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.
source

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.

Photo source Newscom

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Houston has McGrady go down to injury.
Detroit has Iverson go down to injury.

Enter stage left…Ron Artest.
Enter stage right…Rip Hamilton.

It is the Rip and Ron show. Together they return. Separately they drive their teams to new heights.

Yes, Houston, we have a winner and it is delivered by Ron Artest.
Yes, Detroit, we can beat the Boston’s and Orlando’s as long as we have a big time performance from Rip Hamilton.

Ron Artest?

When the Houston Rockets acquired Ron Artest, you read in this space that he was brought in as a replacement for Tracy McGrady, not as a complementary piece. I wrote that at the time because I believed that Artest was the perfect fit for the Rick Adelman system – a fit that McGrady could never be. Adelman knew that, he communicated it, and GM Daryl Morey made it happen.

source

Rip Hamilton?

The Pistons are 2-0 since a back injury took Iverson out of the rotation, and those two wins came over two of the top teams in the Eastern Conference: Orlando and Boston. Hamilton recorded 31 points (11-18FG) and six assists against Orlando, followed by 25 points, nine assists, and six rebounds against Boston. The chemistry that’s been missing is back, and it’s no coincidence that it’s returned as Iverson sits.

source

Oh, by the way, the Nuggets came into Detroit tonight and Chauncey Billups put up plenty of daggers for 34 big ones, but Rip had 21 and the Pistons won the game.

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The trade rumor mill is cranked up and some of them are just outstanding. The silly part is they may all come true, because while you are still harping on the Pistons for trading All Star Chauncey Billups for AI, GM Joe D only took him for a free tryout, increased attendance, and a salary of 22 mill that comes off the books. In other words, you don’t know why a team trades for a player.

This rumor you have to love just for the shear unbelievableness. Is that a word? If not, it should be just for this case and this case alone.

Anyway, it looks like the final straw for the little 3 in New Jersey of Kidd, Jefferson, and Carter. Vince was the last one left.

Vince Carter to the Rockets. How messed up can you get? You have body breaking down Yao, gotta have the ball and never will win a playoff Tracey McGrady, and never going to move to Detroit Ron Artest. Now you want to add, gotta also have the ball and never going to win the playoffs Vince Carter to that lineup?

The Nets and Rockets have exchanged trade proposals and continue to talk, according to league sources and sources close to the Nets. One scenario has Carter and Josh Boone going to Houston for Ron Artest, Carl Landry and Luther Head.

source

If the trade does go through then Ron Artest would be shipped out of town and head back to New Jersey. Why do some teams just think individual talent will win games?

(This story was posted in Hoopsworld)

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Tracy McGrady and Joe Smith playing the little known sport of basketball wrestling

Are the Rockets the most screwed up team in basketball or destined to win the championship?

Huh?

Yeah, you heard me, are they screwed up or going to be winners? Or maybe is it winners or whiners?

And now we get the news that T-Mac is hurt again, both the shoulder and the knee.

“My knee is about 75, 80 percent right now,” McGrady, 29, said. “It took longer than expected. I was expecting to recover 100 percent in four months, but e_SLps the doctor told me it would be six months or even more. My shoulder had, after surgery, kept bothering me. I had another MRI and discovered I have arthritis in there, so I have to have surgery again on my shoulder. That’s something I have to deal with again this season, but my knee should be ready by opening night (Oct. 29).”

source

NBA Tracy McGrady factoid – What did T-Mac lead the team in last year? Assists. Surprised? So was your intrepid author.

So Tracy McGrady is going to play with nagging injuries all year and Yao Ming has missed tons of games (over 80) in the last 3 years and then you add Ron Artest to the mix?

So what does Tracy think of Ron Artest?

McGrady said after last season that the Rockets needed one more player to get over the hump. Hello, Ron Artest, whom McGrady described Monday as a godsend and a beast.

“I’ve been waiting for this for a while,” McGrady said. “I know I get criticized a lot for not leading my team out of the playoffs, but it’s hard. When you don’t have those pieces you need to elevate you to the next level, it’s hard. I don’t care how good a player is; it’s really hard.

“If you don’t have that, it’s tough. Now, I have that. We’ll see what happens.”

source

This team should be loads of fun as they either self destruct or bring destruction on the other teams.

Photo source Newscom

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Here Ron Artest thinks he is a Rocket already and leans into take off position

It does not take a rocket scientist to tell if Ron Artest at his best will improve the Houston Rockets. He will.

Artest wanted to be reunited with Coach Rick Adelman. Rick was his coach in Sacramento when Ron started playing there.

So the trade was made…

A source close to the Kings said Tuesday a trade has been agreed upon sending Ron Artest to Houston for former Sacramento point guard Bobby Jackson, first-round draft pick Donte Greene, next season’s first-round pick and cash considerations of approximately $1 million.

source

Like a lot of NBA trades, one team is clearing out the trash or reducing salary cap or trying to get younger while the other team is picking up an aging NBA star. That is what we will call Ron Artest, an aging NBA star. Please don’t snicker.

The other NBA teams will have to perk up and pay attention to the Rockets. With Tracy McGrady, Yao Ming, and Ron Artest in the starting lineup, the Houston Rockets will be a team to contend with in the playoffs. That is right, the playoffs.

Now that brash prediction does not hold if Ron Artest once again self destructs.

To keep Ron from self destructing will be Coach Rick Adelman’s job.

When Artest, a mercurial small forward, was traded to the Kings from Indiana in January 2006, he flourished under Adelman. The Kings went 26-14 down the stretch with Artest after starting 18-24, then pushed the eventual NBA champion San Antonio Spurs to six games in a competitive first-round playoff series.

As recently as this summer, Artest had shared his admiration for Adelman, saying he wished his free-agency year had come that season because of his ability to play well under the veteran coach. It is an ideal reunion for Artest, who decided not to opt out of his contract by the June 30 deadline and almost immediately expressed regret for doing so.

By the way, Donte Green, the 6′10″ forward going to Sacramento, appears to have a bright future as a scoring forward. We will have to keep our eyes on his career.

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Joe Dumars opened the doors to all trade offers. The Pistons are slightly over the salary cap, so a trade of one of their veteran starters appears to be very doable.

So what are the rumors?

The two strongest deal with the Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets.

Tracy McGrady can’t believe he could go to a winning team like the Pistons!

Image details: Utah Jazz v Houston Rockets, Game 2 served by picapp.com

Houston Rockets

Let’s start with the Rockets. Tracy McGrady said he wanted to win, so going to the Pistons would be fine with him. Let’s be clear though, Tracy was just speaking off handedly, he has no problem returning to the Rockets to play with Yao Ming.

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith reported on ESPN late Tuesday night that he spoke with McGrady and that McGrady wouldn’t mind a trade to Detroit.

Said Smith: “It’s certainly not a done deal by any stretch of the imagination. It’s not as if Houston and Detroit has even talked yet. But is Detroit interested? Definitely.

“Is Tracy McGrady interested? Yes he is. I spoke to Tracy McGrady earlier. His basic thing is he’s very happy in Houston but he wants to win. So whatever is a winning situation for him is something he is more than willing to entertain.”

source

Golden State Warriors

The other deal being talked about is picking up the Golden State Warriors center Andris Biedrins. This could happen if Ronny Turief does end up with Golden State. The deal would involve Chauncey Billups.

The 6-11 Biedrins was the No. 11 overall pick in 2004. The 22-year-old started 59 of 76 games last season, averaging 10.5 points, 9.8 rebounds and 1.24 blocks, shooting 62.6 percent from the floor.

The Warriors might be willing to make a trade once their deal for Ronny Turiaf has been completed. Golden State made a four-year, $17 million offer to the restricted free agent Turiaf of the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers have until Thursday to match the offer or they will lose Turiaf, a 6-foot-10 forward who averaged 6.6 points and 3.9 rebounds per game last season.
source

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Don’t look now, but guess who is fighting their way to the top of the Western Conference?

Yeah, the San Antonio Spurs!

The Spurs and Tim Duncan just put together victory number 7 in a row.

San Antonio 109 Houston Rockets 88

It was not too long ago that we could not stop talking about the Houston Rockets and Tracy McGrady, and before that the Los Angeles Lakers and Kobe Bryant (who put up another 50+ game in a loss over the weekend), in the ever changing Western Conference.

Don’t look the other way or Tim Duncan and the Spurs will pass you in the standings

Every game matters now as teams wrangle for playoff position or just to be in the playoffs.

Check out these standings. The Spurs trail only Chris Paul and the New Orleans Hornets.

Western Conference
Team GB
1. * New Orleans —
2. San Antonio -0.5
3. Phoenix 1.0
4. Houston 1.0
5. * LA Lakers 1.0
6. * Utah 2.5
7. Dallas 4.5
8. Denver 5.0
9. Golden State 5.5

source

Tomorrow the whole list could change, but the Spurs are looking good today!

NBA Basketball Fan Question Is this the best NBA Conference race ever?

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Dirk Nowitzki will know more Monday, while Dallas holds their breath

This seems to be an almost impossible scenario.

Who would have thought that Dallas could miss the NBA Playoffs? Dirk Nowitzki hurt his leg in a loss to the Spurs and Tim Duncan. Check out these standings with Dallas way down the list. Only 8 teams make the playoffs. Dallas has lost 3 in a row.

Western Conference
Team GB
1. * LA Lakers —
2. * New Orleans 0.5
3. Phoenix 1.0
4. * Utah 3.0
5. Houston 1.5
6. San Antonio 1.5
7. Dallas 4.5
8. Golden State 5.5
9. Denver 6.5

source

You need more evidence?

How about the Jason Kidd trade?

Dallas hasn’t beaten a winning team since Jason Kidd arrived. The Mavs are 0-8, including their last three, all at home. They were 29-4 at home—without losing as many as two in a row—before falling to the Lakers, Celtics and now the Spurs.

Dallas is fourth in their own division trailing New Orleans and Chris Paul, the surprising Tracy McGrady Rockets, and the surging Tim Duncan Spurs.

Mark Cuban must be going out of his mind.

NBA Basketball Fan Question Will Dallas make the playoffs?

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Kevin Garnett played with a shrunken head while beating the Houston Rockets

Ouch.

Boston Celtics 94 Houston Rockets 74

Win streak stopped out at 22.

You lose 1 game and the talk comes out.

“See, told you so”.

Well, have to admit, the Houston Rocket fans almost had me. Your intrepid author was here to write that the Rockets were invincible. Hey, beat Boston, the best team in basketball this year, and add in the fact it would have been victory number 23 in a row and that makes you the best team, doesn’t it?

Ahh, you had me fooled. You guys aren’t that good. You just lost to the best team in basketball, come on.

Wait, aren’t you supposed to lose to the best team, even if you are the second best team? Uhh, hold on, your intrepid author is thinking.

The Rockets hadn’t lost since a 97-89 defeat to Utah on Jan. 27 and put together the NBA’s second-longest winning streak. It ended 11 victories shy of the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers, who won 33 in a row.

It was only Houston’s second loss in 28 games and its fourth since a 97-93 loss in Boston on Jan. 2, a game Tracy McGrady sat out with a knee injury. The Rockets also lost for the first time in 11 games since Yao Ming went out with a season-ending foot injury on Feb. 26. source

Hey, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce combined for 42 points and that was all she wrote. Tracy McGrady had an off night of 8 points and that did not help.

Win Streaks

Houston is not without their win streaks. Even after this loss.

The Rockets still have one more streak to protect – they’ll go for their 13th straight road win in New Orleans on Wednesday night.

And then there is the battle with the Los Angeles Kobe Bryant Lakers for first place in the Western Conference standings.

Houston beat the Lakers on Sunday to take over sole possession of first place in the Western Conference and set up Tuesday’s showdown between conference leaders.

It all came unraveled in the 3rd quarter of the game.

McGrady missed a jumper in the final seconds of the third quarter and Battier was there for the rebound, but tipped it right to James Posey, who started a fast break the other way.

The Celtics outscored Houston 32-16 in the third quarter and built a 72-56 lead, the largest deficit the Rockets had faced since Boston had them down 20 in their first meeting. Houston went 7-for-16 from the field with six turnovers in the decisive quarter.

Oh, well, maybe the Rockets can right the ship and start winning, who knows.

NBA Basketball Fan Question Isn’t the 22 game Houston win streak amazing?

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Kobe Bryant takes aim at the Houston Rockets and Tracy McGrady

In a dream winning streak by an inspired team, the detractors will speak loudly again.

The Rockets are playing no one.

Recently they faced the Dallas Mavericks while Dirk Nowitzki sat out the game with a suspension.

Now they face the Lakers without Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol.

Gasol injured his left ankle during Friday’s first quarter in New Orleans. An MRI taken Saturday in Houston revealed a moderate sprain. He will be re-evaluated in a few days to determine a more definitive timetable for his return.

The Lakers, who also still are awaiting the return of injured center Andrew Bynum, likely will start Ronny Turiaf in Gasol’s place. source

How lucky can you get?

Well, evidently pretty lucky and you still have to win them.

Kobe would love to tag the Rockets with a loss, before the Rockets upcoming tough games.

The Rockets have won 21 consecutive games, the second-most in league history, but start their toughest stretch of the season Sunday. After the Boston Celtics visit Tuesday, Houston takes to the road to face the New Orleans Hornets, Golden State Warriors and Phoenix Suns.

Bryant credited the Rockets for their winning streak but said it “means nothing to me.” McGrady isn’t so sure.

“I know Kobe,” McGrady said. “I know that’s where his head is. In his head he’s thinking, ‘If it’s going to end, it’s going to end with me.’ He’s a fierce competitor. That’s just who he is.”

This will be the 3:30 EDT game on ABC. It follows the 1:00 Detroit Pistons Chauncey Billups vs. Chris Paul of the New Orleans Hornets game also on ABC.

NBA Basketball Fan Question Will you be rooting for Tracy McGrady?

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