To the Yao Ming Haters...

Houston Rockets center Yao Ming will never please everyone; but, all of the criticism he receives is, I believe, unjust and asinine. The "haters" want Yao Ming to be the next Hakeem Olajuwon or be a brute force like Shaq. Newsflash!!! He's not going to be like Dream; and, he's not Shaquille O'Neal...He's Yao Ming!

All of the haters should ask the Golden State Warriors their thoughts on Yao Ming after his 22 points and 21 rebounds Friday night in the Rockets 91 to 88 home win. That's right 22 and 21 from Yao Ming. Let me know the last time Shawn Bradley (7'6); Manute Bol (7'7); and Gheorghe Muresan (7'7) posted those big-time numbers in an NBA basketball game. That's what I thought.

Here's a thought for everyone sippin' the Yo Ming "Hatorade"; after last night's gameYao Ming was talking about having some 30 rebound ball games in his future. Sip on that...

Now, to Warriors' head coach Mike Montgomery. What were you thinking in the fourth qurter last night? Your player, Jason Richardson, began the fourth period involved in all 10 of his team's points (two three-point shots; a fast break dunk; and an assist for a lay-up) in the first 1:31 of the fourth period. The 10-zip run put the Warriors ahead of the Rockets 78 to 76 in the blink of an eye. The Rockets had absolutely no answer for J-Rich.

So, what did Coach Montgomery do with 9:45 left in the quarter? He took Richardson out ofthe game. Huh?!

While J-Rich sat on the bench, the Warriors did push their lead to 82-76 with 7:33 left; but, that was due mainly to the ineptitude of the Rockets' offense. Golden State missed five shots and committed one turnover while Richardson sat on the bench. Golden State scored six points the rest of the game. Guess who scored those six points? Yep. Jason Richardson.

Way to go, Coach Montgomery.