"Rockets center Yao Ming returned to the court for Wednesday morning's shootaround, moving him an important step closer to being back on the floor for the games themselves.

Yao said he is targeting Tuesday's game against the Detroit Pistons and former Rockets teammate Tracy McGrady for his return from a sprained and bruised left ankle he suffered Nov. 10 in Washington. His participation in the walk-through was his first activity with the team since then, and he said he plans to practice today.

Yao is not expected to join the team on its road trip to Memphis and Chicago this weekend.

"(I) went through a full shootaround, moved a little bit," Yao said. "I feel pretty active. We are scheduled (for me to play in) the Detroit game.

"I did a full shootaround with the team — jumping, running a little bit. Obviously, it is the first day they allowed me to play a little bit on the court. It was a little bit slow, (but) every step is moving ahead."

Though Yao was to remain out, just his participation in the walk-through was an unmistakable sign of progress. "