[Chron] Yao's leg holds up, but there is room for improvement

CLEVELAND — He looked like a guy who had been sidelined 10 weeks. He missed shots and committed turnovers. His limp was noticeable. OK, enough about Tracy McGrady.

You want to know how Yao Ming did in his first game since Dec. 23. You want to know if Monday night was the beginning of a stretch run to the Western Conference finals. You might be on to something, coach.

Never mind this little stumble at the starting line. Remember this. Yao was back on the floor for 27 minutes, and his right leg held up fine. Nothing else matters. He's got plenty of time to get his conditioning and shooting back. He's got plenty to work on, too.

He was 5-of-15 from the field. His line: 16 points, 11 boards, five turnovers. On a related matter, if you were worrying about McGrady deferring to Yao too often when they both got back on the floor, don't.

McGrady took 32 shots, to Yao's 15. He caught a couple of knees in the thigh at some point in the first half and decided to make it a jump-shooting game. He made just 10 shots and got to the foul line only five times and finished with 25 points.

"I don't think I was deferring to him," McGrady said, smiling.

If you hadn't known which of the stars had been injured, you might have guessed both of them. Because they both had long nights at the office.

And just 22 games until the playoffs begin. Don't order those tickets just yet. Judging by Monday's 91-85 loss to Cleveland, the Rockets might need all 22 to get their mojo back.

Let's begin with what went right.

"It was calming to have him back out there," Shane Battier said of Yao's return. "It's sort of like getting your big brother back. When he does get in shape, he can really elevate this team."

Too many turnovers
Jeff Van Gundy offered a harsh assessment.

"Uneven," Van Gundy said. "Which is to be expected."

And ...

"He's got to cut down on his turnovers," Van Gundy said. "We can't play well if he goes right back to what he was doing before. Which is be a high-turnover guy. It's impossible to have offensive rhythm."

Yao acknowledged all of this. He's missed 32 games and had just one hard practice before returning to the lineup. He did all sorts of conditioning work, but none of it could duplicate an actual game.

"I felt like a high school player in the second and third quarters," he said. "The first quarter was a little better than I might have expected. We played with great energy in the fourth."

If you see the glass as half-full, you'd point out the Rockets won the boards and played solid half-court defense. Those are the things they've typically done well with Yao on the floor. Those are the staples they hope to build on down the stretch.

"I think this was the closest we've seen to Rocket basketball in a long time," Battier said. "We were dominant on the boards. Our half-court defense was very, very good. If we can dominate the boards as we did tonight, we're going to make enough shots.

"We'll be OK."

If defense and rebounding could only overcome a 36 percent shooting night and a series of knucklehead plays. Like fouling Larry Hughes with nine seconds left, and the Rockets down by three. Raise your hand, Rafer Alston.

"Playing hard isn't good enough," Van Gundy said. "You've got to be smart."

Dump, stand, watch
Van Gundy told Yao before the game he was going to control his minutes based on how he was playing and how the team was going. At the beginning, the Rockets seemed determined to get Yao going. They settled for dumping the ball into the low post and standing around while Yao worked. If only his shot had been falling.

Come to think of it, they stood around in the transition game, too, allowing the Cavs a 17-1 lead in fast-break points.

And they had a chance to win anyway, needing just 5½ minutes to cut a 14-point lead to two in the fourth quarter. Yao got more comfortable as the game went on and looked just about normal by the end.

"You know what," he said. "I can't wait for the next game."

richard.justice@chron.com

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Van Gundy is always more critical of Yao than Tmac. Different people need different kinds of motivation. Yao is someone that can take criticism while Tmac might be more sensitive to negative ones.