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Yao shoots over the Chicago Bulls' Corie Blount in the third quarter to score a bucket. Yao had not touched the ball for 9 minutes of play before this score. The Rockets went on to blow another game against an inferior team, 100-98.

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Underachievement time once again. Ho-hum, the Rockets blew another one against a bad team, this time against Chicago (16-27). Like the geyser "Old Faithful," you can pretty much predict when the Rockets will "blow" another game: when they play a sub-500 team. In this case, it's not very easy for Rocket fans to have 'faith' in these guys. The Rockets managed to tie the game (which they should have won long beforehand) on a Mobley three-point play with 12 seconds left. But on the ensuing play by the Bulls, Marcus Fizer out-muscled every Rocket for a loose ball and put up a prayer that was answered with .4 seconds to take the lead 100-98. Surprisingly on this possession, Rudy T. did not have one of his best shot blockers, Yao, in the game. On the final possession, the Rockets countered with an alley-oop pass to the rim, but Jalen Rose knocked the ball away to seal the victory. The Rockets now have lost 4 in a row. It's getting to the point where you need a calculator to count the games (11) the Rockets should have won this year against teams that were playing poorly at the time. Here are the games we think the Rockets should have won: 1. 11/15/02 - @ Phoenix 2. 11/24/02 - @ LA Clippers 3. 12/6/02 - @ New Orleans 4. 12/13/02 - @ Memphis 5. 12/14/02 - Clippers 6. 12/21/02 - @Minnesota 7. 12/23/02 - Utah 8. 12/27/02 - New York 9. 1/4/03 - Golden State 10. 1/10/03 - @ Atlanta 11. 1/26/03 - @ Chicago Let's say out of these 11 'winnable' games the Rockets had won 8 of them. That would give the Rockets a 31-11 record, good enough for 3rd in the Western Conference. More mistakes Free throws (26-for-38 - 68%) were a big Achilles heel for the Rockets as it was against the Clippers on November 24th (20-for-30) and Atlanta January 10th (13-for-27). Hitting only 2-of-12 from three-point land on Sunday didn't help either. They also started the 3rd quarter flat by getting outscored 19-4, no thanks to lackluster shot selection like Maurice Taylor's three consecutive missed field goals in less than two minutes of play. More stupid plays followed in the fourth quarter, like Francis' 3-point attempt at the 6:43 mark, which prompted Chicago Bull TV analyst Tom Dore to remark, "That wasn't a very good shot. With all that they have been getting, that was not a good shot." With 1:13 left, Francis went airborne with nowhere to go and turned the ball over on an ill-advised pass. Then with less than a minute remaining, Eddie Griffin, who hadn't hit a 3-pointer all game (0-3), or for that matter in two weeks (against Boston Jan. 13th), threw up a 3-point brick. What kind of shot selection is that? Although Francis, Griffin, Taylor (and mostly everyone else) can make impressive plays during the 'non-urgent' parts of the game, it seems they have a problem making wise decisions in the clutch. But once again, it shouldn't have come down to making big plays in the final minutes against a lottery team like the Bulls. Back on track Speaking of Yao, he got back to "All-Star" form despite the Rockets not unleashing him until the fourth quarter. In the third quarter alone when the Rockets were having tremendous offensive woes (outscored 30-13), he didn't TOUCH the ball for the first 9 minutes of action. Then he went on to hit 4 shots in a row to keep his team in the game. Yao finished with 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting, 8 rebounds and 2 assists. Forget the improved record: it should be better I stated a few underachieving losses ago that this 'laying down' against inferior talent was getting really old. The words that might best now describe this propensity are 'ancient' and 'entombed,' kind of like how this season might become for the Rockets at this rate. Something has got to give. Although the Rockets have one of the best won-loss record improvements from last year at this time (+10), it should be much, much better. Remember, Steve Francis and Maurice Taylor were injured for a big part of the season last year, so the Rockets were already going to pick up a lot more wins anyway with their return this year. Now with Yao they should have a much better record, something along the lines of the 31-11 record proposed above. Losing ground fast Don't look now, but the Rockets are losing ground as the holder of 8th and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Golden State has won 3 in a row and is right behind them (3.5 games), and the Lakers (4 games behind) are always a threat. The Rocks just cannot afford to lose any more games like this. If they don't make the playoffs this year, is Rudy's job secure as Rockets coach? Is his job even secure right now? Will owner Les Alexander continue to tolerate these types of performances? Inquiring minds want to know. Even Yao himself seemed to be frustrated with the Rockets offensive philosophy when he said (unprecedented for him) after the Detroit game on Friday night, "I think it would have been very good if we could have gotten them to collapse the defense inside and gotten the outside guys some looks." When your most unselfish and least divisive player starts wondering what's going on publicly…well, "Houston, you have a problem."

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Detailed Yao Analysis
vs. Chicago Bulls 1/26/03

1st quarter - Yao starts the game.
11:26	Assist	Yao gets the ball near the right elbow outside the lane and sets a screen for Mobley who is curling around him. But instead of passing to Mobley who is cutting through the lane, Yao bounces a nice pass to James Posey who is in the lane 4 feet from the basket. Posey gets the ball, pivots to get underneath the basket, pump fakes three times, then lays it up off the glass amidst the Chicago 'trees.' Interesting play to post up Posey down low. Maybe we'll see more of that. Rockets lead 2-0.
10:25		Yao gets the ball on the right side outside the paint and posts up. He dribbles once to the left, then reverse pivots toward the baseline, fades away for an 11 foot jumper, AND SWISH! The Chicago crowd roars its approval. Looks like lots of Yao fans are in Chicago. And Yao's form was as good as we've seen it on that shot in a long time!
5:04		Maurice Taylor lobs the ball to Yao on the left edge of the paint. Yao immediately turns into the lane and shoots a fadeaway jumper. The ball hits the front of the rim, bounces off the glass, and goes in! Although it wasn't pretty, he had the shooters' bounce. We'll take it! Yao is 2-for-4 from the field with 4 points.
4:36	Assist	Yao is passed the ball at the top of the key, and right before he receives it he sees Maurice Taylor breaking toward the basket. Once the ball touches Yao's hands he bounces a pass strategically to Taylor on the run, and Mo goes up for an uncontested reverse slam! The Chicago crowd oohs and aahhs on that beautifully timed pass! If only the Rockets did more of that! That's Yao's second assist of the game.
2:46		Yao checks out of the game for Cato.
2nd quarter - The Rockets lead 28-26.
5:28		Yao checks into the game for Terrence Morris. Cato remains in the game, so Yao and Cato are playing together as they did for the first time Friday night against the Pistons.
:04.4		Yao checks out of the game for Cato after picking up his second foul.
:00.0		After the Bulls' Rick Brunson hits a three-pointer with only 9/10ths of a second on the game clock, Cato inbounds the ball to Mobley who launches a half-court shot before the buzzer, and it goes in! Even though we're in Chicago, the crowd roars! This sequence of baskets will be on highlight reels around the country tonight.
Halftime - The Rockets lead 57-49.
3rd quarter - Yao starts the quarter.
2:09		Yao FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY gets to TOUCH the ball this quarter, which is shocking considering the Rockets' struggles offensively this quarter (being outscored 30-13 and trailing 70-79). Along the left edge of the lane, Yao bounces the ball once, turns, fades away and hits an 8-footer cleanly. The Asian-American contingent at the United Center erupts with joy that finally the man they paid alot of money to see finally gets a chance to contribute this quarter. Yao is 3-for-6 from the field with 6 points. The Rockets trail 72-79. Chicago TV analyst Tom Dore states: "Wouldn't you think you would have to throw to him a little more often? He's got such a great touch."
1:03	Free throws	From the top of the key, Steve Francis goes up for a jump shot, but at the top of his shot decides to pass to Yao a beautiful high lob. Yao catches the pass right underneath the basket and goes up for a two-handed jam, but he is fouled. Yao goes to the line and makes both free throws. A big portion of the crowd roars even when Yao makes free throws! He's got alot of fans in Chicago. The Rockets trail 75-81.
4th quarter -The Rockets trail 77-81. Cato starts the quarter for Yao.
7:13		With the Rockets down 82-83, it's kind of helter-skelter on the Rockets offensive end when Eddie Griffin is passed the ball down low, and he shoots a little jump hook that hits the front of the rim, but JUST falls in, and he's fouled! Big bucket for the Rockets misfiring offense. When the ball falls in, Yao rises from his seat and claps his hands with enthusiasm. He's really into this game!
5:52		Yao checks back into the game for Griffin. Yao and Cato are in the game together.
4:56		After a missed field goal by the Bulls, Yao hustles up the court ahead of four other Bulls. As Francis crosses the half-court line with the ball, he sees Yao underneath the basket guarded only by one guy, so Francis throws a high lob to Yao 3 feet in front of the basket. Yao puts up a jump hook with his left hand, the ball rattles around the rim, and COUNT IT! 'AND 1!' Yao pumps his fist after this one! He misses the penalty free throw, but has 10 points on 4-for-7 shooting from the field. He also has 8 rebounds. The score is tied 87-87.
3:46		With the Rockets trailing 87-92, Francis throws a high lob into Yao in the middle of the paint. Guarded by only one man with his back to the basket, Yao bounces the ball once on the floor, pivots and puts up a leaning jump hook...COUNT IT! The crowd erupts again! Yao is 5-for-8 from the field and has 12 points. The Rockets trail 89-92.
2:54		The Rockets still trail by five points, 89-94. Mobley passes the ball to Yao on the right block. Yao dribbles into the lane to where it looks like he's going to shoot his fadeaway jumper, but instead twists his body to the right and puts a shot off the glass for the bucket! Yao has hit four shots in a row in this quarter (6-for-9 overall) and is delivering when his team needs it! The Rockets trail 91-94. Dore states: "This guy is UNSTOPPABLE, and Houston doesn't throw him the ball!" Unfortunately the Rockets don't give the ball to the hot-handed Yao the rest of the way, and they go on to lose 100-98. Yao finishes with 14 points and 8 rebounds.