With the NBA season getting into full swing I've been checking into projections, who's on top - who's slated to fall - and one of the interesting stats that has come about in the last few years is called PER (the Player Efficiency Rating) which is based on lot of formulas to calculate a player's per-minute productivity.
So where does Yao stand in the projected PER list for this year?
Right at #4 just below Chris Paul, LeBron James, and Amare Stoudemire:
If his country isn't going to take care of Yao, then the Rockets need to redouble their efforts. With the talent on board there isn't any question about this team making the playoffs or earning a high seed, so the goal should be to preserve Yao so that he can play extended minutes when Houston needs him most -- in the playoffs.View the full outlook and report down at ESPN.
With that in mind, it wouldn't surprise me at all to see Houston cut his minutes substantially this season. If that doesn't work, and if China insists on having him spend future summers competing in insignificant tournaments in far-flung places, then the Rockets may need to resort to more draconian measures -- like telling him not to bother showing up until Christmas, for instance.
Hopefully it will never come to that. He's one of the most talented players of his generation, and when healthy he rivals Dwight Howard and Tim Duncan as the best center in the game. But the "when healthy" part is getting increasingly problematic.
