Senor Matt,

Yao is currently out of shape. It came out in a newspaper (don't remember which one, might have been the Houston Chronicle) a week or two ago. Yao basically didn't do anything between the playoffs and the start of practice for the Chinese National Team, and since his body was used to playing all the time he got out of shape. I'm sure he'll be back into shape by the time the olympics start, and especially by the time the NBA season starts.

You are right though, I'm sure Yao will never go 48 minutes in a game. He might never average 40 a night. Fortunately for the Rockets, they have this new kid named Mcgrady that can pick up the slack while he's on the bench.

The Rockets are also addressing their PG situation, and a newspaper in Denver reported that they have offered a 4 year, $24 million contract to Brent Barry...this would use up their full mid-level exception, meaning that they could only sign other free agents to the minimum. Personally, I'd rather have Derek Fisher at a cheaper price, but Barry is a nice player.