Late-Season Letdown

With one well-timed shot, the Lakers answered some of the questions that had gathered at their feet in the last week, scattering the rest for at least one more game.

But in Houston, there remains a central question on the minds of Rocket fans, forcing them to wonder: How now, Yao?

Yao Ming hasn’t been himself in recent weeks. His shots are falling flat, his energy is lacking, his scoring is down and his rebounds are decreasing. It has been an unsettling continuation of a month that began the same way, with a six-point effort on three-for-15 shooting in a 93-85 loss to the Lakers on April 1.

No joke.

Earlier this week, the 22-year-old Yao acknowledged that his level of play, which reached its nadir during a recent Rocket five-game losing streak, was affected by fatigue.

“There are a lot of things I want to do, but I can’t get it done,” Yao told the Houston Chronicle. “I worry that if I play like this, it will affect the playoffs. I feel like I’m pulling on myself.”

The fatigue factor didn’t play well with Houston Coach Jeff Van Gundy, who said, “No one cares if he’s tired, least of all me, least of all his next opponent.

“Here’s a good quote: ‘I’m tired of reading that he’s tired.’

“I never hear Shaq say that he’s tired. Never. I never hear that. I never hear the great players say that they’re tired. It’s interesting.”

Yao played only 22 minutes in Wednesday’s regular-season finale against Dallas and afterward sounded tired from all the questions about being tired.

“I don’t want to think about it,” he said. “The more you think about it, the more tired you are.”

Yao’s scoring average the last six games is 14.3 points, more than three points below his season average, and his rebounds have slipped to seven a game, two off his average.

His Laker nemesis, Shaquille O’Neal, wasn’t available for comment after Friday’s practice, but others spoke for him. Some bought into Yao’s fatigue factor; some didn’t.

Laker Coach Phil Jackson said his team won’t target Yao but said O’Neal “does know that size and strength have an effect on him.”

“He’s always been geared up for playoffs,” Jackson said of his center. “I don’t know if Yao fits into that any different than anybody else, whether it’s Arvydas Sabonis or other people. We’ve always encouraged him to meet that matchup head-on and I’m sure this one is going to be one of those matchups that he’s keyed up for.”

Yao and O’Neal basically played to a draw in their four regular-season meetings, matching the 2-2 record their teams had against each other.

But Yao’s early edge this season against O’Neal dissipated by the time April 1 rolled around. He looked sluggish and confused, awkward on shots and tentative on defense.

The only Rocket to play every game this season, Yao looked a little better in a victory Monday against the Seattle SuperSonics. He had 20 points, nine rebounds and showed some spring on defense.

“At least I didn’t feel like I was wasting my effort out there,” he said. “I knew what I was doing.”

It would be wise to know what he’s doing against O’Neal. If not, Rocket fans will miss the days of Hakeem Olajuwon at center. Or Moses Malone. Or Billy Paultz, for that matter.

“We need him to play big minutes for us,” Van Gundy said. “We need him to play at a high energy level over a long period of time. He’s going to need to play 38 to 40 minutes if we’re going to beat anybody. He’s got to deliver late. I think that’s critical.

“I don’t think it’s any secret. He knows he’s got to play well.”