"Now that the Rockets got their win, they could soon get something they desired for even longer — more Yao Ming.

The Rockets medical staff is exploring through a series of on-going meetings, changing the limits on Yao's playing time because of the progress he has made in his comeback, a team representative said on Tuesday.

The discussions could lead to an increase in his playing time from the limit of 24 minutes per game, changes in the way his minutes are distributed throughout the game and clearance to play both games of back-to-backs.

Yao has played and practiced without any complications, but has seemed increasingly frustrated with the limits on his playing time and especially with having to miss games when the Rockets play two games in as many nights.

Though Yao said Tuesday that there have been no changes in the plan, after sitting out Friday's game in San Antonio, the second time this season he has been out because a game was part of a back-to-back, he seemed to be especially eager to be cleared to play every game.

"The team needs to play consistently," Yao said. "That means you need a consistent lineup. A guy who is a starting center being on and off, on and off, I think that's not good for a team. That's why I think playing back-to-back for me and for teammates is very important."

The Rockets had planned to revisit the back-to-back limitations in January, but have chosen to at least consider changes far ahead of schedule.

Yao is averaging 12.8 points and 6.5 rebounds in 21 minutes per game, with the Rockets happy with how aggressive he was offensively on Sunday and with the way the team ran their offense around him. "