"We're killing everything about Yao being tall," Huizinga says. "He's just such an interesting guy to talk to."

Minutes later, McGrady arrives and is stunned to see Yao decked out in a sharp suit and stylish mock turtleneck. They had agreed to go casual, but Yao explains that everything else had been sent to the laundry.

"Man," McGrady says, his voice rising. "Good look for you. Who made that for you?"

"Made in China," Yao says. "Everything is."

The drive to Hollywood is long, about 45 minutes through the L.A. rush hour. Both protest the concert choice, the Eagles, on the DVD, but before long, McGrady is singing along in a surprisingly high-pitched voice.

McGrady is told of the Yao video making the rounds on the Internet in which he makes a tough jumper, then is seen shouting, "You can't (expletive) stop me!"

"No!" McGrady shouts, falling back in his seat. "He didn't say that! You said that, big fella? What did you say? What did you say? What did you say? Say it now."

With Yao laughing too hard to answer, McGrady realizes why Yao won't tell him.

"Wait a minute," McGrady says. "You said it in English? The same game you beat your chest? Oh, that's great."

By then, they are warming up for the show. After a few minutes talking about the new house Yao picked out far closer to downtown than his home outside Katy, McGrady tries to talk Yao into moving to his Sugar Land neighborhood, only to be told that it is "too far."

"Oh, I forgot," McGrady says, beginning his long bit on Rockets assistant head coach and Yao tutor/shadow Tom Thibodeau. "Tibs wants you there two hours early every day."

With that, McGrady launches into a description of Yao's day Sunday, when he battled a stomach virus with several trips to the Staples Center men's room.

"Every time you went in there, he had to follow you?" McGrady says. "Every time you're in there, and there's Tibs. 'Yao, we have to go over defensive tendencies. Yao, we have to talk about this.' He couldn't even let you do that by yourself?"

As the limousine pulls up to the stage door of the El Capitan Theatre, fans wearing Rockets gear and carrying memorabilia to have signed are outside the barricades.

"I always said no (to the show) before," McGrady says. "I said yes this time because I had someone to do it with. Then I started the recruiting process."

Just as Jimmy Kimmel Live is not live - the show with Yao and McGrady will air Friday - the "green room" is not green. There are a few releases to sign. "This means you'll be playing in Memphis," Huizinga tells Yao. Mostly, roughly 90 minutes is spent waiting and shaking hands.

"Jimmy is really psyched for this," co-executive producer Rich Brown tells Yao and McGrady. "This is really cool for us."

Says co-executive producer Jason Schrift: "We've been trying to get them for a while. Jimmy's psyched."

As the evening wears on, interrupted only by a few more visits by more staff members who report "Jimmy's psyched," time passes with the usual conversations about Saturday's Knicks-Nuggets fight at Madison Square Garden, the All-Star Game and McGrady's improving back.

McGrady does a quick imitation of Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy if he were the guest.

"We're playing great," he says in Van Gundy's hushed voice. "Everything's great."

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