Who better to turn to than Shane Battier for commentary on various topics concerning the Houston Rockets? How is Yao Ming looking? What does he think of the team’s impressive depth? Do the Rockets have too many assets? Battier joined KILT in Houston late last week to talk about these topics and more. Below are several of his transcribed quotes (via: SRI).
On how Yao Ming looks in camp:
“Big fella is in there. He’s in there a lot more than I thought he would be. He’s in there every day getting up and down. For missing an entire year, he doesn’t look half bad…’The 24-minute limit’, that’s a long ways away. I don’t think you are going to see Yao play 24 minutes for a long time. We can’t start talking about minute limit and when he can play in games and what he is going to do in the fourth quarter. That’s premature talk. He’s going to manage at his own speed. It may be at the start of the season. It may be at the All-Star break. He’s going to take whatever time he needs to get ready. We’ll welcome him back when he is ready.”
On if there is too much depth on this team:
“If you look back at our history, we don’t have a long history of great health. Most years we are trying to scrap together five guys on the court, five healthy guys. So to have as many guys as we do, it’s almost an embarrassment. It’s a good problem to have. You need horses to win in the playoffs. If we stay healthy and play together, we are a playoff team.”
On President Obama’s game:
“He is a serviceable pickup player. He didn’t embarrass himself, but he is just one of those guys that can handle the rock a little bit and shoot it a little bit. He’s a guy who always ends up beating you on the playground.”