the right fitted. I got a fitted in mind that would go perfect with this, but its a Japanese rising sun style Yankee and as you all know Yao Ming is Chinese so that would be a hold up there lol. [MORE PIX]

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