LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Yao Ming has cemented his stature as one of the dominant big men in the National Basketball Association, and now he has a chance to become an integral part of the league's most explosive one-two tandem.
The Rockets pulled off one of the biggest trades in the off-season when they acquired Tracy McGrady from the Orlando Magic in a blockbuster seven-player deal.
Houston is hoping that Yao and McGrady can combine to give them a dominant inside-outside attack similar to that of the Los Angeles Lakers, who won three consecutive championships (2000-2002) behind Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant.
Dominant duos are an NBA tradition, the list including the likes of one-time Utah teammates Karl Malone and John Stockton, San Antonio's Twin Towers of Tim Duncan and David Robinson, and "Showtime" era Lakers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson. Even Michael Jordan had Scottie Pippen.
"It is the only combination that you can consider a Kobe-Shaq situation. This is the only team," said Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers.
An emerging star, Yao has seen a steady increase in almost every statistical category over his first two years in the NBA.
The 2.26-metre (7ft 6in) Yao was chosen first overall in 2002. The native of China already has garnered two All-Star berths and is regarded as one of the best centres in the game.
Last season, Yao averaged 17.5 points, 9.0 rebounds and shot over 52 percent from the field in leading the Rockets back to the playoffs. He was also a defensive force, averaging 1.9 blocks per game.
In his first season, Yao earned a unanimous selection to the All-Rookie first team after averaging 13.5 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game.
Houston coach Jeff Van Gundy said Yao will see more playing time this year as he continues to improve on the different aspects of his game.
"Yao's improvements will come with greater conditioning. He will be able to go longer and harder," Van Gundy said.
"We would like him in condition enough to be able to go 35-38 minutes. He's also got to be more efficient out of the double team. On defence he has to improve on his transition defence and the pick-and-roll.
"Yao showed a lot of improvement in those areas last year and needs to continue this year."
Van Gundy said both Yao and McGrady, 25, still have to answer some questions before they can be put on the same pedestal as O'Neal and Bryant.
"We have to win and win big and win championships for them to ever be compared to those guys," he said.
Hubie Brown, coach of Memphis Grizzlies, said two-time NBA scoring champion McGrady will have to make a bigger adjustment than Yao.
"Yao has incredible upside and potential," Brown said. "Tracy McGrady is the one that is going to have to make the necessary adjustment for this to work, because he is going to be put into a different style of play.
"He has never played with a player the magnitude of Yao."
Yao, who has been an All-star his first two seasons, recently returned to his native China where the Rockets played exhibition games in Shanghai and Beijing earlier this month.
Yao scored 13 points on four-for-five shooting and grabbed eight rebounds in 27 minutes in the Houston Rockets' 91-89 loss to Sacramento at Beijing.
He scored another 14 points in an 88-86 win over Sacramento three nights earlier in Shanghai.
10/29/2004 - 17:17 GMT - AFP