COMMENTARY: CEDRIC GOLDEN Yao's toughness mirrors Rockets' fight Can Houston win series against Los Angeles? Yao's play will be the key. Wednesday, May 06, 2009 The sight of Yao Ming crumbling to the floor and grabbing his knee Monday night was the worst-case scenario. Not the visual Houston Rockets fans had hoped to see in Game 1 at Los Angeles. When he tearfully limped off the Staples Center court in the fourth quarter, Houston's goose appeared cooked. Then he came back. The stumbling Lakers quickly found out there would be no goose served in the Western Conference semifinal opener. And certainly no Peking duck. If anything, Yao's Rockets took the plate away and now it's the Lakers simmering in their own juices as today's Game 2 fast approaches. This is not to put Yao in the same category as Willis Reed, who limped onto the court with a severe leg injury in 1970 to inspire the New York Knicks to a Finals win over the Lakers. But since I just mentioned them in the same sentence, let's be clear: Yao pushing past the training staff and returning to the court did provide the impetus the Rockets needed to knock off a team that Houston guard Brent Barry compared to Mount Everest last week. "It was like Rocky coming back out there,'' Coach Rick Adelman said of Yao's return. Indeed it was. And after he scored 12 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter — eight after the injury — it sent a message to the beautiful people over on the other bench: These Rockets aren't as talented as the Lakers, but they're tougher. Grittier. Scrappier. Toughness is the one trait the Rockets have exhibited all season. From losing Tracy McGrady and locker room leader Dikembe Mutombo to injuries, to losing reserve forward Carl Landry after he got shot in a robbery attempt, the Rockets have stayed the course. Then we had Yao coming back from what appeared to a brutal injury two quarters after forward Shane Battier's face sprung a bloody leak when he took a Sasha Vujacic elbow above the left eye in the second quarter. He got stitched up and returned. It's a good mix with Yao and Ron Artest doing most of the heavy lifting. Artest's new Mohawk haircut may be a bad cross between Anthony Mason and Mr. T, but his addition to this team, along with Yao's unwavering consistency, makes the Rockets a sexy dark horse pick in the West. And while I still see the Lakers winning this series, I pity the fool who believes that Monday's 100-92 road win was a stroke of luck. And let's not start comparing Yao to Boston's Paul Pierce, who actually left the court in a wheelchair only to come back minutes later and spur a Celtics win over the Lakers in Game 1 of last year's Finals. Pierce took a real roasting from the Lakers, several NBA commentators and the media. He even made an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel's show — entering the studio in a wheelchair. There were no such shenanigans after Yao bumped knees with Kobe Bryant with less than five minutes left. Basketball players will tell you that when you bump knees with another player, one guy often doesn't feel a thing while the other feels like he just got shot in the leg. Just as quickly, that pain can go away. Luckily for Yao, it did. There's something cool about a big man leaving the court and coming back to lead his team to a win. Yao's return not only paid immediate dividends, but the win gave the Rockets an air of confidence they can take with them into Game 2 and beyond. While Artest is the enforcer, Yao is the talent and this team will go only as far as he can take them. Had he not returned, the Lakers were entirely capable of stealing the game. Ultimately, Yao's play will determine whether Monday's opener was just a mirage or a message that the Lakers are in real trouble. He will have to average between 25 and 30 points if Houston is to win this series. Anything less than that will add up to failure. The playoffs are about superstars raising their games to levels not attainable by lesser players, and Yao was magnificent. He got his 28 on only 17 field goal attempts and 10 free throws, while his counterpart Bryant attempted 32 shots and made three free throws to score his 31 points. As this series heats up, the Rockets have made it clear that they believe in themselves, and better yet, that they are totally unimpressed by the West's top seed. We noticed. So did the Lakers. http://www.statesman.com/sports/con...her/05/06/0506golden.html?cxntlid=inform_artr
I am so happy we have Yao on this team, and am glad that he is finally developing into the leader we need him to be....... Even if the Lakers double him, he creates so much room for others to take advantage, just look at Luis and all those wide open elbow jumpers, those are all due to Yao being double teamed. I just wish every one of our players was as dedicated to the team and winning as big Yao. He is a great addition to the line of centers this storied franchise has been fortunate to have. From Moses, to Sampson, to Hakeem to Yao......we are truly lucky Houston to have seen them all as Houston Rockets. DD PS. Tough is great, but let's get the guy some knee pads already....
Let's hope he can do it again in the game 2,3,4.... Go Yao. Go Rockets. PS: OP, that's a decent artitle to read.
nice article can't agree more with the writter. this series with laker is a chance for yao to distingish himself from star player to hall of fame type player. and i believe this rockets team has a shot at the title becuase their hearts. (which is as important as talents; which people won't be able to see it on paper,but plays a huge role on court.)
Gutty effort last night. Opening up the floor for others, changing shots even if he isnt blocking them, and draining 22 footers like they are layups. Lets see which poison the Lakers pick in game 2.
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jvg - "if you are on the court playing, you're not injured." i was touched by yao's act last night. and i very rarely get touched watching a sports competition. i thank tnt for broadcasting what was going on in that tunnel. it was so natural to yao. and i knew this would be overblown a little by the media, too. what's important to me is, like i've said many times, for yao to be a true leader and elite player in the nba, he needs to play with the same passion and pride he has when he plays for his national team. i've noticed a bit change in yao lately. i saw that same passion in game 6 against the blazers, and i saw a bit of that same passion in game 1 with the lakers. it's not all there yet, but there is change. yao is going there. maybe because now he has no one to defer to. with a $20 mils hole on our roster, yao getting there with the ultimate passion and pride is our only hope of anything meaningful to this team, in yao's tenure with the rockets.
That's plain ignorant. We beat the Blazers not because of Yao's dominance but the balanced offense that benefits from the double-team against Yao. Scola, Yao, Artest, Brooks, Landry, Wafer and Lowry all stepped up at different times to get things done. I expect the same trend if we are going to beat the Lakers. Yao averaging 25 would be nice but it's not the necessary condition to win this series.
that's because yao always think himself as Tmac's "pippen". And I am sure now yao wants to prove for himself after so many round 1 denies,tons of media bashing.
There is a reaon I love Yao. I just cant understand or comprehend the hate and the ridicule on him. Who knows 4-0 rockets this series. I can dream it and feel its not even one.
"Andrew Bynum vs Yao Ming I feel pretty comfortable with this match-up. Andrew plays much better against big, tall C`s. He has more athleticism than Yao and can beat him down the court in transition. We have to look to push the basketball and pick and roll with Bynum, exposing the weaknesses in Yao`s game. Easier said than done, of course. Gasol will also see a lot of time on Yao, and he`s defended him extremely well this season. He uses smart post defense, gets a lot of steals and tips off gambling. Pau also likes to pull the chair against Yao Ming and he usually falls for it. We need Drew to play with confidence and look to attack Yao on both ends. "
I think we may need to rest Yao a bit more tonight. It was clearly visible how he was struggling at both ends of the court in the early to mid 4th quarter of game one. Unfortunately we don't have a quality backup at center, but we need to have a fresher Yao in the 4th quarter tonight compared to in game 1. Really it was only after he came back from the knee bump that he played well in the 4th
