Yao dwarfs 6’10” forward Steve Novak during Sunday’s Rocket practice. This was the first time that Yao had been able to practice in a week. Click here for an article on Yao’s condition. For more photos from the practice, click here.

After not practicing with the team for over a week because of his toe problem, Yao says the lost time has put him out of shape, and he has to work extra hard after practice to get his conditioning back.

Also in this Houston Chronicle article, Yao comes out — when he wasn’t even asked — that his Reebok shoes were not the source of his toe problem. You’ve got to think that Yao was asked by his business team to settle the shoe controversy once and for all. Still, coach Jeff Van Gundy doesn’t want to rule out the shoes.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 16th, 2006 at 9:47 am and is filed under Rockets' off-season. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.