Milwaukee Bucks forward Yi Jianlian sat out Wednesday's game against the Utah Jazz, missing his fifth straight NBA game with a right wrist injury.
Milwaukee Bucks forward Yi Jianlian from China shoots under pressure from Philadelphia 76ers guard Willie Green (33) during the second quarter of their NBA basketball game in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in this January 8, 2008 file photo.
Bucks coach Larry Krystkowiak said Yi was feeling better at Wednesday's practice, but did not know when he might return to the court.
Krystkowiak said Yi originally sustained the injury in January but played through it for nearly two months, a factor, the coach said, in Yi's recent drop in productivity and a sign of his character.
"He wasn't a guy who was saying, 'I'm injured, I'm this, I'm that,"' Krystkowiak said. "So I think that speaks a lot for him."
Yi's injury status is of particular concern to Chinese basketball officials, who want to make sure he's ready to play in the Olympics in August.
China's biggest basketball star, Yao Ming, already is out for the season with a stress fracture in his foot but has assured Chinese fans he'll be ready for the Olympics.
(Agencies via China Daily March 13, 2008)