Although Yao didn’t play on Sunday during the All-Star game, he was fairly visible during the weekend. Click here for more photos of Yao in Vegas.

In addition to clicking on the photo link as mentioned above, you’ve got to watch this video of Yao working out while in Vegas. This is probably one of the best training videos I have seen of Yao, especially the part where he’s pumping lots of iron!

Here’s a different publication for you: the New Zealand edition of MSN has an article (via Reuters) recapping some of Yao’s statements in Vegas at a press conference. Not much is a surprise here, other than it’s pretty clear that Yao isn’t all that thrilled to be in Vegas since he is having to do intense rehab work there just like he would if he were in Houston, and feels an obligation toward the fans to at least be in Vegas because they voted him into the game.

Not reported is that Yao also said that he regrets he cannot spend the Chinese New Year with his parents in Houston. You have to give credit for Yao having balance in his life, and at the age of 26 he still likes hanging out with Mom and Dad.

It’s not that big of a deal, but T-Mac gives a very short interview with Yao at his side after an NBA All-Star practice. Click here to check it out.

Yao and T-Mac take one of their first photos in Las Vegas for All-Star weekend. Click here to see more photos of how Vegas and the NBA have rolled out the red carpet for players and fans.

Man, check out the photos from Vegas that Raymond has posted in the forum. I’m impressed how much money has been put into making Vegas look like it does right now, including the Thomas & Mack Center, a very boring arena in my opinion.

I had to watch most of the Rockets-Mavs game from an airport sports bar TV Thursday night. Because my flight was late in departing, I got to see most of the game until about the 6:16 mark in the fourth quarter when Dirk Nowitzki hit a three-pointer to put the Mavericks ahead 72-69. That was his second three-pointer in a row, and leading up to that point, Dallas had made a furious 12-0 run in the third quarter to take away the Rockets’ hope that they could coast to a victory against their arch rivals.

It was sickening how the Rockets could hardly hit a bucket in that third quarter (only 3-of-13!), very reminiscent of their game in Dallas last week when the Mavs went on a 16-0 run to suck the life out of the Rockets on their way to a blowout victory.

Also sickening was how the Rockets squandered opportunities before those two Nowitzki three-pointers, missing 5 free throws in the 4th quarter alone before those buckets. Juwan Howard missed two free throws after a great hustle play by Chuck Hayes where he sprinted from behind to catch Jason Terry, knock the ball away, leading to a Houston fast break where Howard got fouled in the act of shooting.

T-Mac had missed 3 free throws at that point, precious points the Rockets couldn’t afford to squander when you have to play almost perfectly to beat a 43-9 team like Dallas.

Like I mentioned earlier, after Dirk hit his second trey and the Mavericks had all the momentum now leading 72-69, I had to stop watching the game and jump on my plane. It was an interesting position for me because I cannot ever remember NOT watching a game when it comes down to the wire. So I thought it would be interesting to predict what would happen. Since I was on the plane to the point I’m writing this, I don’t know what the outcome of the game is, so here’s my prediction.

“I predict the Rockets will continue to fall behind after having their ego crushed yet again by another Maverick comeback. They will make a valiant effort to stay in the game, but will continue to miss big shots down the stretch, including more missed free throws, while the Mavericks continue to make theirs and show why they have the league’s best record. The Rockets will lose and will be lamenting all the blown opportunities, including those huge missed free throws in the fourth.”

After I got home and watched the recording, I was able to see if my prediction was correct. I was partly correct. Here’s what happened:

Read the rest of this entry »

In case you didn’t see them in the YaoMania! forum, here are some photos from Yao’s visit to the Houston Chinese Community Center earlier this week, along with an article about the visit near the bottom of the page.

Yao works out in Houston as he gets closer to being ready to play. See the article below of Yao’s latest status.

Raymond has translated a Sohu.com interview with Yao Ming on the latest with his rehabilitation, which you can read right here.

He also has translated another interview where Yao gives his thoughts on which team challenges the Rockets most, the Phoenix Suns or the Dallas Mavericks.

Tracy McGrady reacts after hitting a jumper to give Houston a 95-92 lead with 1:19 remaining the fourth quarter against Sacramento Tuesday night, capping an amazing comeback led by T-Mac.

You gotta love T-Mac, who struggled throughout the night against Sacramento but then worked his magic just in time to lead a miraculous comeback against the Kings.

They were down by 9 points with a little over 4 minutes remaining, but finally mustered enough effort to pull out a victory for the first time in 14 games this season when trailing entering the fourth quarter.

In the fourth, T-Mac scored 10 of the Rockets last 12 points (and 12 of their last 14) on an array of jumpers and three-pointers in just 2 minutes and 49 seconds. He started the comeback by hitting a 3-pointer and a long jumper to make it 92-88, and that’s when you knew the Rockets had a chance. Then Bonzi Wells hit two free throws to make it 92-90. T-Mac then banked in a 3-pointer to give them a 93-92 lead, bringing the house down!

The Rockets defense suddenly got solid during that stretch, something it hadn’t done much of all game long. They held the Kings scoreless with great defense, including a strip by T-Mac as Kevin Martin was going up for a layup on a fast break. The ball came down inbounds right along the baseline, and Shane Battier whipped the ball behind his back to save it from going out of bounds. The Rockets picked up the loose ball, pushed it down the court, and McGrady made a juke move at the top of the key to get open and drilled a jumper to give them a 95-92 lead.

With Toyota Center going bonkers, his reaction after scoring his 10th point in the fourth quarter reminded me of when he spearheaded that comeback against the Spurs a couple of years ago. It was great theater.

Unfortunately, Ron Artest (39 points) kept hitting big shots down the stretch which forcedg overtime.

In OT, Luther Head was fantastic, coming up with a huge drive to the basket for a score to make it 107-104 with 32 seconds remaining, then forced John Salmons to turn the ball over with great defense near the sideline. He capped the victory by hitting two free throws after getting intentionally fouled.

Luther was big before OT. He hit some big shots in the fourth quarter to keep the Rockets within striking distance. Overall he finished with 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting, including hitting 3-of-5 treys.

The other hero was Battier, who also hit a big 3-pointer in OT when they were down 102-100. Overall, he hit 4-of-9 three-pointers and finished with 25 points on 10-of-17 shooting. Man, Battier is coming up big this season.

Rafer Alston also hit a difficult three-pointer from the corner to start off overtime, completing a 4-of-7 night from three-point land, and was 7-of-17 overall for 18 points. But he still missed a few chip shots, and how Clyde Drexler can say in this game (and I quote), “Rafer is a great finisher at the basket” is so completely stupid it deserves a firing.

But the star of the game was T-Mac. He was a lackluster 5-of-16 entering the fourth quarter, and was only 4-of-9 from the free throw line. However, he turned it on in the fourth, making 5-of-6 shots when the Rockets needed it. He finished with 28 points on 11-of-26 shooting, and chipped in 12 assists that were piled up mostly in the first three quarters when he couldn’t find his shot.

Reading some comments after the game, I am somewhat surprised there isn’t as much appreciation for T-Mac’s performance as you would think there would be. One writer said that T-Mac doesn’t do the “heavy lifting” and is a “preening diva.” C’mon! He’s one of the best playmakers in the game behind Steve Nash, and that’s a quote from Van Gundy.

In addition, the focus is on how the Rockets almost lost one they should have won, and their defense was terrible before their comeback (one thing they don’t point out is all the layups they missed, which is inexcusable). Yes, all these faults may be true, but I think there is value in seeing that T-Mac still has the ability to turn it on when his team needs it, which is important confidence for him to have as the season winds down and the playoffs get closer. There are going to be games where fantastic offensive scoring barrages are going to be needed to win a playoff game, or two, or three (remember Dwyane Wade in the Finals last year?)

The other factor is that the Rockets are tied with the Spurs with a 33-18 record, an important thing to keep in mind if the Rockets want to have home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Every win at this point is a big one.

Pictured to the left (courtesy of Karen Warren of the Houston Chronicle), Yao Ming gets his leg hugged by Hannah Oh, 4, during a visit to the Chinese Community Center in recognition of the lunar new year, Monday. Click here for more photos from his visit along with an article about it.

The Chronicle also reports that Yao should be able to start playing again in early March. Here’s what Jonathan Feigen of the Chronicle reports:

Rockets center Yao Ming said Monday he expects to return to Rockets practices within two weeks, a few days ahead of the March 1 date the Rockets had planned, with a return to games in “early March.”

“It’s hard to say (when he will play). Hopefully, the beginning of March.”