Yao, hot Rockets face lowly Timberwolves

HOUSTON (Ticker) -- The return of All-Star Tracy McGrady could be icing on the cake for Yao Ming and the red-hot Houston Rockets.Yao and the Rockets seek their fifth straight win when they host the struggling Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday.Houston defeated New York, 101-92, on Wednesday for its season-best fourth consecutive victory.Yao scored a season-high 36 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and added two blocks for the Rockets, who will likely see the return of McGrady when they open a five-game homestand Friday.McGrady has missed eight games due to strained tendons, tendinitis and a bone bruise in his left knee."I'd love to see him come back on Friday, but it's really going to be up to the medical people and Tracy as far as how he works out, how he feels before we get him back on the floor," Rockets coach Rick Adelman said.The Rockets have not really missed the seven-time All-Star, going 6-2 in his absence.Minnesota earned just its fifth win of the season, beating Miami, 101-91, on Tuesday.Rashad McCants scored 27 points and Al Jefferson had his fifth straight double-double with 18 and 10 boards.The Timberwolves, who have not won consecutive games this season, will try to stop a two-game losing streak to the Rockets.

Yao Ming: Why isn't Patrick Ewing working for Knicks?

Count Yao Ming among those who don't understand why Patrick Ewing isn't working for the Knicks.
"It's hard to believe," Yao said. "But hey, Hakeem (Olajuwon) doesn't work for the Rockets right now. He taught me some things over the summer. But it's not like Patrick because Patrick wants to be a coach."
Yao and Ewing worked closely together for three seasons in Houston. Yao credits Ewing and Celtics assistant Tom Thibodeau for helping his develop into one of the NBA's elite big men.
"Patrick was able to teach me a lot," Yao says. "He's been very good for my career."
Ewing, who is an assistant coach with the Orlando Magic, has also worked for Washington, Houston and NBA TV since retiring as a player. He has expressed a desire to return to the Knicks, but the club has never offered him a coaching position.
When asked if Eddy Curry could benefit from working with Ewing, Yao said: "Look at me. He helped me. Look at Dwight Howard and the all the improvement he's made."
KNICK OF TIME: Nate Robinson scored 16 points, all through three quarters, including a three-pointer over Yao at the first-half buzzer. Last year, Robinson produced one of the top highlights of the season by blocking a Yao shot.
Stephon Marbury beat the first-quarter buzzer with a layup. Marbury finished with 15 points, six assists and three turnovers, and was 2-for-5 from the foul line.
Jamal Crawford led the Knicks with 21 points.
TOUCHY SUBJECT: In yesterday's installment of "Isiah Says the Craziest Things," the Knicks coach was asked if any of his players is untouchable.
"They're all untouchable," Isiah Thomas said before last night's game. After three seconds of dead silence, a media-relations official stopped the Q&A with reporters by saying "Thanks, Isiah."
And yet, moments earlier, Thomas said that the Knicks "have their ears to the ground" when it comes to trade talks.
"We're aware of players that are available and players that are not available," he said.

Yao's big night - Houston newspaper

WASHINGTON - Houston Chronicle Thursday highly praised Chinese basketball player Yao Ming, saying that Yao's big night led the Houston Rockets to fourth straight victory.

Houston Rockets Yao Ming, of China, reacts after dunking the ball during first half basketball action against the New York Knicks, Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2008 in New York. [Agencies]
There were poster-quality dunks, jump hooks, rebounds and putbacks and there were swarms of defenders rushing to guard him and failing on Wednesday when the Rockets pulled away for a 101-92 win over the New York Knicks on the road, according to the newspaper.
"With the Madison Square Garden crowd cheering him nearly as vehemently as they booed New York coach Isiah Thomas, Yao Ming was at his most dominant Wednesday," said the report, "When the Knicks twisted their defensive knots around Yao, every Rockets player on the floor also scored."
"We wanted to go to him whenever we had the opportunity," Rockets coach Rick Adelman said after Yao scored a season-high 36 points and added 11 rebounds. "We didn't think they had anybody who could guard him."
"I don't think there are too many people on this planet that can guard Yao Ming," Rockets forward Shane Battier said. "When he is single-teamed, we tell him to shoot the ball every time because it's the best shot we can get. If we can get consistency in that other scoring option, we'll be a tougher team to beat."

Career with the Sharks

Yao was prevented from going to the senior Sharks team because he broke his foot while on the junior team. When he joined the team a year later, he averaged 10 points and 8 rebounds a game in his rookie season. The next year, he broke his foot again, which Yao says decreased his jumping ability by 4 to 6 inches.[4]
The Sharks made the finals of the CBA in Yao Ming’s third season and again the next year, but lost both times to the Bayi Rockets. When Wang Zhizhi left for the NBA the following year, the Sharks finally won their first championship. During the playoffs in his final year, Yao Ming averaged 38.9 points and 20.2 rebounds a game, while shooting 76.6% from the field,[5] and made all 21 of his shots during one game in the finals.[6]
Yao Ming was initially pressured to enter the NBA draft in 1999 by Li Yaomin, the deputy general manager of the Shanghai Sharks.[7] Li also pressured Yao into signing a contract with Evergreen Sports Inc., which stated that Yao would have to give Evergreen 33% of his earnings.[7] However, Yao quickly terminated the contract after it was determined invalid.[2] Despite the pressure of entering the draft, becoming an NBA player had always been Yao's dream.[8] When Yao Ming decided to enter the 2002 NBA draft, a team of advisors was formed that was collectively dubbed “Team Yao”.[2] The team consisted of Yao’s negotiator, Erik Zhang, his NBA agent, Bill Duffy, his Chinese agent, Lu Hao, a professor at the University of Chicago, John Huizinga, his trainer, Chris Moning, and Bill Sanders, the vice president for marketing at BDA Sports Management, the company that Duffy started.[9] After Yao's intentions were announced, scouting reports began raving about his shot-blocking, passing, and agility. Some even said that his upside was so tremendous that being selected first overall was virtually guaranteed.[8] Another draft profile called him "the best and most dominant player in China."[10] However, some teams were concerned about Yao's NBA eligibility due to uncertainty over whether the Chinese Basketball Association would let Yao play in the United States, or keep him for lesser-known tournaments in China.[11] One week prior to the draft, the Shanghai Sharks, Yao's former team, worked out a deal with the NBA, stating that they would let Yao play in the U.S. as long as he was drafted by a team that could contend in 2-3 years.[12] On draft night, the Rockets picked Yao, who became the first player without any American basketball experience to be selected first overall.[13]

Yao, Head, Alston lead Rockets past Wizards 92-84 for 3rd straight win

Yao Ming scored 21 points, grabbed nine rebounds and dished out four assists as the Houston Rockets beat the Washington Wizards, 92-84. Houston were playing without Tracy McGrady for their seventh game.

Houston Rockets' Luther Head, right, shoots and collides withteammate Yao Ming of China as Yao is pushed towards head by Washington Wizards' center Brendan Haywood, left, during the first half of their NBA basketball game, Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2008, in Washington.(AP photo)

The strategy of Yao Ming as center and open shots for others proved to work out well. Luther Head scored 24 points overall in this match. It was 31-24 going into the second period, but Washington made it 45-43.
Then Yao Ming's hook shot launched the Rockets 9-points ahead at half time. Houston didn't give up their momentum, extending their lead to double digits in the second half. They held on for their third win in a row.

NBA questions: Yao Ming or Dwight Howard?

Questions to ponder while wondering how much milk could be poured into one of Yao Ming's size 18 high-tops (at least a quart, don't you think?):
Who would you rather have, Yao or Dwight Howard?
Gotta be Yao. The size difference is just too great. Yao is 7-6, 310 or so. Howard 6-11, 270ish. That's 7 inches and 40 pounds. That's like the difference between a 6-2, 170-pound guard and a 6-9, 210-pound forward except Yao and Howard play the same position. Yao is no Shawn Bradley, either. He is a skilled offensive player, 85 percent free-throw shooter and a huge presence on defense.
In their matchup Friday night in Orlando, a two-point game won by the Rockets, size clearly won out. Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said afterwards that Howard did a nice job of attacking Yao early, but didn't get any calls. Yao was able to move his feet well enough to make Howard's angles difficult on his 5-foot baby hooks, and that set the tone for a subpar outing. Howard went 2-for-5 with two rebounds in the first quarter and never really got off. On the other end, Howard could not defend Yao's turnaround, and Yao went for 12 pounds and eight boards in the first 12 minutes.
Both players got in foul trouble in the second quarter -- Howard picked up one helping on Bonzi Wells and another during a silly skirmish with Chucky Atkins that resulted in a double foul and Howard sitting out the final three minutes of the half.
Both also spent the better part of the third quarter in foul trouble, and Howard eventually fouled out in the final minute of the game. His final line: 16 points on 5-of-11 shooting, eight rebounds, three steals and one block. Yao went for 26 points on 10-of-18 shooting, 10 rebounds and four turnovers, no blocks.
The age difference would seem to favor Howard. He just turned 22, and is five years younger than Yao. Remember Yao at 22? He was a rookie being dogged by enormous expectations and a fair amount of criticism. Well, he's averaged more than 20 points and 10 rebounds over the past three seasons. Most teams will take that kind of softness. Howard always has been a better rebounder than Yao but this is Howard's first season averaging 20 points. It won't be his last. But in five years, Howard still will be 6-11 and Yao still will be 7-6.
What did we learn from Round 2 of Pistons-Celtics?
That Glen "Big Baby" Davis has learned to absorb contact and still score underneath the basket, that Jason Maxiell is a force off the bench, that Kevin Garnett is the leading candidate for MVP and the Celtics are going to be No. 1 in the power polls for quite a while.
Well, let's reconsider that last one. If the Pistons win both ends of a back-to-back against the Mavericks and Spurs this week and the Celtics somehow lose to the Bobcats at home on Wednesday, the Pistons may stay at the top. But the odds of all that happening are about the same as Yao fitting into a pair of size 10s.
By the way, the Celtics still have 12 wins to go to match the Bulls' 41-3 start, but the schedule should not be a huge hindrance. Between now and February, the Celtics play only five games on the road -- and they're all against East teams that aren't named Pistons. The home schedule, however, includes dates against the Mavs and Blazers (Five weeks ago, who would have thought the Blazers would be a challenge on anyone's schedule, much less a team such as the Celtics?).
Who's No. 3 in the East?
The Magic has the third-best record but they're not even .500 at home and no way they're staying 10 games over .500 on the road. The Cavaliers are a threat as long as LeBron James is on the court, but I'm not buying his claim that his team is better this season than last simply because he has improved. The Raptors and Hawks still are too young. That leaves the Nets, and they're starting to roll. Richard Jefferson is having a career season, Vince Carter has avoided serious injury and Jason Kidd has put his issues aside and is playing like a Hall of Famer. You should have seen him against the Magic last week. He took over defending 6-10 Hedo Turkoglu in the final minutes and simply overmatched him, not even allowing Turkoglu to get off a last-second shot with the Magic trailing by two points. Kidd already has nine triple doubles this season, two fewer than the rest of the league combined.
Have you checked out Chris Bosh's 'vote for me' video?
It's funny enough to earn Bosh some votes. It's accurate enough to make you think Bosh watched a lot of late-night TV growing up in Texas. It's refreshing to see one of the game's rising stars so willing to admit how important being an All-Star starter would be. Unfortunately, it's not going to do Bosh much good since he plays the same position as the two leading vote-getters, Kevin Garnett and LeBron James. Bosh still will be in New Orleans, though, because of his play on the court and not his performance off it.

Yao Ming scores 30 points and Rockets beat Knicks 103-91 without McGrady

HOUSTON - Aaron Brooks grew up about a mile from Nate Robinson in Seattle and the two diminutive guards were college rivals, when Brooks played for Oregon and Robinson played at Washington.
Both shined in their first professional matchup on Saturday night and Brooks' team claimed the victory.
Brooks scored a career-high 22 points, Yao Ming added 30 and the Houston Rockets beat the New York Knicks 103-91, their fourth win in six games without Tracy McGrady.
Robinson matched a season high with 25 points for the Knicks, who've dropped seven games in a row and 13 of 14 on the road this season.
"We're competitive. We've always been competitive," said Brooks, the 26th overall pick in last year's draft. "I hit the first shot and I just got comfortable."
Robinson went 9-for-13 from the field and had three assists before fouling out.
"I play against Aaron all the time," Robinson said. "I've always known he can play the game. It's fun watching his career grow."
McGrady has been out since Dec. 23 because of strained tendons, tendinitis and a bone bruise in his left knee. Before Saturday's game, team doctor Tom Clanton said McGrady would probably miss another week and be re-evaluated before the team's next homestand, which begins on Jan. 11.
Brooks looked like a dependable alternative, hitting four three-pointers and going 8-for-10 from the field.
"He's an amazing player," said Yao. "Everybody knows he has speed, good skill and very strong confidence. Everybody knew one day, he would play like (he did) tonight. We didn't know which day. But one day."
Yao also had eight rebounds and six assists, outplaying Knicks centre Eddy Curry. The six-foot-11 Curry had 16 points and six rebounds.
"He is so big and extremely long that you have to make your best move on him or he will block your shot," Curry said. "He is a tough guy to guard out there."
The Rockets led 55-42 at halftime and Curry came out aggressively after the break, scoring twice inside and getting to the line for two free throws. But Curry went to the bench later in the quarter and Yao took advantage, scoring four straight baskets as Houston stretched the lead to 73-56.
Robinson hit two free throws and another three-pointer as the Knicks closed the gap to 10 heading to the fourth quarter. David Lee dunked and split two free throws to pull New York to 79-72.
Yao scored again and Brooks corralled a loose ball and drove for a layup to push the lead back into double-digits. Brooks scored on two quick drives to the basket later in the final quarter to preserve the Rockets' comfortable lead.
"I'm learning," Brooks said. "I'm not where I want to be, but I'm far from where I was at."
Zach Randolph scored 18 points and grabbed a career-high 22 rebounds for the Knicks.
The Rockets got a valuable cameo appearance from Dikembe Mutombo, who came in after Yao picked up his second foul with 5:15 left in the first quarter. The 41-year-old Mutombo, who had played only 93 minutes all season before Saturday, promptly blocked two shots that triggered two Houston fast breaks.
With Mutombo in, the Rockets finished the opening quarter with a 14-4 run. Houston led 31-17 when Yao returned with 10:07 left in the first half. The Knicks missed 12 of their first 20 shots and had seven turnovers in the first 14 minutes.
The Rockets also shredded New York's defence early, with Yao passing out of double-teams to wide-open teammates. Midway through the second quarter, Houston was shooting 61 per cent (17 of 28) with 10 assists and led 43-23. It was the 13th time in 27 games the Knicks have trailed by 20 points or more.
Jamal Crawford started for New York after spraining his left shoulder in the third quarter of Friday's 97-93 loss to San Antonio. Crawford scored nine points in 41 minutes of action.
Notes: Knicks F Quentin Richardson bruised his left thigh in the first half and did not return. ... Randolph has 16 double-doubles this season. ... Rockets G Steve Francis, who played for the Knicks last season, sat out for the 10th straight game. He caught the flu in late December and now has quadriceps tendinitis in both legs. Francis greeted Knicks coach Isiah Thomas before the game. ... Buffalo Bills tight end Kevin Everett, who suffered a life-threatening spinal injury in a Sept. 9 game, had a courtside seat. Everett grew up in Port Arthur, Texas, about 120 kilometres from Houston.