YAO MING would play no more than 24 minutes per game in the coming NBA season, the Houston Rockets said Wednesday.
There will be no exceptions. If Yao has played his 24 minutes and the Rockets have the ball and eight seconds on the clock to make up a one-point deficit, Yao will not play those eight seconds.
Yao’s playing time will not average 24 minutes; it will end there. If he plays 22 minutes in one game, he will not play 26 the next.
When Yao plays one night, he will skip much of the practice the next day, with the Rockets so determined to limit the demands on Yao that Rockets vice president and athletic trainer Keith Jones and associate athletic trainer Jason Biles have already outlined Yao’s workout schedule from the start of camp Sept. 25 through the last game of the regular season.
“Twenty-four is his number all year,” Jones said. “Playoffs come, things could change. We’re trying to get him through April.”
“Yao is his own worst enemy,” Jones said. “He feels good and wants to go. We will be fighting him every day. I know we will. He’s going to feel good. He’s going to want to do more. He’s going to question us. He’s going to question the doctor. That’s Yao. He’s a competitor.
Source： Shenzhen Daily Editor： 洪志科