Weekly Essentials: 'We have a problem!' Houston's M.O. no mo' [CBS Sports]

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Weekly Essentials: 'We have a problem!' Houston's M.O. no mo'

Tony Mejia Jan. 7, 2008
By Tony Mejia
CBSSports.com Staff Writer

When the Houston Rockets take the court Tuesday night in D.C., they'll attempt to do something unprecedented in the Tracy McGrady era -- complete a three-game winning streak without him.

That's an amazing statistic given the chances the past few years. The game against the Wizards is expected to be the two-time NBA scoring champion's 60th absence since he was acquired by Houston in the summer of 2004. Most of that time has been surrendered to recurring back problems, though right now the culprit is a sore left knee compounded by a strained tendon.

Luther Head is one of several Rockets stepping up with T-Mac on the mend. (Getty Images)

The Rockets went 2-2 without McGrady in his first season with the team, 7-28 in 2005-06, 2-9 last season and opened up 2-5 before weekend victories against the Magic and Knicks.

"You hope you can take wins and you run with it. The schedule starts to turn in our favor now," Shane Battier said. "We've got a stretch where we can go on a roll here, we feel, and start a win streak."

Washington has also been trying to survive without its best player, star point guard Gilbert Arenas. The Wizards have managed to do so and stay above .500 without him and his backup, key veteran Antonio Daniels, who returned only last week. Despite the attrition, they would make the playoffs if the season ended today.

The Rockets, who evened their record to 17-17 by defeating New York on Saturday, wouldn't. They opened the week 10th in the Western Conference.

"We've had a brutal schedule. Not to make excuses for ourselves, but it seems like we've been away from home every other day since training camp," said Battier. "Now that the new year is here and the schedule goes in our favor and we have some more home games, we need to capitalize on that and get some momentum.

"Look at Portland. Portland started out 5-12 and they're on an unbelievable hot streak. Confidence is an amazing thing in this league and once you get it, it can really propel you to a higher level."

It's true that the Rockets haven't benefited from the schedule makers, playing only one stretch with at least three consecutive home games. Meanwhile, they've already had three road trips of at least that length and are currently in the midst of a stretch of four of five away from home. Following Wednesday's visit to Madison Square Garden, the Rockets will be home for five in a row and seven of their next nine, giving them an opportunity to claw back into a race they were expected to be a major player in.

Houston opened 6-1 under new coach Rick Adelman, making everyone who jumped on its bandwagon and declared it a championship contender look awfully smart. Its depth was a significant weapon. A roster fortified by offseason additions Luis Scola, Mike James, Steve Francis and the unexpected return of Bonzi Wells made the team strong and deep. Then the bottom fell out. The Rockets came up empty in a grueling stretch against the Lakers, Spurs, Suns, Mavericks and Heat, raising doubts. McGrady missed a couple of those games with elbow tendonitis, but it became impossible to ignore that despite all the sweeping changes, the Rockets still weren't good enough to compete with the Western Conference's elite. Then McGrady's knee problems began -- he shot 6-for-28 in a pair of games trying to play through it -- and he has since shut down, missing all action since Dec. 28.

"We're all just trying to weather the storm until he comes back," said point guard Rafer Alston. "Everyone is trying to get into their rhythm, so when he does come back, we know he's going to have it going. We just want to be able to continue what we're doing to help him out."

At the very least, the Rockets have shown some signs of life since 2008 began, pooling their resources instead of looking around for someone to come save them. They've done a better job playing through Yao Ming (averaging 23 points and 10.2 rebounds in the past six games without McGrady), who is really stepping up as a leader without overshadowing his supporting cast. He helped Houston win in Orlando, holding Dwight Howard to just eight rebounds -- nearly half his normal average -- and causing the Magic star to foul out of a game for the first time since last Jan. 20.

Wells and Luther Head, seeing increased playing time as a result of McGrady's absence, have combined to average more than 25 points per game. Wells is pitching in seven boards per game over the past six, while Head has scored in double figures every time out since moving into the starting lineup. Alston has chipped in with averages of 17 points and five assists and his backup, rookie Aaron Brooks, has carved out a role as a tempo-changer, scoring a career-high 22 in the win over the Knicks.

"It's difficult to win big without your best players, but in the interim you can win games in the regular season with a collective effort," said Battier. "With everyone working together, we've entered a stretch where we're playing better basketball. Earlier in the year, we were really stagnant. We're really moving the ball now, shots are falling and we need to continue that when Tracy does come back."

The Rockets are cautiously optimistic McGrady might play this weekend, perhaps as early as Friday against slumping Minnesota. While that's great news, it's about time his teammates stopped circling his potential return date on their calendars; they have finally started showing up for games without him. Given the hole they've dug for themselves and the unexpected rise of the Trail Blazers that Battier referenced, every win they pick up now is no longer a bonus but necessary.