Just once Jeff Van Gundy would like to see Yao Ming punish an opponent for double-teaming him. He doesn't need Yao to be violent, but it would send a message if one of Yao's elbows inadvertently landed in a defender's face.

Van Gundy wants Yao to stop being so hospitable. To stop stepping aside to make room for two defenders. And to stop handing them the ball when he can't find an open teammate.

"He needs to elbow somebody in the face when they come down to double-team him the first time," Van Gundy said. "That would be a good start. Get them off of him. He's very kind when people come down there.

"I just know that he needs to get people off of him -- without fouling them. I mean, (elbow somebody) in the way of just getting people off of him so he has room to pass. They are coming right up body to body on the double team, so he needs to get people off of him."

This year, the 7-6 center is seeing more double teams than he did during his rookie campaign, and he has yet to make teams pay. After a number of ineffective outings against double teams, the Rockets are trying to help Yao stop folding under the pressure of two defenders. Assistant coach Patrick Ewing, who fought off double teams in the NBA for years, stayed after practice Tuesday to give Yao some pointers.

"I just tried to basically show him some things to make him more comfortable with the double team," Ewing said. "Because if he doesn't get better at it, teams are going to do it the whole year. Just basically telling him to either split the double team or try to get the ball to the open man a little earlier and more accurately. But basically, just to use his 7-6 frame to his advantage."

"Not too many teams are going to play him straight up, and we're going to need him to handle the ball a lot better, especially getting out of the double teams and making clean passes," Maurice Taylor said. "You can work with him to a certain extent, but in game situations, it's totally different. He's going to have to be able to make decisions on the fly to get the ball out a lot quicker."