“If he listened to every critique about himself, he would be in a mental ward right now because he would have such self-doubt.”…

“I see a very productive player, a player who keeps getting better and an organization who just gave a guy every amount of money it could for a reason. Yeah, he’s got things he can work on and does work on and thankfully, Yao is a great worker.”

– Jeff Van Gundy giving rare props, 10/28/05

“He looks more aggressive this year. He’s looking good. He’s staying strong and holding his position. That’s our best offense, getting the ball to him and going inside-out or me and him playing pick-and-roll.”

– Teammate Tracy McGrady near the end of preseason, 10/23/05

“Yao is a very harsh critic of himself, and I think that can lead to good things when guys are very, very tough on themselves, and at times, he should worry less, have a shorter memory about mistakes. Sometimes being a harsh critic of yourself serves a guy well. Most of those people are perfectionists, which I think Yao is.”

“Where is he at? He’s a very fine player.”

– Rockets head coach Jeff Van Gundy as training camp starts, 10/05/05

“There’s so much on him. He has to not even worry about that, just go out be the best basketball player he can be and help his ballclub win. Then there won’t be that pressure. I don’t think he’s gotten that. But he’s young, and he’s improving every day.”

– Teammate Tracy McGrady as training camp starts, 10/05/05

Yao puts up a shot against P.J. Brown Thursday evening against the New Orleans Hornets in Oklahoma City, and finished with 16 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 blocks in 30 minutes of play. In their last preseason game, the Rockets lost 89-88, and next look forward to their season opener on Wednesday, November 2nd. For more photos from the game, click here.

THURSDAY 10/27/05 – It was like deja vu of previous seasons’ losses to terrible teams like Charlotte and Atlanta on Thursday night. Houston had a massive 22-point lead against the pathetic New Orleans Hornets, but somehow ended up losing 89-88 in the last second of the Hornets’ new home debut in Oklahoma City. Thank God it was only a preseason game and it doesn’t count, but the Rockets cannot afford to have another breakdown like this one since it was the last preseason game before next week’s regular season opener on November 2nd.

The Rockets started the game without Tracy McGrady for a second consecutive night since he is still resting because of tendonitis in both knees. The Rockets started the same roster as its previous game against Utah: Rafer Alston at point guard, Derek Anderson at shooting guard, Ryan Bowen at small forward, Juwan Howard at power forward and Yao at center.

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Yao slams one home against the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night in Houston on the way to an 88-80 victory. Yao finished with 19 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 blocks in 31 minutes of play. For more photos from the game, click here.

THURSDAY, 10/27/05 – I went to the World Series game last night in downtown Houston, and once again witnessed a feeble offense that failed to win a game after having all the chances in the world to win it. Fortunately, I have been put out of my misery now that the World Series is over. Now it’s time for me to focus exclusively on the Rockets! I found it quite ironic as I walked to Minute Maid Park in downtown Houston to watch the World Series Game, I walked right past Toyota Center where the Rockets were about to play the Utah Jazz last night in their preseason game. While activity in one building was soon going to die (Minute Maid), new life was being generated in the new (Toyota).

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While the Astros blew another game to the White Sox on Sunday night, the Rockets quietly won a 75-71 squeaker against Washington in preseason play at Toyota Center. Rookie Luther Head continues to play well, scoring six points in the fourth quarter along with a clinching jumper to win it.

Yao scored 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting and grabbed 7 rebounds.

To read a brief recap of the game, click here.

As a reminder, I’ll be providing more in-depth analysis of Yao’s play (and the Rockets’) once the regular season starts on November 2nd.

On a night where almost all of Houston ignored the Rockets to watch the Astros in the World Series, the Rockets lost to Memphis last night, 82-78. The Houston Chronicle reported that the Rockets played badly, but at this point, not too many people care. Everyone knows they are playing lots of different lineups and combinations, and that they still have until November 2nd when the regular season starts to get things right. For the next week or so, the Rockets are lucky. They can play as poorly as they want, and no one in Houston will really even notice.

Yao led all Houston scorers with 20 points, but fouled out in the fourth quarter. The Rockets are now 4-1 in preseason play.

To read more about the game, click here for the Houston Chronicle article.

Yao sits out his second straight preseason game because of a toe issue. Tracy McGrady also sat out because of a minor injury, but the Rockets won their fourth straight preseason game, this time against the Seattle Sonics 93-85.

TUESDAY, 10/18/05 – I’m posting this game summary of the Rockets game much later than usual. I have a good reason: I was at the Astros-Cardinals game last night that Houston blew in the bottom of the ninth inning with two outs. They were one strike away from going to the World Series for the first time in this city’s history, yet they coudn’t finish out the game. I’m sure you all know what I’m talking about, so I won’t go into the gory details. But you can imagine the city of Houston, and myself, are mentally rocked by what happened, and it was hard to think about anything else last night, including the Rockets. I’m now getting back up on my feet.

Luckily, I had a loyal visitor to my site provide a great recap of Monday night’s game between the Rockets and Sonics in Laredo, Texas, which the Rockets won 93-85 without Yao and T-Mac so they could rest minor injuries.

Here is some of what he wrote…

The new Rockets proved they are now a force that should not be taken lightly because of its deep bench, tenacity and strong will to win. One cannot help but fantasize about the great things to come for the new season.

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The Houston Astros are getting all of the attention in H-Town these days, and deservedly so. With no question, I’m getting into it as much as anyone. In fact, I was lucky enough to attend last week’s classic 18-inning thriller where the Astros came back from a 6-1 deficit to beat the Braves in one of the most amazing come-from-behind baseball playoff games in history. And then this weekend, I have a ticket to the National League Championship Series games in Houston between the Astros and St. Louis Cardinals. So I definitely have AstroMania.

As a result, it would have been very tempting for me to blow off doing a report for the Rockets-Spurs game on Saturday night. After all, it was a preseason game that didn’t mean anything, and it’s hard to concentrate on anything else other than the Astros after their victory over the Cardinals at electric Minute Maid Park on Saturday afternoon.

But when I started watching the Rockets-Spurs game on television after coming down from my Astronomical high, I quickly was able to change gears and snap into a basketball mindset. It was much easier to get into after the Rockets game after they came back from an early 9-2 deficit, started playing well, and continued the good play for a third straight game. By the end of the game, the Rockets played well enough to win 95-87 in San Antonio’s SBC Center.

Unfortunately, Yao did not play because his big left toenail fell off, so the Rockets were cautious and wanted to rest him for a game (that’s why there is no photo of Yao from this game). I can only imagine how much more impressive the Rockets would have been if Yao had been in the lineup. Dikembe Mutombo started in his place, and as always, he was more than adequate. Mutombo grabbed 11 rebounds, scored 7 points and blocked 3 shots in 29 minutes of play.

But Deke wasn’t alone on the front line. We finally got a glimpse of new power forward Stromile Swift, who was held out of the first two preseason games because of a bruised arm. What a debut it was!

In the first half, Stromile scored on a couple of strong moves to the basket, like a dunk from an assist down low, and a whirling-dirvish move on Tim Duncan to score on a powerful move to the rack. He also had a nice, soft jumper that hit the rim and bounced through the basket for a score. Nice shooter’s bounce! No way did I think he would score 11 points in the first half of his first game as a Rocket. I thought he would need more time to get accustomed to his new teammates. Stromile finished with 15 points overall on 6-of-10 shooting. I love those high field goal shooting percentages!

Stromile Swift gave fits to opposing power forward Tim Duncan. Swift held his own with 15 points in his Rockets debut. Click here for more photos from the game.

Stromile also had 2-3 very impressive blocks that quickly make you realize that the Rockets front-line defense is going to be even more intimidating this year. We should start thinking right now of a new nickname for Yao, Stromile, and Dikembe, and how difficult it will be for opposing offenses to score on them. Any ideas?

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Sadly, former Houston Rocket Jason Collier reportedly died suddenly on Saturday of cardiac arrest. Click here for more information on the story.

Yao recounted recently a memory he had with Collier:

“I remember my first game was here (San Antonio), my first preseason game. It was the first night I got here. He took me to the Hard Rock on the River Walk. … I’m really upset about this. I can’t believe it. Life is very fragile.”

Yao goes up against Orlando’s Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje Wednesday night in Houston. The Rockets won their second straight preseason game, 84-80. Yao finished with 19 points and 6 rebounds in 22 minutes of play. For more photos from the game, click here.

WEDNESDAY, 10/12/05 – The Rockets continued their great preseason form and won their first home court game against the Orlando Magic, 84-80. The result was that Rockets fans left Toyota Center fantasizing about how great this season can be. And all of this without even seeing new power forward Stromile Swift, who still has not made his Rocket debut since coach Jeff Van Gundy decided to rest him to nurse a bruised arm.

The match was closely contested from start to finish. Despite Yao picking up an early defensive foul in the first minute of play, he made 2 consecutive hook shots with ease from assists from Derek Anderson and Rafer Alston. Already in the first two preseason games, Alston has made us wonder why it was so difficult for Bob Sura to make entry passes to Yao last season.

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Yao takes the ball away from Allen Iverson Tuesday night in Philadelphia. Overall, Yao looked good by scoring 19 points in 21 minutes. For more photos from the game, click here. (Ensuing page may load slowly)

by John

TUESDAY, 10/11/05 – Even though Tuesday was the first game of the preseason for the Rockets, it was great to see them in action again. A lot of the new guys surprised me by playing well for the first preseason game, this one played against the 76ers in Philadelphia. Beyond playing well, a bonus was that the Rockets won the thing, 105-91.

Watching the game on television, it was difficult for me to tell the difference among all the new guards, like Derek Anderson, Rafer Alston, Keith Langford, and rookie Luther Head. I’m sure it will take a couple of games to get used to them all. I really liked what I saw. There was a lot more passing (26 assists) and ball movement, which is surprising considering it’s so early in the preseason. We’ll see if they keep doing this and accomplish my desired goal of sharing the ball this season like the Spurs.

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