Yao joins his teammates on the bench for the first time since having toe surgery a few weeks ago. With Yao cheering them on, it looked like the Rockets were going to snap their losing streak, but their shots didn’t fall in the fourth quarter, and they lost 86-80. To see more photos of Yao’s return to the Houston bench, click here. To read more about Yao’s recuperation, click here.

by John

SATURDAY, 1/14/06 - The Rockets continue to not execute down the stretch when it counts. They held a lead for most of their game against the Hornets Saturday night, but were then outscored 18-6 at the end of the fourth quarter to lose their fifth straight, 86-80, and their sixth straight at home.

Other than the Hornets beating Houston for the fourth time in a row, there is really nothing else worth reporting for this game except Yao was able to sit with his teammates now that he is cleared to wear a shoe over his big toe. Before, he couldn’t sit on the bench because the NBA dress code requires injured players to wear shoes.

As you can tell, I have decided to file very brief reports while Yao and T-Mac are out. Even I have my limits to the amount of pain I am willing to endure covering these guys.

John
john@YaoMingFanClub.com

To see the boxscore from the game, click here.

Juwan Howard misses the second of two consecutive chip shots in the final moments of a tight game in Oklahoma City that could have led to a huge win for the Rockets. Instead, despite 38 points by T-Mac and 26 points by Stromile Swift, the Rockets lost on a last-second shot by the Hornets’ David West to lose a heartbreaker, 92-90.

by John

WEDNESDAY, 12/28/05 - This loss is one of the toughest ones to swallow. I’m not exactly sure why. Every loss sucks, but this one is different.

Maybe it’s because the Rockets had T-Mac for a full game, not just a first half like the night before when he had to leave at halftime to witness the birth of his new baby boy.

Maybe it’s because T-Mac was unstoppable most of the game, scoring a season-high 38 points (11-of-25 shooting, 4-of-6 three-pointers), grabbing 8 rebounds, dishing 7 assists, getting two steals, and having a great performance wasted.

Maybe it was because Stromile Swift had his coming-out party as a Rocket — scoring 26 points and grabbing 13 rebounds – finally giving the Rockets another weapon for their feeble offense.

Maybe it was because if the Hornets’ Rasual Butler (averaging 0.5 three-pointers this season) hadn’t made three 3-pointers (and 15 points) in the fourth quarter alone, the Rockets probably would have won this game.

Or maybe it was because if Juwan Howard had not missed two consecutive point-blank shots with 1:26 remaining when the score was 90-86, they probably would have won this game.

With all the adversity late in the game for the Rockets, they still managed to tie the game at 90-90, making Howard’s missed shots loom even larger. But then the Hornets’ David West hit a jumper at the top of the key to go ahead 92-90 with 1.8 seconds remaining. Stromile had a chance to win it at the buzzer with a tough hook shot in the lane, but his shot was too hard off the glass and the Rockets lost their fourth in a row.

Except for that last shot, Stromile was amazing, hitting 9-of-15 from the floor on a combination of strong moves to the rack and jump shots that showed a lot of touch. Sure, he missed 3 free throws (8-of-11), but since he finished with 26 points, you can’t complain too much.

On the other hand, Juwan Howard, who has been outstanding recently averaging 19.3 points and 53% shooting over the past three games, struggled mightily by only making 3-of-13 and scoring 6 points. That really hurt.

Combine that poor shooting with Luther Head’s 1-of-10 shooting (1-of-7 from three-point land), and it was just too many bricks to overcome.

The game was a back-and-forth affair, with the Hornets jumping out to a 26-17 lead in the first quarter. New Orleans/Oklahoma City (a.k.a. “NOK”) ran the Rockets ragged as they went on a 9-0 run to take a 19-10 lead. They extended the run to 16-6 to lead 26-14, but T-Mac made things a little more respectable by hitting a beautiful 3-pointer with 1.8 seconds remaining to make it 26-17 heading into the second quarter.

The Rockets closed the gap by halftime to 51-47, but the stats weren’t pretty. NOK had a 16-8 advantage in assists, 24-8 advantage for points in the paint, and 17-0 lead in fast break points.

The third quarter is when the Rockets made their move, taking a 71-62 lead with 1:24 remaining in the quarter thanks to 10 points by Swift (4-for-4 from the field) and 9 points for T-Mac. Meanwhile, NOK shot only 6-for-17 from the field. The Hornets closed out the quarter on a 6-1 run to make it 72-68, but since T-Mac had some offensive help with Swift, you had to like the Rockets’ chances.

But T-Mac was double-teamed defensively almost every possession in the fourth quarter, was held to 1-of-4 shooting, and no other Rocket could make them pay. David Wesley was 0-for-3, Howard was 0-for-4, and Luther was 1-for-3. That ineptitude led to an 18-5 run by NOK, thanks to 3 straight treys by Rashual Butler to give them an 86-77 lead with 3:59 remaining.

Still, the Rockets fought back to tie it at 90-90, but David West’s shot with 1.8 seconds remaining capped an unbelievable 10-of-20 shooting quarter for NOK when they needed the points the most. It’s amazing this young team — which is not expected to have the poise of a veteran team like Houston’s — made the shots they needed to win while the Rockets didn’t.

In closing, I have another Mike James update: James scored 28 points, grabbed 6 rebounds and had 9 assists in Toronto’s win over Atlanta Wednesday night. Meanwhile, Rafer Alston missed his 17th straight game because of an injury. Ouch!

John
john@YaoMingFanClub.com

To see the boxscore from the game, click here.

Yao goes up against New Orleans/Oklahoma City’s PJ Brown on Saturday night in a frustrating game for the Rockets, who led by 8 points with about six minutes remaining in the game, but got blasted by the Hornets down the stretch. Playing without the injured Tracy McGrady, Yao scored 20 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and had 7 blocks in the 91-84 loss.

by John

SATURDAY, 11/5/05 - Recently whenever New Orleans has hit troubling times, Houston has been there to help. And I’m not only talking about Hurricane Katrina. I’m talking about the Rockets giving away games to the New Orleans Hornets last season, this preseason, and once again…Saturday night at Houston’s Toyota Center.

Houston and the Hornets played an ugly game against each other, but at least the Rockets had the game in hand in the fourth quarter leading 82-74 with 6:09 remaining. But then Houston’s offense shut down faster than the city’s freeways during a hurricane evacuation, or Houston Astros bats in a World Series. New Orleans/Oklahoma City (a.k.a. “NOK” for short) took advantage of Houston’s struggles, broke out of its own shooting slump, and blew past them on a 17-2 run to stun the Rocks once again, 91-84.

Yao was playing a great game, hitting 6-of-12 in the first three quarters for 16 points, and rejecting everything in sight (7 blocks overall, matching his career high). But he ran out of gas down the stretch (37 minutes of action, six minutes above his average) and missed 8 of his last ten shots. Jeff Van Gundy probably played Yao more minutes because of T-Mac’s absence, but it’s reasonable to wonder why JVG didn’t budget Yao’s minutes more wisely.

Read the rest of this entry »

Yao puts up a shot against P.J. Brown Thursday evening against the New Orleans Hornets in Oklahoma City, and finished with 16 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 blocks in 30 minutes of play. In their last preseason game, the Rockets lost 89-88, and next look forward to their season opener on Wednesday, November 2nd. For more photos from the game, click here.

THURSDAY 10/27/05 – It was like deja vu of previous seasons’ losses to terrible teams like Charlotte and Atlanta on Thursday night. Houston had a massive 22-point lead against the pathetic New Orleans Hornets, but somehow ended up losing 89-88 in the last second of the Hornets’ new home debut in Oklahoma City. Thank God it was only a preseason game and it doesn’t count, but the Rockets cannot afford to have another breakdown like this one since it was the last preseason game before next week’s regular season opener on November 2nd.

The Rockets started the game without Tracy McGrady for a second consecutive night since he is still resting because of tendonitis in both knees. The Rockets started the same roster as its previous game against Utah: Rafer Alston at point guard, Derek Anderson at shooting guard, Ryan Bowen at small forward, Juwan Howard at power forward and Yao at center.

Read the rest of this entry »

Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy agonizes over a humiliating performance by his team to the lowly New Orleans Hornets, the team with the worst record in the league. The Rockets lost 76-73 in part because Yao Ming did not play because of a calf injury. Click here for more photos from the game.

by John

FRIDAY, 4/1/05 - Yao was held out of Friday’s game night against the New Orleans Hornets because of swelling in his calf resulting from an injury that occurred late in Wednesday’s game against Portland.

What a difference it made. Without Yao, the Rockets struggled offensively more than anyone could expect, losing to the second-worst team in the league 76-73. The Hornets are now 17-54.

Ironically, like Yao, yours truly is not in very good shape. I have been laid up because of a bad case of the flu, so I’m going to have to punt on covering this game. If I had to skip one game to cover, this one is it since Yao didn’t play and the Rockets shot a dismal 31% from the field.

Now excuse me as I go back to sleep.

Yao tries to swat New Orleans’ Jamaal Magloire shot on Friday night. The Rockets struggled after T-Mac left the game because of an injury, but the rest of the crew pulled it out in the second half, beating the Hornets 81-68. Yao scored 12 points and grabbed 7 boards in 24 minutes, once again plagued with foul troubles. Click here for more photos from the game.

by Chia-Chi and John

FRIDAY, 3/25/05 - In one of the scarier moments for Rockets fans this season, Tracy McGrady fell to the floor awash in pain three minutes into the first quarter. He repeatedly slapped the floor in agony as trainers rushed out to tend to him. He was eventually carried off by two teammates into the locker room.

Read the rest of this entry »