Dikembe Mutombo reacts after a referee’s call Sunday afternoon in San Antonio as the Spurs blew out the Rockets, 109-88. San Antonio shot 53% from the field, 64% in the first half while Houston only shot 40% with Tracy McGrady shooting only 23% for 13 points.

If you’re a fan of basketball in the state of Texas, you had to be dumbfounded that some of the geniuses at the NCAA decided Friday night to schedule the huge ballgame game between the Texas Longhorns and Memphis for Sunday afternoon so that it would conflict with the Rockets-Spurs game, another huge basketball game in the state of Texas.

What were they thinking? There was plenty of opportunity for the NCAA to schedule the UT-Memphis game in the mid-afternoon so there would be no conflict. But nooooooo, they had to screw the basketball fans having tickets to either game from watching the other game on TV, or fans at home who wanted to watch both games without having to flip channels every 10 seconds.

Luckily for the NCAA, hoops fans in Texas who wanted to watch both games really didn’t have to face a choice since the Rockets game was essentially over as the Spurs took an early lead, built it up to 25 points, and coasted to a 109-88 win.

The Spurs started off shooting hot, making 76% of their shots in the first quarter to take a 35-24 lead. The Rockets were trying to keep the Spurs from getting into the lane and creating all kinds of problems, so they forced them to shoot outside, and the Spurs made them pay.

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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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Yao Ming drives to the hole against San Antonio’s Tim Duncan on Friday night in a game the Rockets lost 90-84 in San Antonio. Yao had a sub-par game, scoring only 14 points on 7-of-16 shooting and turning the ball over 7 times, but he did grab 9 rebounds and block 3 shots. But boards and blocks don’t really matter because the Rockets have now lost 3 in a row. Click here for more photos from the game.

I knew that even with Tracy McGrady out of the lineup for Friday night’s game against San Antonio, the Rockets had a very good chance to win, even after one night after the Spurs got beat by the Mavericks on national TV. On paper, the Rockets still have enough talent to beat anyone. But in order to have a shot of beating the Spurs, the Rockets were going to have to play a near perfect game. They didn’t, losing 90-84, and it’s starting to bug me how they are losing.

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Yao Ming shoots a jump hook in the lane over San Antonio’s Fabricio Oberto in a big win Tuesday night against the Spurs. Yao scored 28 points, grabbed 13 boards, dished 6 assists and blocked 3 shots. Click here to see more photos from the game.

I said last night after the loss to the Mavs that it would be a rare night when both Mike James and Bonzi Wells had off nights, and not to worry too much. Did that ever ring true Tuesday night when the Rockets beat the Spurs 89-80.

Although he was 4-of-13 from the field, James hit some very big shots down the stretch and shot for a pretty good percentage from three-point land (3-of-7). He is turning out to be what the Rockets exactly expected from him: an energy guy who has some speed, can penetrate into the lane, and can hit timely jump shots and three-pointers. Sure, it would be great if he was a Steve Nash-like passer who could find Yao no matter where he was, but wouldn’t it be for everybody?

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Yao gets in a great workout before the Rockets-Spurs game Saturday night at Toyota Center. He also likes his new leg brace, too. Click here for more photos from Yao’s workout. Later, the Spurs decimated the Rockets in a disturbing, lopsided 97-74 win.

The only good thing that happened Saturday for the Rockets was that Yao got in a great practice, as you can tell by the sweat in his t-shirt shown in the photo above and the link to more photos from his workout session. Yao also appears to like his new leg brace more than any of the other four he has tried out so far.

Later on Saturday night, San Antonio spanked the Rockets in a game that was played in front of the second-largest crowd in Toyota Center history. What a way to make an impression. The Spurs jumped out to an 18-5 lead in the first quarter, and led 40-20 by 8:23 remaining in the second. T-Mac cut the deficit to 12 right before halftime with a three-pointer, but once the second half got underway, it was clear the Spurs were the better team, especially when they built their biggest lead to 29 points.

Houston only shot 38.5% from the field and turned the ball over 18 times compared to San Antonio’s 52.2% shooting and 13 turnovers. That was the difference, as well as Tim Duncan’s dominance early.

The Rockets looked so good on Friday night in Denver against the Nuggets where they shot 46.7% from behind the arc, but they only shot 30.4% Saturday night. I’m actually surprised that Van Gundy has allowed his team to rely on shooting so many three-pointers because as they say, “live by the three, die by the three.” On Saturday night, they definitely died.

I’m also surprised a veteran team like Houston’s does not do well in the second game of back-to-backs back at home, where they have now lost 4-of-5 of those at Toyota Center. And you can’t say the Spurs were more fresh because they had just played the night before as well, albeit their game was at home in San Antonio.

Even worse, there was dissension on the Rockets’ bench after Van Gundy benched Rafer Alston . The Chronicle does a good job describing it in this article. I can’t remember when I’ve seen a Rockets’ team crack like that, but I’m the kind of guy where I like to see that kind of fire when players are underachieving. It can shake things up and teams can come out of those episodes stronger and more united.

Clearly, though, it’s going to be Yao’s insertion back into the lineup that will give Houston hope that they can keep this season from spiraling out of control.

Tracy McGrady blows by the Spurs’ Bruce Bowen Wednesday night in a game where T-Mac willed the Rockets to a 90-85 victory with 37 points.

Before the Rockets’ game on Wednesday against the Spurs, Tracy McGrady vowed they would come out ready to play after one of their most disappointing losses of the season against Denver the game before.

So I was watching very carefully to see what kind of start the Rockets would have in San Antonio.

It turns out T-Mac was wrong, at least at the start. The Rockets turned the ball over 4 times to start the game, couldn’t hit anything, and quickly were down 12-2.

I was thinking, “How could these guys guarantee they would be ready, and then stink up the joint like this?”

But the Rockets recovered, kept the game close, even took a big 13–point lead in the fourth quarter, blew that, but held on for a 90-85 win.

McGrady ended up being The Man at the end, redeeming himself with his vow that he would be ready. He scored 37 points on 14-of-24 shooting and made 8-of-9 free throws. He also had three assists, all which came on three consecutive possessions when he drew the double-team, then kicked it to Juwan Howard for buckets. Those plays were artistry in motion. He scored 14 points in the fourth quarter to hold off a Spurs’ charge that almost ended up with another late-game Houston collapse.

His biggest miscue, and recovery, occurred with about a minute remaining in the game. The Rockets led 85-81, and T-Mac was stripped bringing the ball up the court. He almost recovered it, but he slipped, and that led to a layup by Tim Duncan (37 points) to cut the lead to 85-83.

On the ensuing possession, McGrady made up for it by hitting a huge 20-foot jumper, was fouled on the shot, and hit the free throw to give the Rockets a 5-point cushion with 55 seconds remaining.

The Spurs’ Manu Ginobili responded just a few seconds later to cut the lead 88-85. After that, the Rockets needed a big hoop to fend off the Spurs, but Rafer Alston came up empty on a running jumper.

That gave the Spurs a chance to tie the game. However, Brent Barry passed up a three-pointer and dumped it down low to Tim Duncan, who had good D played against him as he missed a short bank shot off the glass. Alston came up with the rebound, got fouled, and surprisingly hit both free throws to sew up the victory, 90-85.

I have to give Alston credit for hitting those free throws. He’s not known as the best clutch FT-er in the game. He also had a decent stat line: 19 points on 7-of-15 shots, 3-of-6 three-pointers, 7 assists and only two turnovers. All the Houston Chronicle guys are giving him credit for a good game. And yes, he deserves some praise.

But the maddening thing for me is the fact he could be so much better. He’s a quick guard who can get to the rim anytime he wants. Except on a few rare occasions, he just can’t finish. Except for a big bucket where he floated a teardrop over Duncan in the fourth quarter, he blew several easy layups in this game, too. ESPN mentioned how Alston realizes he’s now known as not being a great finisher. So you would think he would avoid his weakness by not taking it to the rim so much and sending his second-lowest FG% in the league (for a starter) to even greater depths.

One other mental lapse had: late in the game there was a jump ball between T-Mac and Tony Parker. You know T-Mac was going to win that jump, and you knew exactly where he was going to tip it: right where Alston and another Rocket (can’t remember who) lined up next to each other. That’s just how you play jump balls.

But Alston fell asleep and let Brent Barry get behind him as the ref threw the ball up in the air. T-Mac tipped it right where it should have been tipped, behind Alston, and there was Barry to catch it.

Okay, enough of my Alston bashing. Since he had a good stat line, I’ll lay off for now.

To finish up on a positive note, you have to give credit to the Rockets for pulling out a huge victory without Yao on the road against a 30-13 team, and to do it after one of their worst losses of the season against Denver at home without Carmelo Anthony in the line-up. The Rockets have won two in a row in San Antonio, something that hasn’t happened in 10 years.

Now the Rockets come home for 5-straight games against what TV analyst Bill Walton called “cupcakes” (I love it): Portland, Philly, Seattle, New Orleans/OKC, and Minnesota. All teams with losing records.

If the Rockets don’t win all 5 of these games, then it will be very easy to forget about this big W against the Spurs.

Yao shoots one of his unstoppable fallaway jumpers against Tim Duncan Friday night in a suprising victory over San Antonio 97-78, snapping a 17-game losing streak in the Alamo City. Yao got into foul trouble and scored ‘only’ 22 points, but the rest of the team stepped up and played one of their most impressive games of the season. Click here for more photos.

All the odds were against the Rockets heading into Friday’s game against the Spurs in San Antonio. After all, the Rockets had lost 4 of 5 games, they had been on the road 10 straight days, T-Mac was still out because of injury, and Houston’s bench hadn’t been doing anything lately.

On top of that, they hadn’t won in San Antonio in over 9 years, having lost 17 in a row there, and San Antonio has been playing very well lately in winning 9 of their last 10 and holding the league’s best record. (20-6)

But the Rockets put all that behind them and shocked me and the rest of the world by playing one of their best games of the season, winning convincingly 97-78. Give them credit for bouncing back after a tough loss against Portland Wednesday night.

Yao got into foul trouble that limited him from dominating the boxscore (“just” 22 points and 7 rebounds). But everyone else pulled their weight, and then some.

Yao did start the game off strong, scoring 10 of the Rockets first 12 points (14 points in the first quarter) thanks to a couple of nice assists from Rafer Alston passing over the top to Yao while he was being fronted defensively. Luther Head also had a nice dish by penetrating to the basket along the baseline, then whipping a pass to Yao for a layup. Not a bad way to start.

Chuck Hayes also ‘exploded’ offensively in the first, scoring 6 points on 2-of-2 shooting, with one of those buckets coming from a nice hustle tip-in after crashing the boards. He also hit 2-of-2 free throws, even with that strange hitch in his shooting form. You knew the Rockets were destined for a good night after seeing him sink both of those!

Bonzi Wells also hit 2-of-2 shots in the first, thanks to a sweet pass from Juwan Howard for a layup. Overall, the Rockets did a fantastic job moving the ball around to get great looks, hitting 12-of-22 shots for a 30-21 lead after the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Yao cooled off and only hit 1-of-5 shots, but the Rockets got a great contribution from one of my favorite underdogs, John Lucas III. I was pleasantly surprised Van Gundy put him into the game so early since he had played only 6 minutes in the past four games.

In the course of one minute of action, Lucas scored by finishing nicely on two fast breaks. I always get skeptical when the Rockets are running on a fast break, because other than T-Mac, they really don’t have someone you can count on who can jet down the floor and finish reliably with a defender or two in the way. But Lucas has an uncanny ability to get a good angle on the rim during fast breaka, elevate over other guys and lay balls in (as he showed on thes fast breaks), which is incredible since I have stood next to him and he’s no taller than 5’10” (listed as 5′ 11″).

Lucas is fearless going to the hole, and is quick and can create his own shot like when he hit a sweet stop-and-pop jumper a couple of minutes later. His quickness reminds me a little of Tony Parker, and Van Gundy may have wanted to fight Parker’s quickness with Lucas’. It can’t hurt to fight fire with fire. Lucas finished the game with 9 points in 13 minutes on 4-of-6 shooting, including a big three-pointer in the fourth quarter.

All I have to say is this: keep playing John Lucas! He showed what he could do in Vegas, and his situation reminds me a little bit of Mike James when James, a virtual no-name when he came to the Rockets, made a name for himself offensively after coming to Houston.

Bonzi also showed he can play and is quickly getting into shape by hitting 3-of-5 shots in the second quarter, including a drive to the basket that caught the Spurs surprised. Later in the quarter he also scored on a fast break. Bonzi brings an element to the game the Rockets have sorely lacked since T-Mac’s back fired up again – the ability to create his own shot.

I have also been impressed with Bonzi’s willingness to make a pass when he is faced with a low-percentage shot. He passed the ball a couple of times to other players when his shot wasn’t as high percentage as an open teammate’s. Thank God Van Gundy wasn’t too stubborn several weeks ago when he was having his differences with Bonzi and kept the door open for him to return, especially after T-Mac got hurt. That move (or non-move) could have been the best break of the year for the Rockets.

By halftime, the Rockets had shockingly hit 55% of their shots and led 53-36. Yao had 18 points and 4 boards, and the Rockets offense held a 21-12 rebound advantage, holding the Spurs to zero offensive boards.

Since the Spurs’ Francisco Elson and Fabricio Oberto were having a hard time containing Yao, Tim Duncan had to help out in defending Yao. The effort required to defend Yao must have limited Duncan’s offensive effectiveness since he only scored 14 points on 4-of-13 shooting. But you also have to give credit to Juwan Howard (along with Yao and Chuck Hayes) for playing great D against him.

Juwan also was extremely valuable offensively, hitting several long jumpers as the Spurs’ defense packed it in low and left him open, allowing him to score 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting. He also chipped in 4-of-5 free throws. Give the guy credit for still be very productive in his 13th year. He was needed this night since Yao picked up his 4th foul about midway through the 3rd quarter.

In the fourth quarter, the Spurs threatened a couple of times after Yao had to sit after picking up his fifth foul with 7:53 remaining in the game. Manu Ginobili kept the Spurs within striking distance by hitting two three-pointers in the fourth quarter (4-of-6 overall), but Luther squashed a rally when he created his own shot and hit a jumper to make it 81-65 with 7:23 remaining. A couple of minutes later, Alston hit a three-pointer to make it 86-68, then put the game out of reach with about 4 minutes remaining when he hit a Parker-like floater in the lane.

In sum, there were several reasons why the Rockets enjoyed success against the Spurs to snap their losing streak in San Antonio:

1) they got off to a fast start
2) they moved the ball extremely well. Luther Head had a career-high 11 assists.
3) everyone stepped up and hit shots (51% shooting overall), including the much maligned bench (15-of-26).
4) their defense held San Antonio to their lowest scoring second quarter (15 points) first half (36) and final score for the season (78). The Rockets’ defense will always keep them in games.
5) they have a few new weapons the Spurs aren’t accustomed to seeing. In addition to having to defend Yao, they have to account for Bonzi, Lucas, a much improved Alston (compared to last year), and a great shooting Juwan.

I loved seeing the reaction by Yao and his teammates at the end of the game, with lots of high-fives and attempted chest bumps between Yao and Juwan that failed to connect cleanly, creating lots of laughs. But on a night where everything else was clicking, those missed attempts were easy to overlook.

John

Click here for the Houston Chronicle’s game story.

Click here for the boxscore.

Yao gets swarmed by Tim Duncan and Tony Parker Tuesday night on his way to a 7-for-21 shooting night and 20 points. The Spurs showed why they are so good, rallying from 19 points down to defeat the Rockets 92-84. Click here for the game story. For more photos from the game, click here.

The Spurs showed Tuesday night why they were only a play or two away from going to the NBA Finals last season.

I’m not going to go into too much detail about it. You can read this Houston Chronicle story to find out more about the Rockets’ collapse and the Spurs’ big scoring runs in the 3rd and 4th quarters to win 92-84. The numbers aren’t pretty.

But I knew when the Rockets closed out the half with a scoring run of their own thanks to back-to-back 3-pointers by Scott Padgett – capped with a trey by T-Mac with .1 seconds remaining before halftime — their 13-point lead was going to be fleeting.

Actually, it wasn’t fleeting for awhile. The Rockets opened up a 19-point lead on the Spurs in the third quarter, then everything went south. Offense. Defense. You name it.

Yao only shot 7-for-21 (when is the last time we saw numbers like that?) for 21 points. Once the Spurs put Tim Duncan on him, he showed why he is a former league MVP. Duncan, along with his teammates, pretty much shut down Yao, and the rest of the Rockets for that matter.

For some reason I’m not too upset about this loss. Of course I love to see the Rockets win, but they have been getting so much recognition the past week or so having won 4 in a row, it can serve some good to get slapped back into reality.

The Rockets now know there is another level to which they need to aspire. They know they can’t coast to a win after building a big lead, and need to play hard against great teams like the Spurs.

Yao’s teammates know he is not going to dominate every night, and that they need to provide some help on the scoring side.

Bonzi Wells really knows now his team needs him because there will be some nights where they need his scoring punch.

Jeff Van Gundy knows that when the Rockets’ shooting is suffering, he needs to consider bringing Steve Novak off the bench. Novak didn’t play.

On the bright side…

T-Mac was the T-Mac of old in the first half, scoring 21 points (3-of-4 three-pointers). We’ll forget he only scored 5 points in the second half. He finished with 26.

Thank God the Rockets brought Padgett back to Houston after they let him go two years ago. He was their best 3-point shooter that season, and he showed he still has the touch. Those two 3-pointers he hit late in the second quarter almost brought the house down. He finished 2-of-3 from 3-point territory, and the Rockets were 7-of-11 in the first half.

That first half was unbelievable, with the fans and the bench showing lots of enthusiasm when the Rockets went on their run. It’s going to be fun at Toyota Center this season.

Dikembe Mutombo showed he still has it, blocking Tim Duncan twice in the first half.

Houston only committed 3 turnovers in the first half. They finished with 9. Luther Head had four, though. Tough night for a dude who has been playing pretty well this season.

In the first half they scored 56 points and shot 50% from the field. Although they shot 24% in the second half and scored 28 points (9 in the fourth quarter), we know that kind of poor shooting won’t happen too many times this season. It will probably be more in between those figures.

Look for the Rockets to come out with a vengeance all four quarters against the Bulls Thursday night.

Finally it’s over! May the Rockets’ 2005-06 season rest in peace. In a microcosm of their season, the Rockets had a chance to win Wedneday night against the World Champion San Antonio Spurs, but Rafer Alston missed two free throws with 7 seconds remaining that could have won it, and that was basically the ballgame. Rockets lose 89-87.

Like many Rocket fans, I’m glad Rafer missed those free throws to give them a better chance at a higher draft lottery pick, although I still don’t think he’s the long-term answer at point guard (another abysmal 6-for-16 shooting night).

And the on-again off-again Juwan Howard scored 8 points on 3-of-11 shooting after scoring 31 points on 12-of-19 shooting in the Rockets’ last game against Denver. How come that continues to happen? Keith Bogans, who had such a great game in Denver with some clutch plays down the stretch, shot only 1-of-5 from the field for two points in 21 minutes. And David Wesley only made 3-of-11 shots for 10 points.

On the bright side, unlike Rafer who will be thinking about those missed free throws all summer, those Rockets who can go into the off-season feeling good about themselves are the following:

So who do I see sticking with the Rockets next season? Here are my initial thoughts:

Will definitely be around:
Yao
T-Mac

Will probably stick:
Stromile Swift
Juwan Howard
Chuck Hayes - finished strong and could be the hustle guy that Van Gundy always loves to have around

On the bubble:
Bob Sura - hope his back shows improvement during the off-season. When he’s playing, he’s as tough as they get
Rafer Alston - if the Rockets can find another free agent point guard this off-season, trade him
Keith Bogans - inconsistent, but played well in spurts. Could be a good backup to T-Mac.
Richie Frahm - showed he can hit the three, which the Rockets really need
Ryan Bowen - can Van Gundy afford to keep a defensive specialist on the roster who can’t score?
Dikembe Mutombo - serviceable, but if the Rockets find a more athletic backup who can score…

Gone:
David Wesley - really toughed it out this year and tried very hard, but he’s past his prime. Thanks for all your heart over the past couple of years, D-dub.
Maciej Lampe - couldn’t get any playing time, even when the Rockets were bad. That must tell you something.
Rick Brunson - see directly above

Now with the season over, I’m going to continue tracking Yao’s recovery from foot surgery as well as discuss some of the Rockets’ moves this off-season that will help improve them from having tied for the worst home record in the league this season at 15-26.

john@YaoMingFanClub.com

To see the boxscore from the game, click here.

To read the Houston Chronicle’s article about the game, click here.

Yao clears out for a rebound against San Antonio’s Tim Duncan Saturday. Yao grabbed 10 boards and scored 20 points, but the Rockets lost to the Spurs again, this time 92-77. Click here for more photos from the game.

by John

SATURDAY, 3/18/06 - The Rockets surprised no one by losing 92-77 to the Spurs on Saturday night. In fact, they have surprised no one over the past four games against tough opponents, losing all four. They have also lost all 12 of their divisional games this season, and are 2-17 without T-Mac.

There is really no point to go into the details for this game, other than…

* The Rockets got to within 5 points of the Spurs (60-55), but then Robert Horry stole a ball and hit a three-pointer to create a bigger cushion, and that was the beginning of the end for the Rockets. Houston climbed within 7 points at the end

* Focusing on playing more defense (holding Tim Duncan to 14 points), Yao scored 20 points and grabbed 10 boards, but was only able to take one shot in the game’s last 7 minutes.

* The Rockets couldn’t stop Tony Parker, who burned them for 23 points. Overall, the Spurs shot 48.7%.

* While Juwan Howard improved his play from recent games with 18 points on 8-of-12 shots, Rafer Alston was awful, hitting 2-of-14 for 8 points. At least Alston had some insightful comments after the game when he talked of another Houston failure to win a game down the stretch: “You’re supposed to get better. When other teams turn it up a notch or two levels, we turn it down a notch or two. Teams make it hard for us to get it to our best player (Yao Ming). We don’t make it hard to get it to some of their best players.”

* I am really getting tired of the Rockets losing to the Spurs. Surprise me for me once, won’t you?

The Rockets are now 4.5 games behind the Lakers with 16 games to play. The season is over. So let’s start thinking about next year and getting a high lottery pick. Can the Rockets get lucky again like they did in 2002 and get the #1 pick? Adam Morrison or J.J. Redick could really help the Rockets. Fat chance they’ll get one of them.

You go, JVG

As much as I have been underwhelmed by Jeff Van Gundy’s coaching this season, I have to give him props for a comment he made Saturday. Discussing how players around the league celebrate when one of their teammates dunks on Yao, like in last Sunday’s game against the Spurs when Michael Finley supposedly dunked on Yao (although Yao just came over to help at the last second because Finley had driven past Rick Brunson):

“I think some of those same people that like to mock Yao’s negative plays are the same people who predicted that he wasn’t good and would never really (make an impact). So instead of just saying, ‘I’m wrong, I’m an idiot, I have no idea what I’m talking about,’ they try to pick out a couple plays where it may not have gone as well for Yao. Saying you’re wrong is difficult.

“A lot of players, if you remember, tried to say he was not that special. I think a lot of it, player-wise, is just talk. A lot of players never appreciated Yao’s slow and steady improvement. There’s something beyond it, but I’m sure natural size has something to do with it.”

Update from Ric

On a different note, I had a chance yesterday to speak to Ric Bucher, the co-author of Yao’s book. Like myself, even Ric is amazed at how well Yao is playing this early in his career. That’s saying something considering how much time Ric had spent with Yao in writing that book.

Ric also is impressed with how great Yao’s English has improved and how he can now understand the nuances and subtleties of the language. We both agreed that Yao is one smart dude.

john@YaoMingFanClub.com

To see the boxscore from the game, click here.

To read the Houston Chronicle’s article about the game, click here.