Rockets center Yao Ming is done for the year after an MRI revealed a stress fracture in his left foot. Doctors say it normally takes 4 months to recover leaving no hope for a return in the postseason.

"It can be treated and the good news is we are catching it early on in the process," said Rockets physician Dr. Tom Clanton. "We caught it within two weeks of symptoms developing."

The Rockets (36-20) are currently riding a 12-game winning streak as they prepare to face the Wizards tonight. They were largely ignored by pundits for much of the season but just recently were picking up buzz on being legitimate contenders. The only loss the Rockets have suffered in the past 17 games is one in which Yao sat out due to the flu.

Now? The continued talk will be about how neither Yao nor Tracy McGrady can stay healthy for a full season. When Yao and T-Mac play and finish the game unharmed, they are 28-10 this year.

There is no good news in this at all, but let's highlight a couple of things that fortunately didn't make it ten times worse.

1. The Rockets did not go "All In" on this season
   With all the West contenders making big acquisitions for the here and now, I previously thought the Rockets should have heavily pursued Ron Artest or Mike Miller, sacrificing a future piece to get there. Losing Luis Scola, Carl Landry or Aaron Brooks could look like a big mistake right about now.
2. The Bobby Jackson trade looks much better
   The Jackson trade was always going to be beneficial to the Rockets after this season, but looked like one where the Rockets lost on talent for this year. Does it really matter now if the Rockets have Bonzi Wells or not? Rockets GM Daryl Morey has more flexibility to work with this offseason and up to the trading deadline next year.
3. The Rockets still have their first round pick
   I certainly don't believe the Rockets are a contender without Yao, and that is what this roster was supposed to be built for. I wouldn't throw in the towel on the playoffs with how well they've been playing, but it's probably safer to say today than it was yesterday that the Rockets could be owners of a lottery pick this offseason. It's a very good thing that they didn't cough up their first rounder.

Overall this is just a sick feeling as you were really starting to get that vibe that something special was happening with this team -- that sound thrashing that the Rockets gave the Hornets opened some eyes.

You feel bad for Yao, his teammates and the fans who have had hopes dashed by more than one of these season-crippling injuries.

Still, the games must be played and we'll see how the team responds and who picks up the slack. The Rockets will be clearly in the market for a big and as their recent luck would have it, Jamaal Magloirre just signed with the Dallas Mavericks.