At the beginning of the 2006 season head coach Jeff Van Gundy implored Yao Ming to get more selfish on offense and the result was a breakout season.  Yao only played in 48 games in the regular season because of a broken leg, but he averaged 33.8 minutes, 25.0 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game.  Yao also had a good season shooting the basketball as he hit 51.6% from the floor and 86.2% from the free throw line.  Look for Yao to improve on those numbers in 2007 as long as he can stay healthy.

Almost all of Yao’s career numbers spiked upward due to his great season.  In 439 games, Yao has averaged 31.8 minutes, 18.5 points, 8.9 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.8 blocks per game.  Yao has hit 52.3% of his shots from the floor for his career and 82.2% from the free throw line.  Look for his numbers to continue to improve as the Rockets should score a lot more points with new head coach Rick Adelman running the show.

The Rockets fell behind 53-43 in the first half and that was a little too much for them to overcome last night.  Yao had a solid game with 29 points and 6 rebounds.  Tracy McGrady had an outstanding game with 29 points, 5 rebounds, 13 assists and 2 blocked shots.  Shane Battier was very busy last night with 16 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocked shots.  Rafer Alston didn’t shoot well (3 for 11) but he still finished with 11 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals.  The Rockets lost the series 4-3 to the Jazz and their season is now over.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=270505010

The Rockets just didn’t play too well tonight and the Jazz took advantage of that.  Tracy McGrady was only 8 for 23 from the floor but he still led the Rockets in scoring with 26 points and he also had 10 rebounds and 3 assists.  Yao Ming also had a rough night despite scoring 25 points and grabbing 6 rebounds.  Yao turned the ball over 8 times tonight and that hurt the Rockets cause in the end.  Rafer Alston pitched in with 13 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists.  The series is now tied 3-3 with game 7 Saturday Night in Houston.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=270503026

The Rockets took the game over in the 4th quarter as they outscored the Jazz 28-20 to win the game last night.  Yao had a rough shooting night (6 of 18) but he still finished with 21 points and 15 rebounds.  Tracy McGrady had an outstanding basketball game last night with 26 points, 4 rebounds and 16 assists.  Shane Battier came alive and had a good game with 15 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocked shots.  Rafer Alston did a good job last night with 14 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals.  Juwan Howard had a solid game off of the bench as he was 6 for 6 from the floor and he finished with 12 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals.  Chuck Hayes had another tough game as he didn’t score in 27 minutes on the court.  The Rockets now lead this series 3-2.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=270430010