Hypothetically, if Yao was to come off the bench and play only 12 minutes in the second half, he could play in b2b games. Better yet, if there are no back to backs upcoming, they could play him 24 minutes. Once they get to the first game of a back to back, relegate him to the bench with 12 minutes to play in the second half of the third and fourth quarters, so that he can close out both games with no worries of over exertion.
They still play pretty well with Yao and a up tempo unit on the floor. They look for early offense if not pull it out and run some sets. playing with the bench may prove difficult... Worth trying. my point was though, bring Yao into the second half of the game (since there is such a restriction on playing time). Yao technically comes off the bench but 'starts' the second half and plays 'starter minutes' for the second half. Your right, it definitely wont immediately fix all of the glaring issues the team has but it will bring more flexibility and stability to the team. At the moment they're wildly inconsistent. ...and that's the thing. with all the Yao shuffling, you don't know what your going to get from the rockets every night. Lack of chemistry/ identity.
Fran's writing has become a little easier to read since he was canned and went to nba.com. Interestingly, becoming a corporate hack for the NBA prevents him from writing overly bitter vitriol and keeps him focused on basketball.
