One of the advantages of the Houston Rockets advancing into the second round of the NBA playoffs, vs. the Lakers … is that lots more people are being exposed to the wit of Yao Ming.

Yao is the 7-foot-6 center from China. This is his seventh season in the league. But never before had he and the Rockets gotten out of the first round.

Finally, it’s happened, and now Yao is in the bright lights of Staples Center. And his first game here was very nice — 28 points, 10 rebounds, 10-for-10 from the line in the Rockets’ 100-92 victory.

After icing down his sore knee, he wedged his enormous frame into a folding chair under a standard-sized table and talked to reporters — mostly in English, which he is close to mastering.

Some of what he said:

Asked about his knee: “My knee feels fine. Thanks for asking.” Being polite? Or a little droll — overly polite, that is?

When someone suggested Ron Artest is underrated, and wouldn’t let it go as Yao wrestled with the concept. (How do you answer that, in your first language, let alone your second? Yes, he’s underrated; people don’t notice him. Or no, he’s not underrated; he’s what people think he is. And how am I supposed to know how he’s rated?)

Ultimately, a vaguely exasperated Yao said, “When I leave the building tonight I will yell, Ron is a great player! Ron is a great player! Rono is a great player!'”

Asked about the “underdog” Rockets winning Game 1 from the Lakers: “That’s a word, underdog,  I just learned a couple of days ago. …. It’s like they say, ‘The NBA, where amazing happens.'”

Asked about how he has changed since his first forays into the playoffs, early in his seven-year career: “I’m older than then.”

He wasn’t flip.  He was trying to make people laugh, and doing a good job of it. Also, his playful responses were just the first part of longer exchanges, so it wasn’t as if he was doing a pointless interview.

He seems like a fun guy. He would be a very big thing if he played in this town or New York, instead of Houston.