"He is a mountain in my way," said Yao. "I will try to conquer it by all means.

Miami Heat center Shaquille O'Neal (32) hugs Houston Rockets center Yao Ming from China before their NBA pre-season basketball game in Miami, Florida October 25, 2006. [Reuters]

"My first tries may turn out to be failures, but I will continue with others."

Four years and countless detractors later, Yao stands atop Mount Shaq as the NBA's premier center.

To be sure, the 34-year-old O'Neal, who's collected four NBA championship rings, isn't the player he once was. But neither is Yao, who's steadily improved since his rookie season when he averaged 13.5 points and 8.2 rebounds per game.

Yao's development since last season's All-Star break has been nothing short of sensational. He averaged 25.7 points, 11.6 rebounds and 1.8 blocked shots after the break. He also shot 53.7 from the floor and 87.9 from the free-throw line.

To prove that last season was no fluke, Yao's picking up where he left off. He's averaging 25.7 points, 9.6 rebounds and 1.8 blocks this season. No NBA center has better numbers in all three categories. And Yao has the NBA's highest efficiency rating (25.0) among centers.

The numbers don't lie. Neither do the head-to-head matchups.

Earlier in the season, as he has done in recent meetings, Yao dominated Shaq. When the Rockets visited the Miami Heat on Nov. 12, Yao dropped 34 points and 14 rebounds on the Big Philosopher.

O'Neal, who has nothing left to prove after 14 seasons, loves to toy with Yao -- much like an older brother playfully chastising a younger one.

"He's pretty much the same, just big, 7-6," O'Neal said after the game. "He's just doing what he's supposed to do."

But behind the barbs is genuine respect.

"Yao's a great center," O'Neal said at the end of last season. "Whenever you want to become the best you have to go up against the best. I guess going against me is one of his biggest challenges, along with Mr. (Tim) Duncan in his conference. He's a great competitor who wants to go up against another great competitor."

Yao has become more aggressive and determined to succeed, no matter who he's up against.

But in spite of the quantum leap he's taken, Yao still has something to prove: that he can lead a team to the top of Mount NBA.

The Dallas Mavericks, who opened the season with four consecutive losses, reeled off 12 straight wins before having their streak snapped by the Washington Wizards on Monday.

The only other team to have won at least six straight games after starting the season with at least four losses was the Philadelphia 76ers in 2001. That team, coached by Larry Brown, opened the season with five straight losses before winning seven straight.

They finished 43-39 and advanced to the playoffs, losing in the first round to Boston Celtics.

Take a look at the Eastern Conference standings, but don't be misled. What you see isn't necessarily what you'll get come playoff time.

Only three of the East's 15 teams (Orlando, Detroit and Cleveland) are playing above .500. By comparison, eight of the Western Conference's 15 teams have won more than they've lost.

The West is clearly the better conference, just as it was last season.

But the East's best (Heat) defeated the West's best (Mavericks), to win last season's NBA title.

Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant says he enjoys playing for head coach Phil Jackson this season.

"It's fun," Bryant said on ESPN recently. "I feel blessed because I've always wanted to have a close relationship with him, and now our relationship is extremely close. We talk about things having nothing to do with basketball, and I'm very fortunate to have that kind of relationship with him."

So far, so good.

The Lakers (12-5) are on a three-game winning streak and they're in first place in the Pacific Division, 1 ?games ahead of the Phoenix Suns.