I just had to write a note about NBA great and Austin NBA D-League coach Dennis Johnson, who died last Thursday and whose memorial service was in Austin on Sunday. I wish I could have attended, but I was out of Texas and couldn’t make it.

I met DJ a couple of times over the past year. The first time was in Austin where I saw him in a parking lot and stopped to say hello. I was really surprised how nice he was. I think he even asked what I did for a living, and we talked for a few minutes.

Then when I was in Las Vegas last summer for the Vegas Summer League, I saw him in the stands and mentioned how I met him in Austin and how I worked on this Yao Ming web site. I swear, we ended up talking for 20-30 minutes in the stands while watching some of the action on the court. Here he was, an NBA legend who had more basketball experience in his pinkie finger than I had in my whole body, and he was interested in what I had to say about Yao Ming, and basketball in general. We talked about a lot of other topics beyond the NBA, like how he loved Austin, how he was planning on moving his family there, etc.

I always respected his game as a player when he was the Sonics and the Suns, but I always hurt that his Boston Celtics beat my Houston Rockets in 1986 in the NBA Finals. However, by his spending that much time with me, just a regular guy, proved to me that he was a class act and I became a big DJ fan after that.

Now when I read all the stories about how great of a person he was, I can believe it. He had ex-teammates like Bill Walton and Cedric Maxwell fly into Austin just for the memorial service. That goes to show how great of a man he must have been – that teammates 20 years ago flew halfway across the country to pay their respects. I wish I could have been one of them.

Click here, here and here for details from the memorial service, how much he was loved, and how much he’ll be missed.

If Yao Ming was looking to get accustomed to intense road games again on the Rockets’ road trip, he certainly succeeded with their game on Sunday.

A couple of days after getting upset in Atlanta, I was afraid it could happen again in Orlando…and it almost happened.

The Rockets had a comfortable lead cut to only two points late in the fourth quarter when they couldn’t score for about five minutes of play, but Luther Head hit a big three-pointer off a T-Mac assist, and then T-Mac hit a big jumper himself with about 30 seconds remaining to help hold off the Magic 97-93.

McGrady scored 34 points, which included 15-of-18 free throws, 3-of-6 three-pointers, and 6 assists. Rafer Alston continued to shoot unbelievably from behind the arc, hitting 5-of-9 from downtown for 20 points.

Luther Head scored 20 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including 3-of-5 treys. And Shane Battier hit 3-of-6 three-pointers (5-of-10 overall) for 14 points.

When you add it all up, the Rockets shot an amazing 14-of-27 from three-point land, and all four of the aforementioned players shot 24-of-49 field goals, almost 50%. But the Rockets shot 43.2% as a team. So which players dragged that shooting percentage down?

Well, Bonzi Wells only made 3-of-11 shots (and 3-of-6 free throws to boot) and former Magic forward Juwan Howard was 0-for-4.

But it didn’t matter as the Rockets got out of O-town with a W, then jumped on a plane headed to Houston for a back-to-back against the 13-42 Celtics, a sure win that even a paranoid fan like me can’t create fear about.

Accompanying the team to Atlanta, Yao practiced with the team before Friday night’s game the Hawks. Later, the Rockets lost a game they should have won. Click here for more photos from Yao’s practice.

Yao made the trip to Atlanta to join his teammates on their short 2-game road trip to Atlanta and Orlando. He jokingly said it was because he wanted the “road trip per diem,” but it was really to learn some of the new plays they have put into their playbook the past 8 weeks while he has been injured, and to get used to the pace of being on the road again and the intensity of the crowd, among other reasons. (You can check out a more extensive interview of Yao’s progress by reading this earlier blog post).

Yao practiced before the game and later worked out during the game itself. He said he hopes to be ready to play in a week to 10 days, although he admits he won’t be medically cleared to play until after that. You can read more about his thoughts on returning iback to the lineup in this short Houston Chronicle article.

Regarding the game that was played while Yao worked out, you would have thought the 21-33 Atlanta Hawks were the Phoenix Suns Friday night.

Houston’s league-leading defense couldn’t stop the league’s worst-shooting and lowest scoring offense in a 105-99 loss. The Hawks seemed to score at will most of the game, shooting 47.4% for the game. They gave up 19 second-chance points, second only to the 22 they gave up against Denver in another devastating defeat earlier this season.

When you see performances like this, it makes you think the success the Rockets have experienced without Yao playing could be a house of cards that could come tumbling down at any moment.

The game was fairly close all night long, and the Rockets had a chance to build a lead in the fourth quarter that probably would have been insurmountable for a young team that hasn’t “learned to win” yet, as they say. But the Rockets missed 5 free throws in the pivotal fourth quarter, with Bonzi Wells and T-Mac missing two FTs each. As bad as the defense was, those missed free throws were the a big ifference maker. Maddening.

Atlanta is clearly more athletic than the Rockets, with high-flyers like Joe Johnson, Marvin Williams, Josh Smith, and Josh Childress. When Houston doesn’t play good defense, like getting burned by Johnson multiple times coming around screens for open shots, or Chuck Hayes slacking off and not blocking out Johnson on the boards to prevent a follow-up dunk, that’s inexcusable.

The Rockets now go to Orlando and play a team that’s better than Atlanta. The Magic are 27-29 and have Dwight Howard, who is athletic and sure to wreak havoc on the boards against Houston. Howard is not only the Magic’s leading rebounder (12 per game), but also leads the team in scoring (18 ppg), field goal percentage (59.9%), and blocks (1.8 per game).

Let’s hope there is no ‘magic in the Rockets’ cards’ Sunday afternoon, and they can keep their house from crashing down against an inferior team

Here’s the latest translation from Raymond of a Sohu.com interview of Yao in Atlanta with some candid revelations on what he’s facing practicing with the team again.

Sohu Sports: Yao, do you worry a bit, if you have to pivot on your right leg and make movements?

Yao Ming: Maybe we are in different situations. He is still playing with the team and therefore he has this kind of feeling. I have been away from this team for a long while now. I don’t have this kind of feeling yet. Maybe after I return to court, after I recapture my form and condition and my confidence, then I will have this kind of feeling. Now I do not have this kind of feeling. I have been idling on the bench for too long now.

Yao participated in shootarounds before the Rockets-Heat game on Wednesday. A few hours later, Houston impressed by dominating the defending World Champs. Click here for more photos of Yao practicing before the game.

The Rockets showed a national television audience Wednesday night that they are for real. They outplayed the defending World Champs Miami Heat to impress ESPN announcer Bill Walton so much in a 112-102 victory, they haven’t had that much love thrown their way in years.

The Rockets put on a clinic in the first half to take a 63-48 lead, the most number of points they had in the first half this season. They hit 52.2% of their shots, including 6-of-14 three-pointers. Rafer Alston was a big part of that, filling it up with 4-of-6 treys for 12 point. And Houston had 17 assists compared to Miami’s 8 in the first half.

Everything went their way. T-Mac shot an airball only to have it rebounded by a teammate for a basket, giving McGrady an assist. He made a shot from the baseline that banked off the glass accidentally.

There was no drop-off in the second half, with the Rockets finishing with 50.6% shooting. They shot even better from behind the arc, making 9-of-16 three-pointers.

McGrady scored 15 points in the second half to finish with 32 on 12-of-24 shooting. He also dished out 8 assists, many coming off beautiful laser-like passes. In the fourth quarter, he hit two three-pointers to hold off the Heat, as did Shane Battier (12 points) and Luther Head (10 points).

Bonzi Wells played one of his best games of the season, scoring an efficient 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting. Alston had one of his best games, scoring 20 points on 7-of-15 shooting, including 6-of-10 three-pointers and only two assists.

Sadly, Dwyane Wade separated his shoulder in the fourth quarter. I had never seen him in such pain, and was pretty bummed since I love the guy for what he did against Dallas last season, but also because they head to Dallas and play the Mavericks on Thursday, and I wanted him to take over and beat them again. Now the Heat have no chance.

Although Yao didn’t play on Sunday during the All-Star game, he was fairly visible during the weekend. Click here for more photos of Yao in Vegas.

In addition to clicking on the photo link as mentioned above, you’ve got to watch this video of Yao working out while in Vegas. This is probably one of the best training videos I have seen of Yao, especially the part where he’s pumping lots of iron!

Here’s a different publication for you: the New Zealand edition of MSN has an article (via Reuters) recapping some of Yao’s statements in Vegas at a press conference. Not much is a surprise here, other than it’s pretty clear that Yao isn’t all that thrilled to be in Vegas since he is having to do intense rehab work there just like he would if he were in Houston, and feels an obligation toward the fans to at least be in Vegas because they voted him into the game.

Not reported is that Yao also said that he regrets he cannot spend the Chinese New Year with his parents in Houston. You have to give credit for Yao having balance in his life, and at the age of 26 he still likes hanging out with Mom and Dad.

It’s not that big of a deal, but T-Mac gives a very short interview with Yao at his side after an NBA All-Star practice. Click here to check it out.

Yao and T-Mac take one of their first photos in Las Vegas for All-Star weekend. Click here to see more photos of how Vegas and the NBA have rolled out the red carpet for players and fans.

Man, check out the photos from Vegas that Raymond has posted in the forum. I’m impressed how much money has been put into making Vegas look like it does right now, including the Thomas & Mack Center, a very boring arena in my opinion.