Rockets find new pain A loss to Spurs when win in reach leaves world of hurt By JONATHAN FEIGEN Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle SAN ANTONIO - Of all the Rockets' aches and pains, the wounds that have come to diminish and perhaps even define their season, this was one they did not see coming, not Sunday, and most of all not here. Tracy McGrady's back continued to torment him and the Rockets. David Wesley's ribs screamed in pain as if he had been hit with a sledgehammer. But when the Rockets headed home Sunday with an 88-81 loss to the Spurs, the Rockets' 17th consecutive loss in San Antonio, they brought with them the throbbing pain of thoughts of what could have been. Regret, it turns out, hurts, too. "We're not a team like earlier in the season," Rockets center Yao Ming said. "We know we can play." That was what stung. The Rockets, at least for much of the game, had overcome the losses of McGrady and eventually Wesley. They led 42-38 at halftime. They put together an outstanding fourth quarter to cut a San Antonio lead that had reached 11 points to as little as two. But they also came out for the start of the second half so slowly, they helped send the Spurs flying. And after three quarters of taking away the paint and cutting off San Antonio point guard Tony Parker, the Rockets could do little to slow the Spurs' fourth-quarter jaunts through their defense. As outmanned as the Rockets might have been, their second-half failings left them lamenting what they could have done but didn't. "We could have come out in the third quarter," guard Rafer Alston said. "That was the turning point. "We came out of the locker room lackadaisical, not in tune, not ready for what they were going to hit us with." Spurs tighten up on Yao The Spurs scored the first seven points of the second half, and, in outscoring the Rockets 9-2 in the first three minutes of the third quarter, they scored seven of those points on second and third shots. "The game changed in the third," Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "They dominated us. They just outcompeted us in the third, and it showed on the boards. They were much better than us defensively in the third." The Rockets were outscored 26-11 in the third quarter, scoring fewer points than they had in any third period this season. After scoring 17 first-half points, Yao took just three shots in the period, making one. "We made a few adjustments (on Yao) in the second half," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "He's a tough cover. He's a great player, and he's been playing well." San Antonio aggressively doubled off Luther Head and Keith Bogans, keeping Yao surrounded by two and three defenders and more effectively challenging his passes out of the post than most teams have been in Yao's recent run. "They double-teamed very hard, and it's not just hard," said Yao, who had 25 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and three blocked shots. "Most important, they take the ball away from me, and I could not make a good pass. "Usually, when people come on the double team, I can still see what's happening on the floor, find the open man so we can still get some chances on the weak side. "Today, that didn't happen. Today, particularly Bruce Bowen, his finger almost hit my eye so I can't see. By the time we rotated to the weak side, we got nothing." But the Rockets made a run in the fourth quarter, and, after Rick Brunson and Head nailed consecutive 3-pointers, Alston got a tough drive to fall to cut the San Antonio lead to 79-77. Paint ball But by then, the Spurs were scoring in the paint on nearly every possession. When the Rockets closed within a bucket, Michael Finley drove the baseline to throw down a hard slam just as Yao was entering the picture. Manu Ginobili followed that with a pull-up jumper and then added the slickest of crossover dribbles to fly past Yao to another stuff. After scoring 26 points in the paint through three quarters, even with their rush of offensive rebounds to start the second half, the Spurs had scored 12 consecutive points in the lane in a span of four minutes. When Ginobili got into the lane again, he found Finley in the corner for a trey with 39.7 seconds left that clinched it. "We made bad plays down the stretch, missed some plays that could have turned the game around," Head said. That was what hurt. A day that had begun about who couldn't play, ended with thoughts of what could have been different. jonathan.feigen@chron.com Rockets Summary Surgery weighed for T-Mac Results of Tracy McGrady's MRI on Saturday, sent Sunday to Los Angeles specialist Dr. Robert Watkins, could determine whether there is a surgical solution to McGrady's ongoing back problems, Rockets trainer Keith Jones said Sunday. Watkins examined McGrady on Friday and said he likely would be out for up to three weeks. Watkins had said McGrady's current problem is not chronic but is the result of a fall March 5. But McGrady has often said he has a bulging disk that has led to back spasms. A bulging disk is generally not treated surgically, but if McGrady has a herniated or ruptured disk, there could be surgical options. "It all goes back to the original (condition)," Jones said. "He does have those irregularities in the disk. Whether it's bulging, herniated, whether it's a tear, that's what we're looking at, to see if it's any different from the past MRI. If they find something, and it's something that can be fixed, fix it now. "They did the test, but they sent it out to Watkins. Then our guys are going to look at it and then confer (today) and give us something. I don't know if they found anything. I haven't heard they found anything. The radiologist and the back specialists are looking at it (Sunday) and (today.)" Including Sunday's loss in San Antonio, McGrady has missed 15 games this season because of back problems and one for a personal matter. Last word "It doesn't make it any easier. If bench-pressing was part of the game, maybe. We didn't just change for the better, I'll say that." — Jeff Van Gundy on Keith Bogans replacing Tracy McGrady Inside the numbers • 25 — Consecutive free throws made by Yao Ming in the past 2 1/2 games. • 10 — Consecutive games in which Yao has scored at least 20 points. • 26 — San Antonio's wins in 27 home games this season when it takes a lead into the fourth quarter. • 15 — Spurs' second-chance points Sunday, the most against the Rockets since Feb. 3. • 10 — Points by Rockets guard Rick Brunson, a season high. JONATHAN FEIGEN
Surgery is scary Like I said. . most guys come back from surgery . . . kind of Half of what they use to be Rocket River TMac. . I hope you DON'T HAVE TO HAVE Surgery
Well, it's clear that there are only two paths that can be followed: 1) Don't have surgery and watch T-Mac get worse and worse each year as his back continues do degrade with age and activity. 2) Have surgery and attempt rehabilitation. Pick your poison.
I hate to sound negative...but how many guys have come back from back surgery regaining their athleticism? (I truly don't know).
its interesting that they are saying this is a different injury, that is treatable now. I wonder if that's true or if that's spin. the rockets are gonna look foolish if they got a damaged player.
if we start to lose, especially if we fall5/6 games back from the 8th spot...i say Tmac have the surgery now and get better for next season but at the end of the day, i think we can get to the playoffs.....i hate those sac queens go rockets
I don't know a thing about back surgeries, but if there's a procedure that could prove a long-term solution for his back, I'm all for it. Better to make the investment now.
No doubt back surgery can be a risk, but the alternative looks to be more of what we've seen this season. Pick your poison.
They have made amazing strides in disk surgery over the past 20 years ~ yes it is risky, but IMO it's a fairly low risk at this point. I've had many friends and family members over the years have various disk surgeries ~ working on the neck area is much trickier and that is the only one that i've seen the surgeon have trouble with. Surgery will of course put Tracy out for the season.
