Yao Ming greets in street clothes his teammates as they prepare for their matchup against the Washington Wizards. Inspired to play well without Yao the rest of the season, the Rockets soundly beat the Wizards 94-69. For more photos from the day’s events, click here.

What a day. After all the drama from this afternoon regarding the shocking news about Yao, there was a game to play against the Washington Wizards Tuesday night. It was probably a good thing for Yao’s teammates to focus on a game right away rather than let any depression and/or doubt get a chance to fester over a day or two.

If there is one small consolation about the loss of Yao (and I do mean small), it probably gives the Rockets even more determination to prove their doubters wrong, like the talking heads on ESPN Tuesday afternoon who were saying the Rockets are now “done.”

I think the Rockets are the only team in history who have had a 12-game winning streak where people have said they have “no chance” to win a ring because of the loss of one player, no matter how great that player is. In essence, they have quickly become a “Rodney Dangerfield” – “no respect, no respect at all.”

Last time I checked, the Utah Jazz don’t have a dominating big man in the middle, and the Rockets have just as much talent as them, yet the Jazz get more respect (they probably don’t get enough IMHO). Almost the same situation with Dallas, too. They don’t have a dominant big man in the paint, and the Rockets roster is probably just as dangerous as theirs.

Another small consolation is that with the Rockets banding together in perhaps an “us against the world” mentality, it takes their mind off the distraction of their winning streak. Suddenly their win streak doesn’t seem as important as proving everyone wrong that they can win without Yao. It’s a slight distinction, with the difference being the streak is something you’re afraid to have end, whereas winning without Yao is something you can’t wait to prove to others you can do. Passive versus active.

Well, the Rockets came out Tuesday night as strong and determined as you could ever hope them to be in beating the Wizards 94-69. Dikembe Mutombo started at center, not Luis Scola or Carl Landry.

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Yao Ming shoots over Antawn Jamison on Tuesday night in a 92-84 win over the Washington Wizards. Yao scored 21 points and Luther Head added 24 to help the Rockets win their third straight game. Click here for more photos from the game.

It’s kind of strange to write about a Rockets win on the road that came fairly easily, this time in Washington against the Wizards. The Rockets won 92-84 in a game where they led by as much as 14 points. Sure, it got close at times, but the Rockets always found a way to keep the Wizards at arms length most of the way. Their defense was fantastic, holding them to just 41% shooting, and the out-rebounded them 46-28.

Luther Head (24 points) and Yao Ming (21) scored 45 of the Rockets’ 92 points. Half of Luther’s points came on 3-pointers, hitting 4-of-6 from behind the arc.

This came only one game after it looked like he might be the odd man out with Aaron Brooks‘ emergence as a legitimate scoring threat. Brooks scored 22 points Saturday night against the Knicks and is on his way to a very bright future in the league. Add Tracy McGrady’s imminent return to the line-up soon, and Rafer Alston’s dramatic scoring improvement recently, and things didn’t look good for Luther in getting as many minutes this season.

But if Luther continues to shoot like he Tuesday night, then for the first time this season it looks like the Rockets will have some scoring depth at guard after all, even with Steve Francis and Mike James riding the bench. Who would have thought that at the beginning of the season? Before training camp it looked like Alston was on his way out of town, Luther was an afterthought once again, and Brooks was ‘only’ a rookie.

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Yao goes airborne to chest bump Juwan Howard after Yao hit a backbreaking shot with 11.4 seconds remaining that helped beat the Washington Wizards. Yao scored 23 points in the fourth quarter alone on his way to 38 points, 11 rebounds and 6 blocks. Click here for more photos.

I have seen a lot of fantastic performances by Yao over the past 5 seasons, but the game he had Saturday night against the Washington Wizards ranks as one of his best ever.

With an ailing T-Mac in the locker room because of back spasms (oh no, not again!), Yao took over and scored 23 points in the fourth quarter on a perfect 6-of-6 shooting from the field, and 11-of-12 from the line. His points mainly came from unstoppable fallaway jumpers, capped with a baseline jumper while falling out of bounds with 11.4 seconds remaining to expand a one-point lead to three, 112-109. The Wizards’ Gilbert Arenas missed a 3-pointer that could have tied it, and Shane Battier sank two free throws to seal the victory, 114-109.

Yao finished with a season-high 38 points on 13-of-19 field goals, 11 rebounds and 6 blocked shots. My goodness, Yao is indeed worthy of NBA MVP consideration.

With T-Mac’s back acting up again on a night where he was pretty good himself (28 points on 10-of-21 shooting, but 1-of-5 from three-point range), Yao knew he had to take over in the fourth quarter.

“(McGrady) was out in the fourth quarter, and it was very tough to score,” Yao said. “I was thinking, ‘Do more.’

“It a little bit changed my play. I was more aggressive. Tracy, who is the best player on our team, is out, and somebody had to step up.”

It’s comical how the Associated Press writer for the game watered down Yao’s performance and attributed it to Etan Thomas and Brendan Haywood having to leave the game because of injury. There may be just a little truth in that, but to have that be the leading theme in the story smacks of more anti-Yao thinking we had thought had finally been put to rest. You can read the AP writer’s take on the game by clicking here.

As much as this cat tried to downplay Yao’s game, Wizards coach Eddie Jordan gave Yao the ultimate respect after the game:

“I don’t think anybody has an answer. If you have personnel to look him in the eye a little bit, just a little bit, that helps. But the guy has an arsenal that I haven’t seen before. He is equally dominant on either box. Now you tell me: Who in the history of the NBA can you say that about?”

“Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was dominant on the left box and darn good on the right. This guy shoots turnaround jump shots, gets post-ups, makes free throws. He does everything.”

While watching the game, here were some of the other plays that stood out to me:

1st quarter - Luther Head led a fast break that ended with a beautiful alley-oop to T-Mac for a dunk. I hadn’t seen that from the Rockets in awhile.

2nd quarter – Gilbert Arenas scored 19 points in the quarter alone, at one point scoring 13 of the Wizards’ points in a row. Rafer Alston led a break and faked a behind-the-back pass to T-Mac to juke his defender, then laid it in easily. Very Skip-to-my-Lou-ish!

2nd & 3rd quarter – Alston scored 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting. While Yao is out resting, T-Mac takes over and scores 12 points on 3-of-7 shooting and 5-of-7 free throws.

4th quarter – With the Rockets leading 90-87 with 7:34 remaining, Juwan Howard foolishly fouls Antawn Jamison while shooting a 3-pointer, and on top of that, was called for a technical for reacting to the call, which led to a 4-point play. Big mistake that keeps Washington in the game. But Luther hits two huge three-pointers down the stretch to help the Rockets maintain the lead.

Even though Gilbert Arenas scored 41 points, overall, the Rockets defense played very well, holding the high-scoring Wizards to 39.7% shooting. 12 total blocks by the Rockets definitely helped. Houston shot lights out: 55%.

Now the main thing that concerns the Rockets is the future of T-Mac’s back. This is much more concerning than the concussion he had last week. If he’s going to continue to have problems with his back like he did last season, then it was a bad night overall, even with Yao’s amazing performance.

John

Click here for the Houston Chronicle game story.

Yao reacts after hitting a huge fadeaway basket in the final minute of the Rockets-Wizards game that proved to be the winning basket. Yao scored 38 points, tying a season high, on amazing 15-of-25 shooting from the field and 8-of-8 from the line. He also had 10 rebounds, 3 assists, two blocks, and numerous intimidations of Wizard shots. Click here for more photos from the game.

by John

FRIDAY, 3/31/06 - With nothing really to play for except pride, the Rockets and Yao put on a show against the 37-33 Washington Wizards Friday night, perhaps showing the Rockets blowout win of the Sonics Wednesday night was not a fluke.

Even though the game didn’t mean much since the playoffs are out of reach, I was more entertained with this game more than almost any other game this season. Houston fans seemed to get into this game more than expected, getting rowdy many times to urge the Rockets to a moral victory. The Rockets led for most of the game, shot a season high 55.7% from the field, and held on to win for a 105-103 triumph.

I have been surprised at how much better the Rockets are playing all of a sudden offensively. With no T-Mac, what has gotten into them lately?

The Rockets exploded with 62 points by halftime (they scored 64 against Seattle on Wednesday), shooting 58% from the field and hitting 5-of-9 from three-point land. Yao, Luther Head and Rafer Alston were all in double-figures by halftime.

Yao had 20 points by halftime with incredible shooting consistency (7-of-11 from the field, 6-of-6 from the line). That wonderful shooting touch we knew he had before coming into the NBA is really shining through now.

It didn’t hurt that the Wizards were without center Brendan Haywood, and weren’t double-teaming Yao since Luther Head’s outside shooting kept them honest from collapsing on Yao inside.

Luther was outstanding in the first half, scoring 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting. It looks like all of the playing time he has had this season is really paying off. He is hitting from the outside and attacking the basket with much more confidence, it seems. I think he has a chance to really emerge as a force next season, similar to how Cuttino Mobley became an offensive threat his second season with the Rockets.

Rafer Alston was extremely effective, too, scoring 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting and dishing 6 assists.

The Rockets led 62-50 by halftime, but it seemed like the lead was much bigger considering much they were scoring. But being the third highest scoring team in the league, Washington is no slouch offensively, right behind Phoenix and Seattle.

Man. That’s saying something when Houston – second-to-last in points per game (90.7) outscores two of the top 3 offensive teams in the league in consecutive games!

In the second half, Yao kept it rolling, scoring at will with that feathery touch of his and hitting 8-of-14 shots to add 18 more to his scoring pile. He was simply unstoppable against the smaller front line of the Wizards.

When he checked out of the game for a rest, the Wizards whittled away a 15-point deficit by going on an 18-4 run, and closed within one point, 87-86, with 8:22 remaining.

With Yao back in the game, the Rockets went on an 11-2 run, with Yao scoring eight of those points to give them a comfortable 10-point lead with 4:20 remaining.

But the Wizards impressive offensive attack got them back into it, pulling them within 102-101 with 1:15 remaining in the game.

With every other Rocket suddenly struggling offensively, everyone knew that Yao – who had 36 points at the time — was going to get the ball on the next possession. It was just like the glory years when everyone in the building knew Hakeem Olajuwon would get the ball in the same situation.

And just like Olajuwon did many times, Yao got the ball on the left baseline, made a spin move toward the baseline, faded away, and with the utmost confidence like we have seen so much from him lately, he calmly flicked his wrist and swished it for a huge bucket to give the Rockets a 104-101 lead with 53.2 remaining! (The picture above shows Yao’s reaction seconds after hitting that clutch shot).

The Wizards had a chance to win it on a last-second 3-pointer, but unlike games earlier this season where those shots would fall against the Rockets, this time it clanged off the rim for a Houston victory.

By the time it was over, Yao had tied his season-high of 38 points (15-of-25 shooting), made 8-of-8 from the line, grabbed 11 boards, had 3 assists, blocked two shots, and had numerous alterations of Wizards’ shots.

You can’t get any more dominating than that, folks. Even Wizards’ coach Eddie Jordan acknowledged Yao’s incredible performance after the game:

“The big guy (Yao) earned his check and he put his team on his back and carried them. I’ve seen him do some good things, but with that soft touch, he is unbelievable. The guy is playing phenomenal.”

The only down side is that Yao had 7 turnovers, with a couple coming down the stretch that allowed Washington to get close near the end of the game. But considering how Yao has improved in so many facets of his game, reduction of turnovers is sure to happen over time, too.

Yao had plenty of help in this win, with Luther finishing with 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting, 3-of-4 from 3-point territory, and doling 7 assists.

Alston finished with 19 points and 8 assists, and was definitely a key contributor in this game. As effective as Alston has been lately, and as much as I want to give him tons of credit, I learned that Mike James had an even more amazing night: 36 points and 10 assists. Right when I want to “move on” and appreciate Alston for what he is now bringing to the team, that trade continues to haunt the Rockets and me.

If only we had that production from the backcourt earlier this season when T-Mac was out, we wouldn’t be counting down the end of the Rockets’ season.

john@YaoMingFanClub.com

To see the boxscore from the game, click here.

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

1/3/06, TUESDAY - Unfortunately I wasn’t able to watch the game between the Rockets and Wizards on Tuesday night. I just went through a Travel Day from Hell. Nine hours, delayed flights, lost luggage, delayed hotel shuttle, etc. I heard it was a good game, though. It figures I would miss the game where the Rockets would break their 5-game losing streak and score their highest point total this season, winning 123-111.

Although I missed the game, I plan to watch it sometime in the near future. In the meantime, you can read about in the Houston Chronicle’s write-up by clicking here.

To see the boxscore from the game, click here.

While the Astros blew another game to the White Sox on Sunday night, the Rockets quietly won a 75-71 squeaker against Washington in preseason play at Toyota Center. Rookie Luther Head continues to play well, scoring six points in the fourth quarter along with a clinching jumper to win it.

Yao scored 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting and grabbed 7 rebounds.

To read a brief recap of the game, click here.

As a reminder, I’ll be providing more in-depth analysis of Yao’s play (and the Rockets’) once the regular season starts on November 2nd.

Yao stretches out for a rebound over the Wizards’ Antawn Jamison on Wednesday night in Washington. Yao had a below average game, scoring 11 points on only 3-of-9 shooting from the floor, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks. The Rockets ended up losing the game 101-98. Click here for more photos from the game.

by John

WEDNESDAY, 3/2/05 - Just one day after getting lucky against the Chicago Bulls when shooting guard and catalyst Luol Deng had to leave his game against the Rockets for good, Houston had the exact opposite occur against them against Washington on Wednesday night.

Wizards guard Larry Hughes returned to the lineup for the first time after missing 20 games because of a broken thumb. Washington really missed him during his absence by winning only 9 of those games, and had lost 5 of their last six games. Hughes’ return made a big difference as he scored 31 points, grabbed 6 boards and had four assists to lead the Wizards to a 101-98 victory.

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Yao goes up between Washington’s Antawn Jamison and Jarvis Hayes on Tuesday night in Houston as the Rockets dominated the Wizards, 123-93. Yao scored 23 points on 11-of-14 shooting and grabbed 9 boards. Click here for more photos from the game.

by Chia-Chi

TUESDAY, 2/15/05 - Have the dreams and expectations of the Rockets early in the season finally emerged? Have phrases like, “adjusting to a new system” and “finding their rhythm” been buried for good?

Rev up those bandwagon engines, I have a feeling the Rockets may be taking us for a ride.

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