It was announced by the NBA today that Yao was named the Western Conference Player of the Month (LeBron was the Eastern Conference’s Player of the Month). As this press release states…

Yao led the Rockets to a 10-4 month averaging 22.4 points, 10.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists. In a 111-107 win over Golden State on Jan. 29, Yao tied his season-highs in points (36), rebounds (19) and free throws made (14). He matched his career best with five consecutive double-doubles (Jan. 19 – Jan. 29) and is the only player in the Western Conference to be averaging at least 20.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks this season.

Here’s a recap of Yao’s best games in January:

Jan. 5 vs. New York: Had 30 points, eight rebounds and a season-high six assists in a 103-91 win over the Knicks.
Jan. 9 @ New York: Had a season-high 36 points to go along with 11 rebounds, three assists and two blocks in a 101-92 win over the Knicks.
Jan. 19 vs. San Antonio: Recorded 21 points and 14 rebounds in an 83-81 win over the Spurs.
Jan. 21 vs. Seattle: Scored 30 points and grabbed 17 boards in a 96-89 win over the SuperSonics.
Jan. 29 vs. Golden State: Had a season-high 36 points and 19 rebounds in a 111-107 win over the Warriors.

If Yao gets another couple of Player of the Month awards, along with leading his team to the playoffs, then Yao could get serious consideration for NBA MVP honors. But we’ll take it one step at a time.

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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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.

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.”

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.

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.

It became known late Sunday (see article) that Tracy McGrady is having more of a problem with his left knee than earlier thought because of a “deep bone bruise.”

I know alot of skeptical fans may think McGrady may be faking or dogging it, but I have to come to his defense a little bit. That’s because I had the exact same injury 3 years ago on my left knee, and it hurt like hell. At first I was hoping it would heal and the pain would go away, but I was surprised it took longer than I thought. In fact, I still feel it to this day. I have had it MRI’d since the injury and the doctors say they can’t see anything, but I still feel it.

So personally, I’m actually going to give McGrady the benefit of the doubt because I have suffered the same injury. Ironically, I hurt it at a Rockets game at Golden State when I fell flush on my knee on concrete, and I have never been in so much pain in my life.

In a way, there’s a bit of silver lining to McGrady’s expected absence for the next 7 games (or more, or less, who knows). It will give everyone the opportunity to really see how well the Rockets can play without him over an extended period of time. If the Rockets tank while McGrady is out, like they did last year, then everyone will appreciate what he brings to the team and the calls for him to be traded should subside.

However, if they play extremely well with players like Luis Scola, Aaron Brooks, (who weren’t there last year), Bonzi Wells (who basically wasn’t there), Luther Head, and maybe even Mike James or Steve Francis, then we’ll all know that McGrady may be more expendable. If that’s the case, I’m hoping that the injury doesn’t reduce his physical ability — like it has mine — to the extent it diminishes his overall value. That would be even worse. Given his pain is gone and he’s now rehabbing his knee and leg for more strength, he should be okay, but it wouldn’t surprise me if his pain came back.

With the holidays being so busy, I didn’t notice until now this article that was published 10 days ago. I don’t take too kindly to it. It’s another example where Tracy McGrady seems to say the wrong thing, even if you can understand why he thinks that way.

It’s okay for a player to say they respect another player’s game, but when McGrady was recently asked if he thinks about what it would have been like to play with Dwight Howard of the Magic, he responded:

“Oh yeah, I think about that a lot. And when I’m with my (Orlando-based) trainer (Wayne Hall), we talk all the time about how good me and Dwight could have been together.”

So is Yao not good enough for you, McGrady? A guy who never has dissed you?

When later asked about the idea of playing with Howard after his current contract held by Houston ends in 2010…

“I’ve thought about it. You never know.”

You just don’t say these things, even if it’s true. He should have responded by saying he is thinking about today, not two years from now.

In your mind, does the drumbeat to trade McGrady get even louder after these statements?

On Sunday night, the Rockets’ players participated in their annual season ticket holder event where they had to hob-nob with the people who pay their salaries. Here Yao plays some blackjack.

You can check out more photos by clicking here (courtesy of Raymond). I had a few observations after looking at these photos.

*It was really crowded on the floor of Toyota Center. You can bet the players weren’t too excited about having any wahoo be able to walk up to them and ask them questions about why they aren’t playing better. When you’re playing bad as a team, it must not be fun to talk to anyone (at least it wouldn’t be for me).

*It seemed odd that it was a casino night theme just 9 days before Christmas. It seemed like it would have been a better night to raise money for charity or something. Casinos and Christmas don’t seem to jibe with each other.

*I didn’t see GM Daryl Morey on the floor wheelin’ and dealin’. Hopefully he was on the phones upstairs talking with other teams about potential deals, because so far this season has been a ‘bust,’ or a pair of ’snake eyes’ (or make up your own gambling metaphor).

I listened to a podcast of Tracy McGrady’s interview on Houston’s 790AM sports station on Tuesday. It appeared that McGrady was obligated to make the call to promote his deal with Yahoo! Fantasy sports, not to come on and say he’s pissed about what’s happening with the team, and what he’s going to do about it.

Remember last year how McGrady said “It’s on me,” during last season’s playoff series against the Jazz, and how he has always referred to his teammates as his “supporting cast?”

Well, now that times are tough for the Rockets, it looks like McGrady thinks Yao is The Man and the “franchise player” instead of him. Here’s what he said when asked about his reaction to Yao’s comments that the Rockets were soft.

“My first reaction was….Finally. Yes! Yes, Yao. That’s what he has to do. Vocally. Express yourself. Let us know how you feel. Don’t hold it inside…that’s just showin’ signs of leadership. What he says is true. It’s showing up on the basketball court. I’d rather for him to come out and say it than me. He’s more of a franchise player than I am.”

I can’t believe the interviewer didn’t dig deeper and question him if he really believes Yao is the franchise player. Instead, after that last statement, the interviewer immediately comments (and basically interrupts him before McGrady has a chance to explain), “We (the audience) know better than that,” and bails McGrady out by moving on quickly to a softball question like, “It’s gotta help that the big man in the middle is saying it, right?” Instead, I would have loved to hear him ask, “When did Yao become the franchise player?” or “What’s your role in calling people out?” or just let him continue talking. Sometimes the best interviews are when the interviewer just lets the interviewee talk.

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