Yao Ming had a monster game against Al Harrington and the Golden State Warriors, scoring 36 points and grabbing 19 boards to lead the Rockets to a very surprising 111-107 victory. Click here for more phots from the game.

I was absolutely astounded with what I saw Tuesday night as I watched the Rockets upset the Warriors 111-107, in my mind probably the biggest upset of the season for the Rockets, even if it was a home game. Here are the reasons why I am very surprised with this victory.

The Warriors are absolutely loaded offensively, scary to play because you’re never safe no matter how big of a lead you may build, and they have had the Rockets’ number in their first two matchups this season with the Warriors winning both games easily. Every game right now means something to the Warriors, too, as the Rockets and other teams are not too far behind them in the playoff race.

The Rockets started off giving the Warriors a taste of their own medicine, coming out running-and-gunning and opening up a 20-point lead at one time in the first quarter! However, you just knew that kind of lead wasn’t going to last because the Warriors are so explosive. It’s no surprise the Rockets would get away from moving the ball and doing the things that got them their big lead, which let the Warriors back into the game when so they could make their much anticipated run.

Ironically, it wasn’t the Rockets getting back to that faster style of play that won them this game. It was the plodding, old JVG-style of halfcourt basketball where one guy (guess who) posts up and wills his way to get a shot off, or gets fouled to go to the free throw line. Not as beautiful as moving the ball around to find the open man to take a shot, but still very effective.

After only averaging 13 points and taking 20 shots in both games against the Warriors this season, Yao Ming was a beast against the undersized Warriors, scoring 36 points on 11-of-19 shooting and 14-of-15 from the line, while also grabbing 19 boards. The 36 and 19 were both season highs for Yao in those categories. Also remember that this is one game after Yao missed a game with an upper respiratory infection and having to labor through a running team like the Warriors for 40 minutes, including no break from the court in the first quarter and the first couple of minutes of the second.

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Here’s a translation of a Titan Sports (China) article that Raymond translated. I must say there have been credibility issues before in what Titan publishes, so take it with a grain of salt. However, it’s a little concerning that former head coach Jeff Van Gundy had Yao’s minutes down to a science (35 per game), whereas Rick Adelman has a higher limit, or doesn’t have one at all. Remember that one game earlier this season when Yao played all but 1 minute in the first half, all while Yao wasn’t feeling well? Incredible.

I’m just glad Carl Landry is coming on. That should give Adelman another reason to allow Yao to get more rest, along with having Luis Scola and Dikembe Mutombo to sub for him.

Yao Ming is shown here in the Rockets’ locker room ill from an upper respiratory infection that kept him from playing against the Utah Jazz Sunday night. Without Yao, the Rockets struggled against the Jazz and lost 97-89.

There may have been a lot of debate a couple of weeks ago if the Rockets were better off without Tracy McGrady when the Rockets won more games than they lost when he was out with an injury. However, there is absolutely no way that discussion has any merit when it comes to Yao Ming being out, as Rocket fans saw Sunday night against the Utah Jazz.

Yao had to be scratched from the game because of his battle with an upper respiratory infection, and as optimistic you wanted to be that the Rockets could still win without him, it was clear they missed his 23 points and defensive presence in the lane.

Yao is as tough as they come, having played with a similar kind of ailment earlier this season, so you know he had to be really feeling like crap not to play in such a big game since the Rockets are right behind the Jazz trying to get into the playoffs.

This game came down to the Rockets’ main bugaboo this season – the fourth quarter. I knew early on in the fourth when the Rockets couldn’t stop the Jazz that the trend would continue. It reminded me too much of last year’s playoff series between the Rockets and Jazz when the same thing happened. Unfortunately, I turned out to be right as the Jazz scored 37 points in the fourth and scored on their last 13 possessions to beat Houston 97-89 at Toyota Center Sunday night.

It has become too familiar of a theme lately against Utah. The Jazz are to the Rockets at Toyota Center as Tiger Woods is to other golfers at the Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines.

It was up to the other Rockets to pick up the slack, and in the first half, that didn’t happen. Houston shot a putrid 34% in the first half, with Tracy McGrady only making 1-of-8 shots in the first half. Rafer Alston was pathetic shooting (again), hitting only 2-of-8.

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Yao Ming, Dikembe Mutombo, Luther Head and other Rocket players cheer on their teammates during the 4th quarter of a big win in Portland. Yao only scored 11 points (but had 10 rebounds) as the Rockets ended the Blazers’ 12-game home winning streak.

With the way the Rockets played during big stretches of their game against Portland Friday night, you thought there would be no way they could beat the Blazers to make them lose for only the four time in 21 games at home this season. In addition, the Rockets are only 3-15 when trailing at halftime, which was the case in this game as they trailed 50-42 at the intermission. Their chances didn’t look good.

But with the help of the guys we have been saying for weeks are “for real,” rookies Carl Landry, Luis Scola and Aaron Brooks came up big in an 89-79 win to give Houston its fourth win in a row (fifth on the road!) and pull within 1 game of the Blazers and Utah to tie for the 8th seed in the Western Conference playoff race. Thank goodness coach Rick Adelman seems to finally realize the value of all 3 of these guys to play them in crunch time, like many of us have been saying all year long.

The Rockets needed all they could get from their reserves since Yao Ming only had two field goals for the entire game (2-of-8 overall), with no FGs in the first half, which had to be a first. But the Big Man made a big-time contribution from the free throw line, hitting 7-of-8 to finish with 11 points, and grabbed 10 boards.

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Raymond has done a great job translating an interview that Basketball Pioneers conducted with Yao about the Rockets’ record, his more fiery attitude this season, and more. Click here for the translation. Thanks, Raymond!

After getting 1.7 million votes, it’s no surprise that Yao was named tonight as the Western Conference starting center for the All-Star game in New Orleans on February 17th. Here Yao is shown in his All-Star uniform.

What IS a surprise is the funky design of the uniform on the back. Click here for more photos. The backside reminds me of a Diet Coke can.

Yao Ming takes it strong to the hole against Seattle’s Nick Collison. Yao scored 26 points on 6-of-13 shooting and 14-of-15 from the free throw line. He also had 12 rebounds and 6 assists to team up with Tracy McGrady (28 points) to overcome a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter for a miracle win against a team that had lost 11 in a row before the game.

I was preparing for one of my biggest rants of the season as I saw the Rockets’ lack of heart on display during most of Wednesday night’s game against the 9-32 Seattle Sonics. I absolutely couldn’t believe that even the Rockets could lose to a team they had just narrowly beaten Monday to hand them their 11th loss in a row. Hadn’t they learned their lesson in almost blowing that game against the same team?

But then midway through the 4th quarter, something mysterious happened. The Rockets made plays and refused to lose, pulling out a miraculous 109-107 victory after being down 13 points with 8:10 remaining in the 4th quarter!

This game had two major themes: the first theme was about guys who you thought were down who came back to make big plays. The second theme was the opposite: about some guys who stepped up, but then went back down to almost negate everything they had done so well.

The first theme can be applied to the entire Rockets squad in general. The Sonics led most of the game, hitting everything from the outside and out-hustling Houston, leading by that seemingly insurmountable 13 points.

But then the Rockets came back on a surge, led by a guy who almost everyone thought a couple of weeks ago the Rockets would be better without, Mr. Tracy McGrady. He took over the game in the third and fourth quarters when hardly anyone else could hit a shot. He was everything you expect him to be, except for one major thing. After putting the Rockets on his back in the final minutes to finally give them a 2-point lead 12 with seconds remaining, he was intentionally fouled, then proceeded to BLOW TWO FREE THROWS, giving the Sonics a chance to win the game. You really want to believe in the guy, but right when you think you can without getting burned, he does something like that!

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Since the Beijing 2008 Olympics is only about 7 months away, I have decided I will post cool articles I see in regard to preparation for the Games. Here’s one from today’s New York Times. It requires a free membership to read the entire article.

If you see any other articles, feel free to email me at john@yaomingfanclub.com about it, and I’ll take a look and see if it should be posted on this page, and will give you props for letting me know about it. Or you can post it in a new discussion forum topic I have created to dedicated to the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Yao Ming throws down a dunk Monday night against Seattle on his way to 30 points and 17 boards to lead Houston to a victory. Click here for more photos from the game.

Having lost to the Philadelphia 76ers last week AT HOME to end Philly’s 7-game losing streak, the Rockets were very close to messing up again against a poor team. The Rockets almost let Seattle snap their own 10-game losing streak after letting them shoot 51% in the first half and let them close within 4 points at 89-85 with 1:50 remaining.

But then Houston finally woke up and made the plays they needed to just get by the Sonics. No big field goals were really made by anyone other than Yao taking it strong to the hole on the next possession, getting fouled, and hitting 2 free throws to make it 91-85. The rest of the way the defense stepped up when it had to, and they made 5-of-6 free throws to seal the win.

The effort was so bad on the defensive side of the ball, usually passive Houston announcer Bill Worrell said, “The Rockets defense stinks” early in the third quarter after Chuck Hayes was burned on defense, and Worrell lamented how inconsistent their defense was after putting together such a great effort on Saturday against the Spurs. Amen, Bill.

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After the 76er game on Tuesday in which the Rockets played so poorly down the stretch, it motivated me to start thinking about what the Rockets should start doing to win games in the clutch. After almost letting another game slip away because of missed shots and free throws against San Antonio on Saturday, it just confirmed my thoughts about what needs to be done.

Yes, Yao Ming missed 3 free throws in a row late in that game that could have spelled disaster for the Rockets. That has been a trend for Yao lately. He missed 3 shots in a row against Philadelphia, he missed an open look late in the New Orleans game, and also had two turnovers late in that game.

It’s obvious to me that Yao is not the guy who should be shooting shots late in games. I think his abilities are better served crashing the boards if, and when, other players miss shots. To not have him underneath the rim for rebounds — like he showed how valuable he was Saturday night against the Spurs — is just too valuable an asset to give up. Yao has shown he’s a better rebounder this season, and that he’s very capable of scoring on put-backs after other players’ missed shots.

There’s just something about Yao’s confidence that doesn’t give him the ability to hit those late-game shots. That’s okay. I don’t slight him for that. Although he’s more of a scoring center, I’m perfectly content with him taking shots for the first 44 or 45 minutes, and letting someone else take the big shots in crunch time. There’s no shame in that.

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