Yao Ming has been injured before and it was during the season before the Olympics and Yao had to take time off and get prepared for the Olympics. In fact, this is the 5th season in a row that Yao has had some sort of foot injury. This creates a problem for Houston.

From the outside looking in, it appears that Houston plays better with Ming in the lineup and McGrady in the lineup, they play more inspired with McGrady out of the lineup, and play the worst with Ming out of the lineup. Yet they are not a great playoff threat even with two all star caliber players. Something is wrong with the mix.

Should Houston put up with the latest injury and hold on to a Yao in hopes that he will be permanently cured?

How long will Yao Ming remain a Rocket?

Yao has announced his intentions.

“After much thought and reflection, I have decided to have surgery on my left foot,” Yao said in a statement. “This surgery will allow me to continue my career playing basketball, and I look forward to returning to the court. I would like to thank everyone who sent me their best wishes. I am very grateful to have the support of teammates, friends and fans as I dedicate myself to making a completely successful recovery.”

Though the surgery to repair the injury is expected to differ from his previous surgery, in which pins were inserted to strengthen the bone, the procedure to alter the operation of his foot is similar to the surgery performed on Cleveland Cavaliers center Zydrunas Ilgauskas in 2001. Ilgauskas, 7-3, also broke the navicular bone in his left foot in consecutive seasons, but he has not had a recurrence of the foot problems that at the time threatened his career. He has averaged 74.5 games per season in the eight seasons since.
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So now Yao can be healed, maybe not be troubled with foot injuries again in his career, but will have to sit out a year. What would you do if you were the Rockets management? Is it time to trade Yao, we know Cleveland with part Chinese ownership, is interested. Is it time to trade McGrady as well and go in a new direction?

Yao has been a pro for 7 years and McGrady for 12, but Yao will be 29 this fall and McGrady 30, their trade value will never be higher.

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A team posing as the Houston Rockets showed up at the Forum for a game 7. It was a testament to fortitude that the Rockets were still in this series at all. Just who were these Rockets, anyway? They were led by Scola and Brooks in scoring.

Who?

You know, Scola and Brooks. Oh, you were probably wondering about that Yao guy and the one named McGrady. Those two were not seen at the scene. It was more up to Battier and Artest. My thoughts exactly, do you want to trust your playoff fortunes to Battier and Artest?

Pau Gasol in the 3 man jumping drill

It did not matter as Pau Gasol and half of Hollywood led the Lakers to a huge 51 – 31 advantage at half and then just coasted to victory. Pau had 21 points and 18 rebounds. Kobe had a slightly off day with 14 points.

With Gasol scoring 21 points and grabbing 18 rebounds, the Lakers looked like the conference’s top-seeded team, not the maddeningly inconsistent one that was pushed to the decisive final game by the undermanned Rockets.

The Lakers dominated the paint on both ends, forcing the Rockets into turnovers and bad shots, and owning the backboards. They had an 8-0 lead a few minutes in and widened it to 25 points on Gasol’s jump hook shortly before halftime.

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Now the Nuggets and Chauncey Billups come into tinsel town on Tuesday. Stay tuned.
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Post from: NBA Obsessed

The Houston Rockets took a half game lead in the Southwest Division and a two game lead in the win column over the San Antonio Spurs.

Houston 87 San Antonio 85

Ok, tell the truth, when asked about the Spurs, Rockets, Hornets, and Mavericks going into this season, just how much time did you spend bragging up the Rockets? Tell the truth.

Yao Ming wills the Rockets to victory over the Spurs

There might not have been a better way to move past the Spurs and into first place in the division, than the Rockets found on Sunday, running two plays in the last half minute to layups and stopping Tony Parker’s attempt for the lead in the final seconds to shock the Spurs, 87-85, Sunday at AT&T Center.

With the Spurs leading in the last minute, the Rockets twice ran high screens with Yao Ming, forcing the Spurs to rotate so that Yao could fire passes inside to Luis Scola for layups, the second with 11.2 seconds left for a one-point Houston lead.

“I just cut down the lane,” Scola, who had 19 points and 17 rebounds. “I was wide open both times.”

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Post from: NBA Obsessed