With Yao back, Rockets poised to blast off To beat healthy Houston in playoffs, teams will have to stop big man OPINION By Steve Greenberg Updated: 1:07 p.m. ET March 7, 2007 Whatever your take on the Rockets' chances to git 'er done come playoff time, the fact is Houstonians love their margaritas. Well, there happens to be one right over there on the bar. The question is ... ... is it half-empty? The bad boys of the Southwest Division, Dallas and San Antonio, own the Rockets like a rented mule. Wait, something's wrong with that. And something is very wrong with the Rockets' 4-16 record against the Mavericks the past five regular seasons and with their 6-25 mark against the Spurs dating back to 2000. The Rockets are going on 10 long, hellacious years without a postseason series victory. If the playoffs started today — not that they ever do when that disclaimer is attached — Houston would have the fifth-best record in the West and would begin the postseason on the road. Teams that failed to secure first-round home-court advantage in the West are 2-12 in playoff series the past two years and 6-29 the past five. ... or is it half-full? Look around the sports world and you'll find that outside of Tiger Woods and Roger Federer, being No. 1 doesn't mean squat when championships are on the line. Ask the teams that didn't win it all while the Heat, Colts, Cardinals, Hurricanes, Gators and, uh, Gators got jiggy with it. For three seasons running, the NBA team with the best regular-season record hasn't even made it to The Finals. A young, 7-6 gentleman named Yao Ming has returned to the court and restored to the Rockets' lineup what can only be called the best 1-2 punch in the entire stinkin' league. Whoa, Nelly. Perhaps last season it was Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O'Neal, but let's get real — until Yao broke his leg and was knocked from the top of the MVP race in December, was there another twosome in the game who could touch Tracy McGrady and Houston's big fella? No, no, a thousand times no. As you can see, we're choosing to think positively about the Rockets, who somehow have gone 20-10 without Yao. What do you suppose the Mavs would do for 30 games without Dirk Nowitzki? The Spurs without Tim Duncan? The Suns without Steve Nash? Certainly no better than the Rockets have done, although — and here's where some hammered dude takes a quaff from the glass on the bar — there are signs Jeff Van Gundy's gang has a mental block to clear when it comes to the team with the best record in the league. "You've got two guys guarding me. That leaves four guys on three. Attack them. We don't do that," McGrady said after Dallas won last month in Houston. And forward Shane Battier: "To beat Dallas, you have to play a mistake-free game." For crying out loud. To beat a healthy Rockets team in the playoffs, you'll have to derail a dominant post man — Yao is averaging 25.9 points, 9.4 rebounds and 2.2 blocks — and McGrady, who has more game than even he realizes. Sip it, slug it, believe it. The glass is half-full. The Rockets are contenders. Here's looking at you, kid. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17501377/
