[CBS-Sportsline.com] Yao Key to Reversing Rockets' Reversal

[size=2.5]Yao Key to Reversing Rockets' Reversal[/size]

[size=1.5]Feb 28, 2005
By Tony Mejia
Sportsline.com Staff Writer[/size]

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The All-Star break was a welcome sight for most, but Houston's camp wasn't enthused. The Rockets had rattled off eight consecutive victories, the last by 30 points over Washington, and there was no team hotter. Tracy McGrady admitted the pause could interrupt the team's momentum. Those fears were well-founded.


Houston has yet to win in the season's second half, dropping to 0-3 after Sunday's home loss to Utah. Don't blame it on momentum, though. The difference between the Rockets' previous strong play and their current inability to win centers on the absence of underrated guard Bob Sura and the domino effect it has created.

Sura came out of the break with a sore back and was put on IR, leaving a huge hole in the energy department. When healthy, he has been a consistent spark for the Rockets, doing all the little things that typically go unnoticed. Getting a hand on a pass here, saving a ball from going out of bounds there, Sura made a difference. He facilitated ball movement very well and crashed the glass to a tune of six rebounds per game, one of the higher averages for guards in the league.

Without him, the Rockets have lacked energy and toughness and been victimized on the boards. The acquisition of Mike James from Milwaukee should help aid the energy -- he's already playing major minutes -- but the defensive-minded point guard isn't likely to help on the boards, which is where we point our finger at Yao Ming.

We've consistently praised Yao's offensive proficiency and his ability to find a groove while playing with ball monopolists Steve Francis and McGrady early in his career, and have for the most part dismissed his lack of toughness as something he'll grow out of. We've made excuses for him. He's young and inexperienced. There are cultural differences we don't understand that limit his aggressiveness. He didn't grow up having to brawl with neighborhood bullies fighting for loose balls and mixing it up underneath. Not to mention, he's still not as filled out as he needs to be.

Well, the time for excuses is over. Yao is 7-feet-6, and the Rockets need every inch of him to become more aggressive. If it's not in him, someone had better find a way to engrain it in his psyche, because it's inexcusable for the tallest player in the NBA to ever finish a game with four rebounds. That's been his output in the last two losses, games in which rebounding has been a deciding factor. He's grabbed double-figures in boards in just two of the last 12 games.

"We just haven't been prepared going into the fourth quarter to finish the game," Yao said following Sunday's loss to Utah. "Our opponents have been better prepared and tougher in the fourth."

Uttering those words should help Yao realize that being out-toughed on a basketball court is not only shameful, but synonymous with losing. With Sura unable to knife in for loose balls and help mask his deficiencies, Yao should be taking it upon himself to claim position, use his height as a weapon and let teammates know he's got their back.

Otherwise, what good is it being the league's biggest presence when you're not going to play like it? He has it in him. Yao grabbed 17 boards in a 17-point victory at Golden State on Dec. 17 and has racked up 14 on a few occasions. Bringing that type of effort on a nightly basis would repair his reputation around the league, and supply the missing piece Houston lacks to truly be a championship contender.


- Wasn't it around this time last year's that Yao's stamina started declining along with his point production in the waning portion of the season? Although I don't belive he will tire as quickly, no one will disagree that we need the big man to produce in the 24-9 tier on a consistent basis to have any success in the post season.