SG/SF Shane Battier will miss the next 10-14 days due to a hyperextended left knee. Battier has played in 67 games (62 starts) this season for the Rockets and he is averaging 32.4 minutes, 8.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.1 blocked shots per game. The Rockets will miss Battier’s leadership and defense while he is out of action.

UPDATE: Battier is officially out for the season.

The Rockets will be without rookie SF/SG Chase Budinger for 2-3 weeks with a ankle injury. Budinger has played in 26 games (1 start) for the Rockets so far this season and he is averaging 18.5 minutes, 8.2 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. The Rockets will miss Budinger’s outside shooting off the bench while he is out of action.

Trainer Tim Grover gained a lot of notoriety in the 1990’s for training Michael Jordan.  NBA super-stars have been flocking to the trainer ever since, and you can now add Tracy McGrady to Grover’s client list.  McGrady had micro-fracture knee surgery earlier this year, and has been working with Grover to get ready for the upcoming 2009-10 NBA season.  McGrady says he feels great and will be healthy and ready to go this year.

McGrady has been injury prone throughout his career, most often his back and knees.  Grover was quoted as saying McGrady’s “whole body was imbalanced from basically his shoulder blades down to his feet.”  He added that McGrady had almost no core strength and that had a lot to do with his back problems.  McGrady wishes he would have gone to Grover earlier in his career, stating that Grover’s workouts and rehabilitation will make you a better player and extend your career.

Tim Grover seems to know exactly what he is doing with these top-tier athletes, and if I were an NBA player (or any pro athlete for that matter) I would definitely sign up with this guy.  The Washington Wizards’ Gilbert Arenas has also been working out with Grover, and credits him for getting him back to (or even better than) the player he was before the three knee surgeries he has had in the past year and a half.  Tim Grover seems to be the answer for NBA players who are injury prone and I am looking forward to see if his training actually pays off for Arenas and McGrady.

28-year old center Yao Ming will undergo surgery to repair a hairline fracture in his left foot next week likely ending his 2009-2010 season before it starts. Yao played in 77 games (all starts) for the Rockets last season and he averaged 33.6 minutes, 19.7 points, 9.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 2.0 blocks per game last season. Yao is irreplaceable for the Rockets as he is one of the best centers in the NBA. Yao has now played in 481 games (471 starts) in his seven year career with the Rockets and he has averaged 32.7 minutes, 19.1 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.9 blocked shots per game. This is a HUGE loss for the Rockets.

Yao Ming will miss the rest of the season for the Houston Rockets after it was found that he has a stress fracture in his foot. This will really hurt the Rockets as Yao has been the best player on the team by far. He played in 55 games this season (all starts) and he averaged 37.2 minutes, 22.0 points, 10.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.0 blocked shots per game. He also shot the ball well as he hit 50.7% of his shots from the floor and 80.5% from the free throw line. The Rockets will likely either move rookie power forward Luis Scola over to center or they will start Dikembe Mutombo. Either way it’s a huge dropoff.

Yao has now played in 404 games (394 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 32.5 minutes, 19.0 points, 9.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.8 blocked shots per game. Yao has now made 52% of his shots from the floor and 82.6% of his shots from the free throw line.