The steepest challenge of Alonzo Mourning's comeback tour measures 7 feet 6 inches with a flat top.

While the rest of the N.B.A was introduced to Yao Ming last season, Mourning sat out because of a kidney disorder, watching Yao from afar with interest and amazement.

"He's one of the few centers capable of doing the things he's able to do," Mourning said. "Not many 7-4, 7-5 guys are as coordinated and can shoot and pass the way he does."

Mourning added that Yao has the skills to be a top-three center. "Does he have the work ethic and drive?" he said. "That remains to be seen."

Mourning first faced Yao in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, but he expects to see a more polished version when the Nets play the Houston Rockets on Tuesday night at Continental Arena.

"He's a totally different player now," Mourning said. "I can't even use that as a reference point."

Like the rest of the league, the 6-10, 261-pound Mourning will be undersized in this matchup, but he has a copy of the game plan N.B.A. centers have adopted against Yao since he was a rookie last season.

Mourning and Jason Collins, the Nets' 7-foot starting center, will try to run Yao on the offensive end, then get physical with him on defense, pushing him off the block and out of his comfort zone.

That is the strategy Collins employed last season with only limited success. "A couple of times, he turned around and shot over me like I was 6-2," Collins said.

Coach Byron Scott also remembers his centers lunging at Yao's shot "like they were really going to block it. Then he goes in and dunks."

Yao leads Houston with 19 points a game and had converted 13 of 19 field goals heading into Monday's game against Chicago. While Yao represents the future of N.B.A. big men, the 33-year-old Mourning is only trying to prove he is not yet in the past. A reminder of his age, in contrast to Yao's youth, will be sitting conspicuously on the Rockets' bench.

Patrick Ewing, who served as Mourning's chief rival during the grudge matches between the Knicks and the Miami Heat in the 1990's, is now an assistant coach in Houston, tutoring Yao to take another giant stride in his development.

Although Ewing does not speak Chinese and sometimes runs into a communication barrier with Yao, he is helping Yao establish deeper position in the post and learn a variety of new shots. Ewing and Mourning talk regularly on the phone and sometimes chat about Yao's future.

"He's working on his game, learning the game," Mourning said. "He's being a little more poised making decisions."

Mourning might also evaluate the poise and decision-making of Houston's new coach, Jeff Van Gundy, who is best known for coaching the Knicks.

This will be the first time Van Gundy and Mourning meet with new teams, but old memories are still intact. Mourning sometimes jokes about the time Van Gundy clutched his leg during a dust-up in a playoff game in 1998.

No one has used that technique yet to defend Yao, but his N.B.A. career is still in the early stages.

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