Rockets have confidence in Yao, and themselves
Houston Rockets\’ CEO Ted Brown, the teams\’ general counsel Rafael Stone, and player Carl Landry all expressed confidence that Yao Ming will return successfully from his injury in an interview with sina.com, one of China\’s major news portals, on August 2. But they also said the team would do well, regardless of what happened.
Yao Ming, the Houston Rockets\’ all-star center underwent surgery to help repair a broken left foot on July 21 and is expected to miss out the entire next season. Without him, fans are worried that the Rockets will not do well, and may not even make the playoffs.
While Brown acknowledged that "missing Yao will be tough," all three were all optimistic about the Rockets\’ prospects this year.
"We still have many solid players like Carl Landry, Shane Battier, Louis Scola and Aron Brooks." Brown said. "We feel very good about where we\’re going to end up."
In addition, Brown said he thought Yao\’s absence would provide a big opportunity for young players on the team to grow and mature.
As for Yao, Brown said he needed to focus on rehabbing his foot. If everything goes well, Yao could even return in the middle of?next season. And once Yao returned, Brown said, "he would still be the best center of the game."
Asked if the Rockets would change their style of playing, Brown once again emphasized Yao\’s importance to the team, but did say that the team would play faster since the players are smaller and younger.
At the same time, Brown addressed a rumor that the Rockets would offer a contract to Sun Yue, another Chinese player who was just waived by the Lakers. Brown said that the evaluation of Sun Yue was the business of Daryl Morey, the general manager of the team. He promised to let fans know as soon as there was any news.
French guard Parker to stay in U.S. for ankle treatment
French guard Tony Parker has to stay in the United states before backing home due to an ankle injury, the San Antonio Spurs said on Saturday.
Parker sprained his right ankle while playing for France against Austria on July 23 and was examined by the NBA team\’s medical staff on Saturday.
The French international was advised to stay for rehabilitation and is expected to rejoin the French national team next week.
Parker, however, will not be available for France\’s Euroleague Championship qualifying round game with Italy on Wednesday, according to the Spurs\’ website.
Collins may join CBA Jilin Northeast Tigers
China\’s Jilin Northeast Tigers basketball club on Tuesday applied for a foreign player replacement to the China Basketball Association (CBA) in order to increase its attack weaponry.
The new centre forward the club considering is DeAngelo Collins who had played for the CBA clubs of Yunnan and Zhejiang.
Collins, born in California, arrived in China\’s northeast Changchun, capital city of Jilin province, and began his training on trial during the New Year holidays. He sat out the game between Jilin and Jiangsu on Sunday evening.
The 30-year-old, with 2.06 meters in height and 135 kilograms in weight, had played for league clubs in Mexico, Greece, Turkey, South Korea and China.
Collins left the CBA after he abused then head coach Wang Fei and was thrashed by his Chinese teammates during the 2007/2008 season in Zhejiang.
Should CBA give the green light to the application, Collins will show up for the Tigers in Wednesday\’s match, replacing SamakiWalker.
Walker, with an average of 11 points and 10.6 rebounds for his lowest over the years, is tipped to be sacked for the hindering performances during the first seven rounds of the CBA season.
Lakers beaten by Cavaliers 87-102
Cleveland Cavaliers\’ Shaquille O\’Neal (R) dunks the ball in front of Los Angeles Lakers\’ Kobe Bryant during the second half of their NBA basketball game in Los Angeles December 25, 2009. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
Kobe Bryant to promote Beijing tourist spots
Beijing will have none other than NBA superstar Kobe Bryant promoting its historical places next year, with its tourist attractions adoring the court of his team, the Lakers.
In fact, Beijing could see its historical landmarks splashed at Staples Center in Los Angeles as early as next week.
"We have become a Lakers\’ partner for the new (NBA) season," Gu Xiaoyuan, deputy director of the Beijing municipal bureau of tourism, said on Friday.
Speaking at the 2010 Beijing Tourism Marketing conference, she said: "There will be many advertisements for Beijing in Lakers\’ home court throughout the season."
"As part of our contract, Kobe will attend at least one promotion event for the Beijing tourism bureau. And we will offer free entry to NBA fans for those events."
When the Lakers take on Thunder on Dec 22 at the Staples Center, one of the spectators will win a free trip for two to Beijing.
The lucky couple will get a free six-day, five-night stay in Emperor, a deluxe hotel located between Forbidden City and Beijing\’s central business district. They will also get to visit many of the historical places for free.
The second promotion will be held during Spring Festival in February, she said.
Travel agencies in Beijing have praised the tourism bureau\’s move. Tian Jianyong, general manager of Beijing Bei\’ao International Travel Agency, said he was optimistic about the inbound tourism market.
"Promoting Beijing through Lakers\’ games will definitely enhance Beijing\’s popularity abroad, and we are looking forward to receiving more overseas groups next year," Tian said.
China\’s basketball league to set off among critics
China\’s domestic basketball league is ready to set off one of the most difficult seasons in its 15-year history following disaster performances of the national team at the East Asian Games at the end of the year.
The Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league will kick off on Saturday with its opener between Zhejiang Guangsha and Shanghai Sharks, Yao Ming\’s mother team which was bought by the Houston Rockets\’ center during the off season.
Local medias and fans heavily criticized the national men\’s team as it finished without a medal after losing 91-59 to South Korea and 79-71 to Japan at the East Asian Games in Hong Kong this week.
The losses reminded fans of the disappointing final upset by Iran, 70-52, at the Tianjin Asian Championships this summer and a following dismal Stank Vic Cup.
After successful journey at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games as the Chinese men\’s team won the 8th placing and vast praises from the authorities and fans, China winded up the year of 2009 in the most embarrassing way.
The commitment of the new director of the CBA, Xin Lancheng, was questioned as his remarks "China was not the first-class team in Asia without Yao Ming", ignited fans and his predecessors.
His reforms on the CBA league were questioned, too.
The league changed its match format to leave a long time table for the national team camps. The regular-season matches are to be reduced to 60 percent of those of last season.
Foreign players will have shorter pitching time under new rules and their incomes will be cut sharply.
Sponsors and players were not happy with the changes but they have no power to challenge the priority of the national team camps.
Unless the camps gave no help to the results.
A series of bad results of the national team of the year put the authority into the center of the hurricane, and the CBA league might not save them from the critics.
Local security is ready to put more attention on the opener in Shanghai as fans called up on the internet to chant against Xin Lancheng during the match.
The league might face more difficulties as it is losing fans, who are complaining of the rule changes, the national team and decisions of the sport authorities.
McGrady returns from long layoff in Rockets win
Tracy McGrady returned to the court for the first time since February on Tuesday and helped the Houston Rockets to a 107-96 win over the Detroit Pistons.
Detroit Pistons\’ Jonas Jerebko, right, knocks the ball loose from Houston Rockets\’ Tracy McGrady (3) during the first quarter of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2009 in Houston. McGrady played in his first game of the season Tuesday. He has been recovering from knee surgery. [Agencies]
McGrady provided a spark in just eight minutes of playing time after entering the game with 7:44 left in the first quarter.
He missed his first shot but made a 3-pointer to rousing cheers before sitting for the final three quarters.
A seven-time NBA All-Star, McGrady had not been sidelines since last season when he opted to have surgery on his left knee in February.
McGrady was in and out of the lineup last year and played in only 35 games.
The high-scoring guard has encountered been plagued by injuries in recent years, missing time with a persistent back ailment in 2006-07 and sustaining knee problems in 2007-08.
China drawn with hosts Turkey in 2010 FIBA WC
China were drawn with the hosts Turkey in Group C on Tuesday at the 2010 FIBA Men\’s Basketball World Championships.
The draw, which was held at the Ciragan Palace Kempinski Hotel, Istanbul, launched the official count-down to the tournament, which is slated from August 28-September 12.
24 teams were divided into four groups with top four teams from each group progressing to the next round.
Germany, Lebanon, Lithuania and Russia were awarded the wild cards by FIBA\’s Central Board on Saturday to complete the line-up.
Following are the draw of the tournament:
Group A:
Argentina, Serbia, Australia, Germany, Angola, Jordan
Group B:
United States, Slovenia, Brazil, Croatia, Iran, Tunisia
Group C:
Greece, Turkey, Puerto Rico, Russia, China, Cote d\’Ivoire
Group D:
Spain, France, Canada, Lithuania, New Zealand, Lebanon.
Celtics beat Grizzlies 110-105
Boston Celtics guard Rajon Rondo (C) shoots under pressure by Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol of Spain during the first half of NBA basketball action in Memphis, Tennessee December 14, 2009. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
2010 FIBA World Championship draw
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(L to R) FIBA Sports Director and former basketball star Lubomir Kotleba, Puerto Ricon basketball player Daniel Santiago, former NBA star Hakeem Olajuwon and former Turkish basketball player Efe Aydan attend the draw for the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Istanbul December 15, 2009.[Agencies]
