Yao Ming's Injured; Who's To Blame

ESPN is reporting that Lee from Dream Shake is giant jinx. Ok that not exactly what they said but I'm paraphrasing here. Maybe I am the jinx for metinong Dream Shakes Nostradamus skills. In either case Yao Ming is is out for the year, with a stress fracture in his foot.

Over the last few weeks Lee, over at Dream Shake, has been predicting win after win. I found it quite impressive, so impressive in fact that when the Rockets finally hit that tenth win and Lee's prediction was completed, I decided I'd give I'd give credit where credit was due and acknowledge his brilliance with a post of my own. Unfortunately I showed my lack of brilliance by crediting Dave who also writes for Dream Shake. Lee left me comment to clear things up. Now that we have all that cleared up though I can't help but wonder. Does Lee really want credit for jinxing the Rockets right out of the playoffs.

Yao is going to miss the rest of the year, including the playoffs-along with the rest of the Rockets now. An MRI revealed fluid around one of the bones in Yao's foot, upon further examination, the teams doctor think Yao should have surgery. There is an alternative to the surgery but either way the recovery time is 4-months. In related news that I could care less about that means that Yao will be available for the Communist Reds uhhh I mean China for the Olympics

Dream Shake is Being Run By Nostradamus

Recent trade action around the NBA has managed to keep another story under the radar. Grungedave over at Dreamshake(Note: I was mistaken the prediction was made by Lee- though now that the Jinx has come in with Yao going down for the season, I am wondering if Lee really wants all that credit) has predicited correctly win after win for his Houston Rockets, who are on a 12-game win streak. His over the top claim that Houston is the hottest team in the NBA, is a litte suspect with the Los Angeles Lakers succes since the Pau Gasol trade. Phoenix, is be given credit for 11 straight agaisnt the east. A streak that ended against Detroit on Sunday.

GrungeDave's constant predictions are impressive. They are made even more so by the fact he realistic about his team shortcomings. People often predict a win every game for their team, celebrating easily when they get it right. If the Rockets momentum carries with them to the playoffs, they will be a force to contend with.

I doubt the Lakers will be shaking in their sneakers at that thought. The Lakers have only lost one game since Pau Gasol's arrival. Their 7-game win streak is reassuring while their hottest emerging players this season, Andrew Bynum, is out recovering from a knee injury. If the chemistry that seemed evident from the moment Gasol donned the Purple and Gold continues when Bynum returns, the Lakers wont fear anyone in the league.

While it is to early for full scale panic; Phoenix GM, Steve Kerr, is likely experiencing some fear. He pulled the trigger on the questionable deal that brought Shaquille O'neal to Phoenix. In the game Phoenix won it appeared to be in spite of Shaq. The two losses seemed directly tied to him. His non-impact in his debut against the Lakers was not an endoresement of the trade. Yesterday's loss against Detroit was strongly tied to Shaq. Phoenix, one of the highest scoring teams in league history finishes a loss with only 86 points, 30 points short of their opponent. The anemic offense and lack of scoring on the break is easily tied to the new, immobile big man.