Yao Ming celebrates with teammate Luis Scola after Yao grabbed a huge rebound and threw it down against Tim Duncan late in the Rockets’ game against the Spurs. Yao scored 21 points and grabbed 14 boards in an intense victory to help Houston snap a two-game losing streak.

I’m back at it. Thanks again for all your nice comments while I’ve been out. After having shoulder surgery on Tuesday, I’ve spent the past few days recuperating, fighting off dizzy spells resulting from my post-surgery drugs, and trying to get over that debacle of a game last Tuesday night against the 76ers when the Rockets blew a 16-point lead late in the third quarter. I’m still hurting after that one. Good thing I wasn’t able to write much after that game or I would still be writing based on all that I felt like venting after watching it later on my DVR.

Despite Tuesday night’s collapse, I would bet the Rockets surprised a lot of people Saturday night in beating the Spurs 83-81 at Toyota Center. Just a reminder that I can’t type as fast as I normally would, so please excuse how brief this post may be, any typos, and some things that may not make complete sense because my brain is still fuzzy from the drugs.

This game came down to the final seconds where the Rockets held on despite almost giving the game away by missing several free throws late in the game (Yao missed 3 in a row, and Rafer Alston missed a big one late). But San Antonio’s Matt Bonner missed a potential game-tying shot that could have sent the game to overtime and could have been a third nightmarish collapse in a row for the Rockets, who held a 12-point lead in the third quarter.

Tracy McGrady was able to play, but Rick Adelman didn’t start him. Instead, he started Bonzi Wells and had Shane Battier on the bench. Come to find out after the game that Battier volunteered to come off the bench since Manu Ginobili also does the same, and Battier usually guards Ginobili. The more Adelman thought about it, the more he liked the idea, and the more I like the idea for every game.

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(This short post comes from a friend who has offered to help clean it up to make sense of my clouded thinking tonight): I have awoken from a long rest from surgery today to hear the Rockets blew another 4th quarter lead, this time to the 76ers on Tuesday.

Knowing many of you probably are angry enough to provide some scathing comments about the Rockets, I’ll rely on you guys to provide all the analysis if you wish by clicking on the comments link below. I’ll have a friend check periodically to approve them. Let ‘er rip!

Just a note — I won’t be able to write anything or review any of your comments starting Monday night because of the surgery I’m having on my shoulder early Tuesday morning. So if you provide any comments, I apologize in advance I won’t be able to review them until Wednesday at the earliest (hopefully). They tell me I’m going to be out of it for a few days because of the drugs, but I should be able to watch the following game on Saturday against the Spurs.

Yao Ming shoots a long beautiful jump shot over New Orleans’ Tyson Chandler. Yao was geat in scoring 30 points, snagging 16 boards, and rejecting 4 shots, but the Hornets were too much to handle in an 87-82 loss, halting Houston’s 5-game winning streak.

When thinking of providing my comments on the Rockets-Hornets game Sunday afternoon, I was going to try to do another podcast, but the pain in my shoulder is even worse, so I will just type up something brief here using one hand in shorter sentences. It took me longer than I thought to type this, so please forgive any typos.

The Hornets were the better team Sunday in stopping Houston’s 5-game winning streak right when they started feeling good about themselves. They hit shots and the Rockets didn’t. Yao was a monster, scoring 30 points, grabbing 16 boards, and 4 blocks. He did miss some chip shots he would normally make, including a jump hook in the lane with 18 seconds remaining. But without him, it would have been bad.

He also had a chance to tie the game with a 3-pointer, of all things, with 7 seconds remaining, but it fell just short. It would have been something if he had made it. Not only would that shot have been on ESPN Sportscenter, but he could have become a legitimate 3-point shot option for game-winning or game-tying shots in the future. Remember, with him being 7’6” and shooting a high trajectory shot like that, no one can block his shot from way out there. I think it was just as good of a shot as anyone else could have attempted. No one else seemed to be moving around to say “I’m open,” and Yao being the leader he is, he took on the responsibility. It wasn’t meant to be.

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Yao Ming contests the shot of Minnesota’s Corey Brewer in a game where Yao wasn’t needed much. Yao only played 28 minutes and scored 15 points in an easy 113-82 win. Click here for more photos from the pre-game shooting practice.

Because of really bad shoulder pain, I am not able to type with both hands as normal. So I’m going to try something new and file an audio report about my thoughts on the Rockets’ impressive victory Friday night over Minnesota 113-82. Click on the player below for part 1:

In part 2 using the player below, I talk more about my shoulder situation and shoulder injuries in general (which is relevant because of Yao’s plan to have shoulder surgery after the Olympics), D-Wade‘s shoulder injury last season against the Rockets, and the upcoming New Orleans game on Sunday. Duration: about 4 minutes.

Rafer Alston answered some questions in this SI.com article regarding the issues brought forth as Tracy McGrady soon returns to the team while the Rockets are playing so well. I like one of the things he said (highlighted in bold below), but I didn’t like another thing he said (highlighted in italics):

“He lines his guy up and goes into his move and then sometimes he’ll go on the low blocks and work on his game down there. So we’ll tell him we want to get up and keep moving, I think that’s how Rick Adelman’s style is. We want to move the ball, move our bodies and I think down the stretch we’ve always come to him and just give it to him and tell him to take us home.”

My problem with the part I italicized is that I don’t think McGrady’s got that great of a track record of “taking them home” down the stretch. Remember Game 7 against Utah last season? Someone please tell Adelman to not be tempted to try that strategy. We tried that under JVG, and it hasn’t turned out that great.

Thankfully, Rafer ends it with this encouraging quote:

“Now when Tracy comes back, we’ve got to keep our rhythm, got to keep the same tempo. Guys got to continue to be aggressive.”

Raymond has translated another interesting article, this time from Basketball Pioneers about Yao taking on more of a leadership role with the Rockets. Thanks, Raymond!

Here’s an interesting read from ESPN’s John Hollinger on the definition of a true center in today’s NBA. I respect Hollinger as a writer, so I liked what he had to say about Yao’s hall of fame ‘trajectory.’

Small point: Although the article posted today on ESPN.com, he must have written it before Alonzo Mourning retired.

Yao Ming elevates to throw down a massive dunk over New York’s Malik Rose on his way to scoring 36 points on 14-of-21 shooting, 7-of-8 from the line, and 11 rebounds to lead Houston to a 101-92 victory over the Knicks. Click here for more photos from the game.

If you’re a Yao Ming fan, it doesn’t get much better than what you saw Wednesday night. Yao had a monstrous game against the Knicks, scoring on some very aggressive dunks and racking up 36 points on 14-of-21 shooting, and grabbed 11 boards to lead the Rockets to a 101-92 victory in the Big Apple, their fourth win in a row.

He had a couple of thunderous throw-downs, including one type I’ve never seen him do. With about 3 minutes left in the third quarter, he got the ball just inside the 3-point line, then he DRIBBLED IT once into the lane, took two huge steps toward the rack, and THREW IT DOWN on Malik Rose. To add insult to injury, Rose was called for blocking because he was inside the restricted circle. An amazing play to witness to see Yao take it to the rack from that far away, especially if you watched in HD like I was lucky to have done.

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Here’s a good article that chronicles the problems with the Rockets this year, although Rafer Alston is improving before our eyes, and Aaron Brooks has emerged as a threat.

I like how Tracy McGrady said upon his return to the rotation, “Don’t change your game when I’m out there.” However, I find it interesting that he says that when he’s in the game, all the other guys have to do is knock down shots. Easier said than done. I don’t think we want an offense predicated on guys hitting jump shots. It’s clear how much more effective the offense is when EVERYONE attacks the basket rather than just relying on jump shots, which can come-and-go.