All 3 Rockets stars injured on Monday
Has there ever been a more painful victory by an NBA team than Houston’s 100-89 win over Oklahoma City on Monday?
First Tracy McGrady left the game due to his troublesome knee. Then Yao Ming went out after turning his left ankle. Finally, in the closing seconds, Ron Artest limped off, having sprained his left ankle while falling over a cameraman.
First off, the bad news: McGrady is likely to not be playing for a while.
“My knee gave out on me,” McGrady said. “They told me if I was to go back in, and they saw me limping they were going to take me back out. I was like, “Well, that’s what you’re pretty much going to see.’ My knee is feeling right. I hate to do this, but I’m going to get an MRI tomorrow and until, further notice, I’m going to have to shut it down.
“(Monday), I went back to square one, like before even surgery. I’ve always been feeling it, but tonight, before that particular play, I came up and it just gave out on me. I’ve been trying to work my way into playing shape and strengthen my leg. I’ve never been 100 percent. I’ve just been hoping playing on it would put me over the edge and I won’t have any more pain, but it hasn’t worked.”
McGrady just can’t stay healthy. He missed 16 games last season then underwent surgery on both his left shoulder and left knee in the summer. The shoulder, he says, is arthritic and will need additional work. He’s averaging just 16.7 points per game this year, down nearly five points from last year, and has been held to single-digits four times in the last six games.
Yao said his injury wasn’t bad. “Just so you know, my ankle is fine,” he said. “My goal, is still (to play) 82 games.”
There’s almost no way Yao plays 82 games. He has missed at least 25 games in each of the previous three seasons and is still working his way back from surgery to repair a stress fracture in his left foot.
Artest also said his ankle wasn’t a big deal. “I doubt (it would force him to miss a game.) People sprain their ankle all the time. It’s not broken.”
And there is a sliver of good news for Houston as Shane Battier is expected to practice with the team on Tuesday for the first time all season.
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