The Year of Yao?

Damien Pierce
Rockets.com Staff Writer
HOUSTON -- Yao Ming has been given credit for spreading the NBA to the Far East and becoming a marketing icon in the sports world.

He is, however, still looking for the ultimate respect on the hardwood.

After four seasons of being criticized for being too passive and not staying on the court because of fatigue and foul trouble, Yao could be on the verge of becoming the dominating force that so many in the NBA envisioned when he broke into the league.

The Rockets' 7-foot-6 center was one of the league's best players following last season's All-Star break, but his coming-out party was derailed after he broke his left foot.

The promising news is that Yao has recovered from that injury and has overcome a left toenail problem in the preseason to position himself for an encore performance.

Could this be the season that Yao becomes the NBA's best center and one of the game's most dominating figures?

"I believed he was that last year, especially with what he did when I was out," Rockets forward Tracy McGrady said. "In the second half of the season, he was -- hands down -- the best in the league. I know Shaquille O'Neal won a championship last year, but from an individual stand-point and putting up numbers, Yao was definitely the best center in the league. He's just got to bounce back and show that again on the basketball court."

The Rockets certainly hope Yao's time has arrived.

After acquiring Shane Battier and Bonzi Wells in the off-season, the Rockets have a roster that appears capable of contending in the Western Conference.

Rookie Steve Novak and Battier should vastly improve the team's perimeter shooting. Kirk Snyder and Wells are expected to make the backcourt more athletic, physical and deep. And McGrady is healthy again after a season spent dealing with a back injury.

The rest hinges on Yao.

Besides needing the center to stay out of the trainer's room, the Rockets' lofty aspirations will depend on whether the center in the flat top can emerge as the league's most dominating big man.

Yao seems poised for the challenge.

"I feel like I'm a better player," Yao said. "But it doesn't matter what I think. It doesn't mean anything. I can say I'm better, but I need to show it."

The Rockets' center has made significant strides.

Before ending the 2005-06 season on the injured list, Yao averaged 26.9 points and 11.9 rebounds over a 23-game stretch following last season's All-Star break.

He earned All-NBA third team honors and ranked first among the NBA's centers in scoring with a career-best average of 22.3 points per game.

He answered critics who claimed he was too passive in a big way.

"You can see the strides Yao is making," Battier said. "He's arguably the top center in the game today. Last year, he reached a point where he was truly dominant. I think it was the dominance people were waiting to see. Unfortunately, he got hurt and was not able to carry that dominance to finish the season. It will be great to see him try to re-establish that dominance now that he has tasted it and knows how good it feels to have that sort of presence."

Yao followed his big second-half this summer at the FIBA World Championships in Japan by leading all scorers with 25.3 points and 9.0 rebounds per game.

The Rockets aren't necessarily asking Yao to post those sort of numbers again since McGrady is back in the lineup, but they are counting on the center to have the same presence that he had over that run."I feel like I'm a better player. But it doesn't matter what I think. It doesn't mean anything. I can say I'm better, but I need to show it."
-- Rockets center Yao Ming

"I expect him to play well," Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "Obviously, with McGrady being back and playing with him, Yao's numbers won't be the same. We won't be going to him quite as often so anyone who expects that is forgetting the circumstances surrounding those numbers (before the All-Star break). He just needs to continue being efficient."

While Shaq claimed his fourth ring last season and is still capable of taking over a game, the Miami center is slowing down with age and this could be the season where Yao emerges as the league's top center.

Yao, however, has -- and always will be -- compared to O'Neal in his prime.

Van Gundy doesn't believe it's a fair comparison since O'Neal is the dominant center of this era and believes that Yao hasn't received his due credit because he doesn't wear his emotions on his sleeve.

"Aggression is not well understood," Van Gundy said. "We want efficiency. The first-pumping, chest-bumping, preening and posing is not aggression to me. To me, it's controlled intensity transferred into efficiency. When you look at Yao, he's a pretty efficient basketball player."

Not that Van Gundy still doesn't want more from Yao.

After Houston's preseason win over San Antonio on Oct. 22, the coach wasn't thrilled that Yao was passing the ball to his perimeter shooters even though he wasn't double-teamed.

Van Gundy said after the game that Yao couldn't be "reluctant" and that he expects the center to score when they're going to him in one-on-one situations.

"He tells me about that in practice," Yao said. "He wants me to score, score, score. After five times in a row, he doesn't want me to think about passing the sixth time. Just continue on. I need to learn that and not hesitate."

Yao will try to be that man when the Rockets begin the regular season on Wednesday at Utah.

He has a slightly sprained right ankle and doesn't have a toenail on his left big toe, but the injuries aren't expected to slow him down.

The Rockets are hoping nothing else does.

"Yao can be great," McGrady said. "He's ready for that role."