Greg Oden & Yao Ming: Is It Over?

[Mitch Henessey]

Yao Ming will mist the rest of the season with a stress fracture in his left ankle. Yao was forced to miss all of last season because of an injury, and things don't seem to be getting any better. Not too long ago, it was announced that Greg Oden would miss the rest of the entire season due to micorfracture knee surgery. Oden has missed a lot of playing time because of injuries, and the Blazers will not give Oden a contract extension.

Both of these men are former #1 picks. They had high expectations when they entered the NBA. Yao was being hailed as the next big thing, and Oden was supposed to be the beacon of shinning light for the Portland Trailblazers. But both men have been plagued by injuries, and they never really got the chance to live up to the tremendous amount of hype that surrounded them. Oden is younger, so there will be some teams out there who will want to take a chance on him, but he is pretty injury prone, so who knows how bright his future can be. If I'm not mistaken, I remember reading reports about how Yao was considering retirement not too long ago. Yao can be a valuable asset to the Rockets, but like Oden, injuries will continue to put a strain on his career.

What do you think? Can these former #1 picks rebound?

 

[Big Sexy]

For Yao I believe it is over. He is already 30 years old and has considered retirement as recently as last year. It may just not be worth it to him anymore to keep going through rehab just to be out again. With guys his size it's hard to keep coming back especially as you get older.

With Oden I believe he still has a chance. Sam Bowie was riddled with injuries throughout the first few years in his career and he was still able to come back and have a nice 4 year run of being fairly healthy and productive. Oden could have an even longer turn around then that because of his age. Bowie came into the league at age 23, while this is the 4th year Oden has been out of college and he doesn't even turn 23 until next month. It won't be easy but I wouldn't give up on Oden just yet.

 

[People's Champ]

Its over for both.

Yao has already talked about retiring, and with this latest setback, I don't see how he returns. He's older, as was mentioned 30, and is at the end of the line. Too many injuries make it extremely difficult and highly unlikely that he will be able to come back and stay healthy enough to play basketball.

Now, for Oden its a little different. I understand he is younger and has a better opportunity to come back and have a successful career, but I don't see it. I don't think he's ever going to be able to shake the injury bug and have the impact he could of had. He's had some serious injuries and its going to be difficult to come back. My guess is it doesn't happen for him eithe, though I hope I'm wrong, because Oden has a lot of talent that I would love to see for a full season.

 

[Con T.]

I think it's even more than that. I think that this is the implosion of the belief that one needs a center to reach a World Championship. Now, that isn't to say big centers aren't important. We all saw what happened to the Boston Celtics when they lost Kendrick Perkins in last year's finals. Simply put, it wasn't pretty, and I think we can all realize that. But what I think people are learning this year that a big man, without a supporting cast around him, means very little. Not just that, but that big man is going to take more wear and tear than any other player on the court. To some extent, it's almost like drafting a big center for the upside is more trouble than it's worth. How many times have we heard Rockets and Blazers fans wax poetic about the day Yao and Greg are healthy? Or how about how many times Lakers fans cry out "we can win, and wait until Andrew Bynum comes back"? The only big center who still maintains some sense of consistency right now is Dwight Howard, and even now we're watching his team take a horrible downward spiral, because his wings have been playing horrific basketball.

I really do believe that after Tim Duncan retires, we will all come to the consensus that a big center to have on your team is nowhere near as important as the point position, and may not even be as important as having solid wings to help your team. Look at the best teams out there. Lakers have Gasol, Odom, Artest, all of which do their position well, and make up for the fact Andrew Bynum seems to miss every ten days with a stubbed toe. With the Celtics, you have KG to lighten up Perkins load. The Heat don't have a center of worth, but that's quite fine with the roster they have. We've come to the point where if you're talking about what you need more, honestly, does a center come to mind? Likely not, because as we've learned so far from Greg Oden and Yao Ming, they can be more trouble than they're worth

 

[MizFit]

It's over for both, for the most part anyway.

For Yao, it's the end of the road. He has already stated he has thought about retiring. For a man that size, injuries will take a serious toll on you. He won't be able to produce like the player he has been in the past. I think its time to call it quits.

Now for Oden. He still has plenty of time in his career, but he will never be more than an average player. These injuries have changed his play, and that will be reflected on the court. At best he'll be half the player he was at one point.