Chron: It's back to basic training as Rockets try to regroup

Dec. 1, 2003, 7:55PM

It's back to basic training as Rockets try to regroup
By MEGAN MANFULL
Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle

Sixteen games into the season, the Rockets returned to training camp on Monday.

For more than two hours, the Rockets practiced passing, ball-handling, defense and shooting. They went over nearly every basic aspect of basketball on the offensive and defensive ends of the court.

"Just the fundamentals -- that's what we kind of lack," point guard Steve Francis said.

Because of an unusual three-day break in the schedule, the Rockets will return to the mini-camp today and try to recover what they lost during their 1-4 trip.

They left Houston 12 days ago with an impressive 8-3 record. But they limped home over the weekend fourth in the Midwest Division at 9-7.

After taking a day off Sunday, the team regrouped at Toyota Center and tried to chip away at the long list of problems plaguing them the past two weeks.

"It really felt like a training camp practice, where we did a lot of things to help us pay attention to details," Maurice Taylor said. "When you're in a slump and not playing well, you always go back to your basics, because once you get your basics in line and get back to the things that had you winning in the first place, it helps you. You've got to go back to the little things, because it's not really any large things that are hurting us.

"It's not passing the ball well, mishandling the ball, free throws. It's the little stuff like that that is killing us. I think sometimes with the season being so long and you not having a lot of practices, you get away from the little things sometimes and just focus on the big things, which is the games."

The team's next chance to shake off the bad trip will be Wednesday night when they host Utah, which used a second-half surge to defeat the Rockets 83-76 last Wednesday at Delta Center.

The Rockets will find out Wednesday if focusing on fundamentals helps them avoid more second-half collapses, especially like they suffered Saturday against Seattle. The Rockets lost a nine-point second-half lead when their offense shut down and made only five of their last 29 field-goal attempts in the 95-88 loss.

"We just need to get more focused in the fourth quarter," Kelvin Cato said. "Right now, I think we get a little lackadaisical in the fourth quarter, and we depend on Steve and (Cuttino Mobley) to make shots instead of the team aspect."

Coach Jeff Van Gundy didn't want to oversimplify the team's problems, though. He said it's more than just bad passing and the players' inability to find the hoop late in the game.

"It's really at both ends of the floor that we stray from what we are supposed to be doing," Van Gundy said. "We need to play our best when our best is needed, which is down the stretch of close games. So, it's much more than relying on two guys."

If the players executed Van Gundy's system, part of their problems might get solved. Aside from lacking focus, the players had a hard time pinpointing exactly where they go astray.

With the recent return of Taylor and Eric Piatkowski, the Rockets have a steady rotation.

"We've just got to stick with the system and not break away from it and get erratic," Taylor said. "And a lot of times late in games, that's what happens. We hesitate a little bit, and we don't do the first thing that comes to our mind, which is move the ball and stick to the system.

"And that's going to happen when you have so many guys out. And then you've got guys out that were playing major minutes, and then they are back in the lineup."

And while Van Gundy believes two practices will help, it is not like a real training camp where major changes can be implemented. There were no overhauls Monday, but some new crinkles were added to the team's playbook.

The main thing Van Gundy wants, however, is for the team to have learned from recent losses.

Four of the Rockets' next five games are at home, beginning Wednesday. They will then travel to New Orleans on Friday and return Saturday for a game against Detroit. Next week, they play Portland and San Antonio before returning to the road for three games.

For Van Gundy, it's about regrouping and moving forward.

"When we left, obviously, this is not what we had in mind," he said. "But it is what it is. You learn a little bit about your team. And you try to get better, now."


Offensive boost
Maurice Taylor is still trying to return to his old form after serving a six-game suspension last month. But despite trying to get back in shape, his return has given the team much-needed help, especially offensively.

In the Rockets' last five games, Taylor averaged 12 points and scored a season-high 17 against the Clippers on Nov. 24. He also hit 50 percent (26-of-52) of his shots from the field -- the highest percentage by a Rockets player during that stretch.

"I feel OK," Taylor said. "I still don't feel I'm 100 percent, yet, as far as my wind or my timing or anything like that. I feel I'm just out there doing the things that are necessary and nothing really extra, because I don't really feel in rhythm, yet. Hopefully, that will come sooner than later."

New plays
Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy implemented a few new plays at practice on Monday in hopes of making his team more aggressive offensively.

The team's offense struggled during its five-game trip, in which the Rockets were outscored by an average of 91-84.

"We did a lot of shooting today, and we put in some more plays because (Van Gundy) felt that we basically turned into a jump-shot oriented team and guys weren't trying to be aggressive and go to the basket," guard Steve Francis said.

Amaechi ill
Rockets forward John Amaechi missed practice on Monday because of the flu. The sixth-year NBA player has yet to play in a regular-season game for the Rockets.

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