Yao shoots over New Jersey’s Nenad Krstic on his way to scoring 36 points and grabbing 9 boards. But several of Yao’s teammates shot poorly, leading to a disappointing loss, 90-77. Click here for more photos from the game.

by John

MONDAY, 3/13/06 - Behind three games in the standings for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference with only 19 games to play, the Rockets could not afford to lose to the Nets on Monday night. Although the Nets are good, they are beatable since the Rockets had beaten them 3 games in a row. Second, it was a home game for Houston at Toyota Center. Earlier in the season that didn’t mean much, but lately they have won their last 3 games at home.

Yao put his team on his back, scoring 36 points, making 18-of-20 free throws, and grabbing 9 boards. But without T-Mac and David Wesley in the lineup, the Rockets had to rely on Yao’s supporting cast to shoot decently. They didn’t. The Nets ended up with an easy victory, winning 90-77, and IMHO virtually dooming Houston’s chances of making the playoffs. They are now 3.5 games behind with 18 to play, but they still have to play Dallas, San Antonio, the Clippers, and Dallas again over their next four games.

The Rockets shot a season-low 34.2% against the Nets. Here were the culprits:

Stromile Swift: 1-for-5 overall, 2 points
Rafer Alston: 1-for-5 from three-point territory
Keith Bogans: 1-for-12 (ouch), 2 points
Juwan Howard: 3-for-13 (ouch), 9 points

This report is going to be very short because of work deadlines I’m facing this week. In fact, my reports all week will probably be short because of my work duties, and if the Rockets continue to lose as the season winds down. It’s kind of depressing to write much about a game where the Rockets’ role players shoot awful while the season slips away before our eyes.

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 goes up to score two of his season-high 38 points on Wednesday night, leading Houston to a 17-point comeback win against the Indiana Pacers. Click here for more photos from the game.

by John

WEDNESDAY, 3/8/06 - You can’t beat what you saw Wednesday night if you’re a Yao Ming and Houston Rocket fan.

Down 17 points late in the third quarter, the Rockets came back to win one of their most electric – and important – games of the season, 103-99 against the favored Indiana Pacers.

Yao was absolutely unstoppable, scoring a season-high 38 points (14-of-21 from the field, 10-of-10 from the line), grabbing 10 boards and blocking 5 shots. What else can you say about him?

This was his third game in a row where he had scored at least 30 points and grabbed at least 10 rebounds. He scored 20 points in the first half, and scored 13 in a row for Houston starting near the end of the second quarter and the start of the third.

Needless to say, Yao knows what he’s doing down low and shooting with so much confidence, there is no way to stop him when he’s playing this well. He is playing at the level we all knew over the past four years he could reach. Hopefully he can keep it going. If he can, he could be one of the most dominant big men in NBA history.

Scoring 6 points in the fourth quarter, Yao had a lot of help in the fourth with Juwan Howard hitting 2-of-2 from the field in addition to the four points he scored at the end of the third. Keith Bogans scored 7, and Stromile Swift scored six. Altogether, the Rockets shot 7-of-10 from the field and 10-of-12 from the line in that pivotal quarter, while holding the Pacers to only 4-of-25 shooting.

Toyota Center was rocking like a college fieldhouse during the comeback, especially when Swift threw down a dunk off a sweet dish from Luther Head with 3:53 remaining that put the Rockets ahead 94-93 for their first lead since the first quarter!

The lead see-sawed a couple of more times, and then Stromile had another huge play with 2:13 remaining. Indiana’s Scot Pollard caught a long pass on a fast break underneath the basket and was about to lay it in to put Indiana up 99-98, but Stromile came out of nowhere to reject Pollard’s shot at the rim!

It didn’t look like the Rockets were going to be able to pull this game out since they committed 4 straight turnovers in the final few minutes, and gave up 4 offensive rebounds in one possession to the Pacers when Indiana was still down 98-97. After that series of offensive boards, the Rockets gave up a layup to Peja Stojakovic on an inbounds play to give Indiana a 99-98 lead.

But Yao intimidated two shots by Jeff Foster and a block on the next Pacer possession. After Houston got the rebound, Rafer Alston pushed it on offense and got it to Bogans for a hard driving layup that put Houston ahead for good 100-99 with 25.3 seconds remaining.

The rest of the way the Rockets held on defense and sank 4 free throws to get their biggest win of the season.

What’s amazing is that the Rockets went through most of the second half without T-Mac, whose back flared up on him again. T-Mac finished with “just” 15 points in 20 minutes of action.

But his teammates picked up the slack. Bogans, who replaced T-Mac in the second half, scored 14 points and grabbed 8 boards. Juwan Howard scored 16 points, and Rafer Alston dished a season-high 14 assists (and scored 5 points).

Altogether, the Rockets shot an amazing 53% from the floor, 81% from the line, and held Indiana to 39% shooting.

Now the Rockets will have a full 3 days of rest after winning their fourth game in a row, and their 7th win in their last 9 games. But it’s not going to get any easier. They play a brutal stretch of games against San Antonio, New Jersey, Dallas, San Antonio again, the Clippers, Dallas, New Orleans and Cleveland.

This stretch of games will make or break the Rockets season. No doubt about it. I have predicted sour results before against tough competition, but with the way Yao is playing, anything is possible – even without T-Mac.

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 rises above the T-Wolves for a beautiful hook shot on his way to 30 points, 13 boards and 4 blocks in an impressive Rocket win over Minnesota without T-Mac in the lineup. Click here for more photos from the game.

by John

TUESDAY, 3/7/06 - Before the Rockets game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, it was announced that T-Mac wouldn’t play so that he could rest his back.

I then wrote down a note to myself that said, “If the Rockets win this game, it will be quite an accomplishment.” After all, the odds were stacked against them. They were playing without T-Mac (2-13 without him) on the road against a Minnesota team that also is vying for the 8th and final spot in the Western Conference playoff race.

And as we continue to witness the evolution of his greatness before our eyes, Yao Ming came up with yet another dominating performance, scoring 30 points, grabbing 13 boards and blocking 4 shots to propel the Rockets to a huge 93-87 victory Wednesday night in Minneapolis.

The chips were on the line, and he delivered big-time. The only thing he didn’t do was hit all of his free throws. He missed all four of his FT attempts in the first half (0-for-4), but he made all eight of his attempts in the second half to finish 8-for-12 from the line.

Also coming up big was Houston’s team defense. The Rockets trailed at the beginning of the fourth quarter 67-61, but then locked down on D and forced the T-Wolves to make only 1-of-19 shots in the quarter while the Rockets went on an amazing 18-3 run to take a 81-70 lead with 1:52 remaining.

It would have been cool if the Rockets could have played good defense through the final 1:52 and hold Minnesota to 3 points overall in the quarter, but then they (e.g. Rafer Alston) started committing stupid fouls and putting Minnesota on the line.

The T-Wolves ended up scoring 17 more points in garbage time to salvage their reputation, but give credit to Houston and their defense. It was a thing of beauty as they forced Minnesota to take bad shots.

Houston was awful in the first half. In the first quarter, the Rockets shot only 35% and trailed 25-16. In the second quarter, both teams shot terribly, with each team shooting 1-of-7 to start the quarter. But that’s when Yao made his move, shooting 4-of-7 from the field. Excluding Yao, the rest of the team shot only 3-of-15.

Except for that fourth quarter stretch where the Rockets clamped down, it was frustrating through the whole game watching lots of boneheaded plays, like missed layups (Keith Bogans, Alston), traveling on the way to an easy layup (David Wesley), throwing dumb passes when they had wide-open layups (Luther Head, among others), and missing 17 free throws!! (28-of-45)

Even with all those mistakes, Yao came through when the Rockets needed him most. He also got help from Alston, who hit 4-of-7 three-pointers. Without those threes, Minnesota would have run away with this game in the first half. Also chipping in was Stromile Swift, who went strong to the hole, finishing with 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting, and playing great D.

Houston is now only 3 games behind the Lakers for that final playoff spot, but they have a tough back-to-back on Wednesday night against Indiana at Toyota Center. The Pacers are in the middle of a pack of teams in the Eastern Conference where only two games separate the fifth team (currently Indiana) and the #8 team.

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 shows great reaction to a loose ball to snatch it away from Portland’s Brian Skinner, then takes it strong to the hole for a score. Yao was incredible again with 32 points and 13 rebounds to overwhelm the Blazers in a 102-84 victory Sunday night. Click here for more photos from the game.

by John

SUNDAY, 3/5/06 - For the past four years, I have waited for the time where stating, “Yao dominated another game” would get old, but I never had reason to say it consistently. I can now.

Yao went off on the Blazers Sunday night in Houston, scoring 32 points and grabbing 13 boards to put away Portland, 102-84.

Surprisingly trailing 40-39 at halftime, the Rockets turned it around in the third quarter when Yao scored 17 points on 5-of-5 shooting from the field (and 7-of-9 from the line) to lead Houston to its highest scoring quarter of the season (37 points).

With those kind of stats, Yao was obviously unstoppable scoring down low with relative ease since Portland’s 7-foot center Joel Pryzbilla was out and their tallest starter was only 6’9”.

Portland’s coach Nate McMillan conceded how difficult it was to stop Yao. “Yao was too much for us,” McMillan said. “We tried doubling him and playing him straight up and he had an answer for whatever we put on him. When we double-teamed, he knocked down his shots.”

Portland’s Darius Miles agreed with McMillan: “(Yao) looked real good tonight. He was patient in the post and did what he had to. Yao is getting better ever year. You can see it.”

Jeff Van Gundy, who has been throwing a lot of compliments Yao’s way lately, had nothing but great things to say again about Yao after the game. Check this out from JVG:

“I think he is the best regular-season center in the NBA now. Some other guys may play better in the playoffs, but he’s the best during the season because he comes to play every night.”

“He’s had many good stretches, it’s just that sometimes we get caught up in the numbers. I look at the whole thing, his pick-and-roll coverage, his transition defense. I think he’s gotten better from his first game in the NBA through now.”

Teammate David Wesley acknowledged the same: “He’s becoming a powerful force inside for us. He’s doing a great job. Yao is becoming that dominating player we really need.”

Yao had the following to say:

“Since I came back (from toe surgery), my body feels the best it has ever felt. And I feel I’m playing my best. It’s a very special feeling right now. I can’t figure out what it is but I’m trying to keep it to the next game and the next game until the end of my career.”

More about the game:

Okay, enough about how great Yao is playing these days. He didn’t get off to that great of a start on Sunday night, going 2-for-10 from the field in the first quarter. But he recovered nicely, going 8-for-11 the rest of the way and making 12-of-15 free throws overall.

In that first quarter while Yao was struggling, T-Mac took over to score 12 points, equaling Portland’s offensive output and giving Houston a 25-12 lead. But their offense was dreadful in the second quarter, shooting 5-for-17 from the field, not scoring over a 5-minute stretch of play, and seeing Portland get back into the game with a 19-4 run.

I was a bit worried that they had let Portland – the team with the worst record in the Western Conference – back into the game and let them hang around. It would have been devastating if the Rockets had let Portland win this game since Houston needs to win as many games possible to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Luckily in that third quarter the Rockets finally got some separation from the Blazers thanks to Yao’s dominance, and took a 76-62 lead into the fourth quarter.

The Rockets didn’t let up in the fourth, staying aggressive and opening up a 92-70 lead at one point. They coasted the rest of the way.

It wasn’t all good news on Sunday, though. T-Mac (18 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals) had to leave the game near the end of the third quarter because of those back spasms again. Man, that’s all the Rockets need. Here they are playing a lot better, still have a chance to get the final playoff spot, and they get another injury. Hopefully it’s not serious, though. We’ll see before a big game Tuesday night in Minnesota, a team also battling the Rockets for that final playoff spot.

But even with Yao playing the way he is, they still won’t have a chance to win that spot unless T-Mac and Yao are in the lineup together for every remaining game left in the season. With the Lakers shocking upset of the Detroit Pistons on Saturday night, the Rockets are still four games behind the Lakers with 22 games remaining. I think the Rockets will have to go 15-7 the rest of the season and finish 42-40 to have a chance to play in the post-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.

Yao contests a shot from Orlando’s Dwight Howard on Sunday afternoon. Yao had another excellent game, scoring 29 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in 34 minutes of play to hold off the Magic 89-84. More analysis of the game is forthcoming late Sunday night. To see more photos from the game, click here.

by John

For those NBA fantasy league managers who have Yao on their roster and were hurt earlier this season when he was out 21 games with his toe injury, surgery, and recovery, I have great news for you. You are now being rewarded for your suffering.

In the four years I have been running this Web site, I don’t think I have ever seen Yao play so well with such consistency.

Yao has had stretches like this previously in his career, only to take a few steps backward. But not this time around, Yao has really hit his stride and is racking up double-doubles consistently.

He had another one Sunday afternoon in Orlando, scoring 29 points (15-of-19 from the line, the most makes and attempts this season by a Rocket) and grabbing 11 boards to lead the Rockets to an 89-84 win. You can honestly say that without Yao in the lineup, the Rockets would be losing most of these games. It used to be that’s what you would say about T-Mac. Don’t get me wrong – T-Mac has been very important, but without Yao, the Rockets would not have won 10 of their last 12 games.

One of the reasons for Yao’s improvement lately is his ability to stay out of foul trouble. Another is his improved conditioning. It also helps he had more of a physical and mental break this past summer without as many commitments to the Chinese national team. Another is that his toe feels a lot better after finally getting it treated.

That was no more evident when he made one of his quickest baseline spin moves this season in the second quarter Sunday, exploding around Tony Battie, leaving him in his wake, then throwing down an authoritative one-handed jam sideways!

But the main reason for Yao’s success has to be his increased confidence after seeing how much his team needed him during his 21-game absence. When you realize your team is better with you in the lineup than not, you tend to play a lot looser and relaxed knowing a mistake or two isn’t going to kill your team.

In the first half against Orlando, Yao scored 11 points on 3-of-5 shooting, giving the Rockets a 44-39 lead. T-Mac was also a stud in the first half, hitting 5-of-10 shots and scoring 14. But the rest of the way, T-Mac struggled, making only 1-of-6 field goals and scoring 5 points.

Yao picked up the slack for T-Mac in the third quarter, scoring 13 points – 7 points coming from the free throw line.

Early in the fourth quarter, the Rockets opened up a 20-point lead (74-54), and it looked like the Rockets were going to cruise to an easy victory. But then Orlando went on a 25-8 run – thanks to lots of free throws – and pulled within three points with 1:21 remaining when Hedot Turkoglu hit a three-pointer from the corner to make it 82-79, Houston.

But an unlikely hero, Juwan Howard (12 points on 6-of-12 shooting), hit a cold-blooded baseline jumper on the following possession to push Houston’s lead to five points and was able to hold on the rest of the way.

I’m not too concerned the Rockets have been blowing big leads lately. If they were leading the Western Conference and were looking to tune every facet of their game for the playoffs, it would be a different story. But the Rockets are just trying to scratch and claw their way into the playoffs, and I will take a ‘W’ any way I can get it.

And with the Lakers losing to Boston by one point Sunday night, the Rockets are now only 3 games behind LA for the 8th and final spot in the Western Conference playoffs. Amazing the Rocket have gotten themselves back into the hunt.

The only problem is that on Monday night at Toyota Center the Rockets play a back-to-back and face the sizzling Phoenix Suns, winners of 6 games in a row and the team that handed the Rockets their worst loss of the season just 10 days ago, 109-75.

Unfortunately, I probably won’t be able to file a report for that game since Monday is my wife’s birthday. For you married guys out there, you know how bad of a move it would be for me to stay home and watch that game versus taking my wife to dinner on such a special day.

If history is any indicator, it won’t matter much that I miss that game since it could be over by the third quarter. But just in case they surprise me, I’m going to record it.

John

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 throws down a two-handed jam in the second quarter Friday night after his patented spin move on the baseline against Golden State’s Troy Murphy. Yao had a monster game, scoring 22 points, grabbing 21 boards and blocking 2 shots to lead the Rockets to a 91-88 victory. To see more photos from the game, click here.

by John

When it was announced that Tracy McGrady wouldn’t be able to play Friday night because of the death of his fiancee’s mother, the Rockets faced a test they had failed 13 times before in a row – trying to win a game without T-Mac in the lineup.

But this team is a little different now, and the Rockets finally got the monkey off their back, beating Golden State 91-88 Friday night at Toyota Center.

Once again, Yao put in a magnificent performance, scoring 22 points, grabbing 21 boards, blocking 2 shots, and committing only 2 fouls in 37 minutes of play.

He started off slow, hitting only 1-of-5 in the first quarter. But he then went on a tear in the second, making 5-of-7 shots to rack up 16 points by halftime and propelling the Rockets to a 52-45 halftime lead.

He scored 4 more points in the third, contributing to a Rockets 76-68 lead heading into the fourth. Unfortunately, he missed all four of his field goal attempts in the final quarter, and the Rockets only shot 5-of-17.

Everyone else struggled, too. The Rockets missed their first 9 shots in the fourth quarter, didn’t score for the first six minutes, and the Warriors capped a 16-0 run to take an 82-76 lead.

But Houston made some big shots to get back into the game and take the lead. Thanks to great defense in the final seconds by Yao on Jason Richardson, who had made 7-of-11 treys in the game, J-Rich’s shot missed badly, and the Rockets held on for a hard-fought 91-88 win.

Give credit to Houston’s defense for holding the Warriors to 9-of-25 shooting in that fourth quarter. Otherwise, a couple of more Golden State field goals, and this could have been a devastating blow to the Rockets attempt to pull within a half game of the Warriors in the scramble for the final playoff spot. That final position, held by the Lakers, is now only 4 games away with 27 games left to play.

I would be negligent if I didn’t give props to Keith Bogans, who played superb in T-Mac’s absence. In the first quarter alone, Bogans scored 9 points on 4-of-5 shooting and grabbed 3 rebounds. He finished with 13 points and 5 rebounds. Not bad, Bogie (not sure if he’s called that, but it sounds good).

And Juwan Howard rebounded from a terrible shooting performance on Wednesday (2-of-11) to match Yao in the points column (22), making all of his free throw attempts (6), and grabbed 8 boards. What a great time to step up in T-Mac’s absence!

Finally, Luther Head had one of his best games in a long time, hitting 3-of-7 treys, scoring 11 points, and dishing out 7 assists – the most assists he has dished in 3 months.

The Rockets next play the Magic in Orlando on Sunday afternoon, this time without Steve Francis, traded a few days ago to the Knicks. We still don’t know if T-Mac will be able to play in that game because of bereavement, but I’ll bet he will play to 1) take his mind off the sadness, and 2) not miss the only game he gets to play in his old team’s arena and stick it to ‘em.

John
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 challenges the Clippers’ Elton Brand Wednesday night at Toyota Center. The Rockets handed the Clippers their fifth loss in a row, winning 106-102. Yao dominated with 29 points, 15 rebounds and two blocks. To see more photos from the game, click here.

by John

WEDNESDAY, 2/22/06 - After losing their worst game of the season against the Phoenix Suns right before the All-Star break, it was going to be interesting to see if the Rockets could put that debacle behind them leading up to their game against the LA Clippers on Wednesday night. It could have been very easy to let that loss affect all of the confidence they had built up winning 7 of their previous 8 games.

Give the Rockets credit for not only coming back with a nice win against the Clippers, but having the strength to fend off a very motivated team that was probably very angry they got blown out 128-97 in their own gym just eight days prior, and had lost four in a row.

The Rockets blew some leads in this game, but I’m not complaining. The Clippers are a very talented team, and they are going to make runs. I’ll take a 106-102 win against them anytime. The Rockets need as many wins as they can get over the remaining 28 games if they are going to hunt down that final playoff spot, which is currently 4 1/2 games above them.

Yao had a monster game, scoring 29 points and grabbing 15 boards. His teammate Tracy McGrady remarked after the game, “Yao has been playing out of his mind lately. Since the guy’s been back, he’s been extremely aggressive, he’s playing with a great deal of confidence.”

T-Mac got himself out of his recent funk, at least for now, scoring 26 points and dishing 5 dimes. He did only hit 9-of-23 from the field, however. Hopefully he meant it after the game when he said about his recent personal problems off the court, “That’s over with. It’s time to move on. We’re not even mentioning that. I’m not going to talk about it.”

The main surprise in the game was the offensive production from David Wesley, who shot an amazing 8-of-10 from the field, including 4-of-6 three-pointers, to score 21 points. Combine Yao, T-Mac, and Wesley’s points, and they scored almost 75% of Houston’s points. Reminds me of “The Big 3″ days of Hakeem, Clyde and Barkley. If this Rockets team goes as far as that team did — the Western Conference championship round — I’ll be extremely happy (and shocked).

Last but not least, Rafer Alston continues to play well, scoring 9 points on 4-of-9 shooting, and doling out 11 assists. No wonder Wesley is playing better these days — Rafer has taken alot of those point guard responsibilities off his shoulders to make him very refreshed.

The Rockets next play on Friday a Golden State team that has been really struggling lately, so that game should be a win for the Rockets (it better be) and their fourth win at home. If they don’t win that game, you can just about write off the rest of this season because there is not much room for error over the remaining 28 games. They have to win every game they are expected to win, and pull off a few upsets to grab that final playoff spot.

John
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 is double-teamed by the Sonics’ Ray Allen and Vitaly Potapenko Thursday night in Seattle. Yao played another great game, scoring 26 points and grabbing 10 rebounds to help Houston win it’s fifth game in a row, 104-98. For more photos from the game, click here.

by John

THURSDAY, 12/15/05 - For the second night in a row, a late game on the West Coast was worth staying up to watch for Rocket fans. Houston came through in a nerve-wracking fourth quarter against Seattle to astonishingly win their 5th straight game (104-98), fourth in a row on their longest road trip of the year, and they now have a rapidly respectable 9-12 record.

It’s strange to say it after having a 4-12 record only a couple of weeks ago, but I think the Rockets are now playing with the same confidence they were last year when they were making their incredible run to the playoffs, and they are doing it without a starting point guard (Rafer Alston) and sharpshooting veteran (Jon Barry). Just a couple of weeks ago they were playing their worst basketball in years. What a difference a McGrady makes!

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Unbelievably on this play involving Golden State’s Baron Davis, Yao is called for a foul. It didn’t matter, though, since the Rockets had an amazing comeback in the fourth quarter to send the game to overtime where they closed out their fourth straight win. Yao led all scorers with one of his best games this season, scoring 30 points on 67% shooting and grabbing 16 boards. For more photos from the game, click here.

by John

WEDNESDAY, 12/14/05 - I was dreading writing this report tonight when the Rockets were down 11 points to Golden State with 4:40 remaining Thursday night. They had played so well in the first half, and everything had looked so promising at halftime for a pretty big upset on the road against a much improved Warriors team.

But the Rockets made an amazing comeback to tie the score at the end of regulation to put the game into overtime, then pulled off one of their most improbable and amazing wins of the young season Wednesday night, shocking the Golden State Warriors to win in overtime 111-105.

NOW I am VERY motivated to write about the details of this game (funny what a win will do, huh?). There’s only one problem: the game ended close to 12:30am Houston time, and I don’t have enough time to provide a normal report. I wish I could have everyone come over to my place and watch a replay of the game on my Tivo because this game had everything. But here’s a short synopsis of some of the highlights.

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‘Reunited and it feels so good.’ Yao and T-Mac play in the same game on Tuesday night for the first time in five games. Both Yao and T-Mac scored 25 points in beating Atlanta, 100-85, to snap their 7-game losing streak. For more photos from the game, click here.

by John

TUESDAY, 11/29/05 - I was ecstatic to hear before the Rockets game against Atlanta that T-Mac would play! It felt like Christmas 26 days early!

After watching McGrady’s impact on the team Tuesday night and seeing his team defeat the Hawks 100-85, it will be fun to watch the Rockets try to dig themselves out of their 3-11 hole (now 4-11). Okay, maybe I’m getting ahead of myself since Atlanta (now 2-11) is not Detroit or San Antonio. It’s still not going to be easy.

It’s amazing the difference that T-Mac made right out of the gate, scoring Houston’s first six points. Since it had been 11 days since his last game action, he had to ask coach Jeff Van Gundy for a break at the 6:16 mark of the first quarter because he was so winded. However, he came back a few minutes later to finish the quarter with 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting, and pushed Houston to a 26-22 lead heading into the second quarter. Can it get any more obvious how valuable he is to this team?

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