I wanted to point out a few unique photos taken of Yao that Raymond added to the forum a few days ago (that I missed) when the Chinese National Team arrived in Hangzhou on Wednesday for the FIBA Stankovic Cup.

When’s the last time you saw Yao getting a haircut? (I don’t recall one)….

Here’s another of Yao enjoying some ice cream at the team’s lunch buffet…

It’s always interesting to see Yao doing the things that all of us have to do (haircut) or enjoy doing (eating ice cream).

Click here for more photos of Yao at the team luncheon.

China cruised to a 72-50 victory against Russia to finish 2nd in the FIBA Stankovic Continental Cup tournament behind Angola.

Because the victory was an easy one, Yao was hardly needed. He played the first and third quarters. He only took four shots (made two of them) to finish with 6 points. He also grabbed 6 boards, had 4 steals, 3 blocks, but he also had 7 turnovers.

Raymond reports that Yao and the Chinese power forwards (either Yi Jianlian or Wang Zhi-Zhi) haven’t gelled yet, nor has the Chinese national team despite the big victory.

Click here for more photos from the game.

Raymond found these videos from the 72-71 loss against Angola in the FIBA Stankovic tournament.

Highlights of Yao Ming’s play in this game:

The rally of the national team in the last 5 minutes in 4Q when they were 14 points behind (65 vs 51):

The Chinese National Team rallied from a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter, but fell short in their game against Angola in a FIBA Stankovic tournament game, losing 72-71.

Yao had a chance to win it after grabbing an offensive rebound, but couldn’t get the put-back attempt to fall.

In 20 minutes of action, Yao looked much better compared to his last game against Serbia, rusty from not having played a game in 5 months.

Losing is always tough, but this is the first of 3 games the Chinese will be playing against Angola. They’ll also play later this month, and will play again in the Olympics since they are both in Group B.

For more details about the game, click here.

Click here for more photos from the game.

Yao Ming and the Chinese National team played a young and inexperienced Serbia team Thursday in the FIBA Stankovic Cup tournament.

Despite only playing 13 minutes because it being his first real game since February, Yao still scored 11 points on 2-of-3 shooting from the field, 7-of-10 from the line. He also grabbed 4 boards and had 3 blocks despite showing obvious rust. The Chinese won the match 96-72.

Click here for more photos from the game.

For video highlights of the game, click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below…

Read the rest of this entry »

As reported yesterday by Raymond, Yao indeed did fly to Hangzhou from Beijing on Wednesday (China time) for the FIBA Stankovic Continental Cup tournament. Here’s a photo of Yao at the Beijing airport with teammate Wang Zhi-Zhi.

Click here for MORE photos of Yao at the airport and the team’s arrival in Hangzhou.

We all know it’s “just” the summer league, but I am still shocked how many points Rockets’ rookie Donte Greene scored in his first game as a Rocket Monday night in Las Vegas. 40 points on 12-of-20 shooting (5-of-10 from 3-point land), and 11-of-12 free throws. That’s still much more than anyone would have thought he would have scored so early in his career. And he did it all after signing his contract with the Rockets just 5 minutes before the game started.

I don’t want to get carried away, but could he bring McGrady-esque scoring to the Rockets’ bench this season? Could he be the Rockets’ version of Monta Ellis, who quickly blossomed as a rookie scorer off the bench, contributing to Golden State’s amazing upset in the 2007 playoffs of the Mavericks? If Greene keeps scoring like this, he’ll make everyone forget about that Rudy Gay trade last season, and Daryl Morey will be named GM of the Year.

Here’s some of Greene’s highlight reel scores, courtesy of ClutchFans

Yao’s personal trainer Anthony Falsone is in Beijing with Yao Ming, and he gave an interview to a Chinese publication (Raymond translated) where he says if things go right with Yao’s health, he could hit his peak in 3 or 4 years, and play up to 15 years! Check out the translated interview here.

On Thursday new Rockets rookies Donte Green and Joey Dorsey participated in the Rockets’ first scrimmage at Toyota Center before heading to Las Vegas for participation in the Vegas Summer League.

Aaron Brooks, last year’s VSL MVP, and Mike Harris also participated in the scrimmage.

Oh yeah, Maarty Leunen, a Rockets 2nd round pick, was also there. Leunen will probably play in Europe this coming season.

Click here for more photos from the scrimmage.

Following in his father’s (Rick) and brother’s (Jon) footsteps, Brent Barry said he will sign with the Rockets. That must be an NBA record. Here’s more info in the Chronicle article.

I think it’s a decent pickup, but it doesn’t put Houston over the hump. San Antonio isn’t dumb. If they thought Barry could help them, they would have made sure to sign him. That said, something tells me Barry is on his last legs. And I don’t think he has enough in the tank to provide enough scoring off the bench when Tracy McGrady gets a rest. I don’t think it will be rookie Donte Green, either. At least not this coming season.

One thing is for sure IMHO: Luther Head‘s days in Houston are over. Look for a deal that will package him and maybe Steve Novak.

I still like what Novak can do from behind the 3-point line long-term for the Rockets. Barry will be good for 2008-09 from behind the arc, but he’ll be 37 this time next year, and we all know that’s ancient in NBA years.