Article Link Here April 21, 2005, 1:38AM Rockets clobber Sonics McGrady sits out to give his sore back a rest By JONATHAN FEIGEN Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle Houston 106, Seattle 78 Maybe the Rockets really are this good. They're about to find out. If nothing else, they hit the playoffs looking the part, with most of the Rockets completing the regular season with a 106-78 rout of some of the SuperSonics on Wednesday night. The Rockets capped a seven-game roll into the postseason, and the latest blowout gave them a three-game run of routs won by an average of 27 points. But there is some unfinished business to address before the Rockets face the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday in the opener of their first-round playoff series. Tracy McGrady had enough of a sore back Wednesday morning to be held out Wednesday evening. McGrady said he was certain he would be able to play Saturday against the Mavericks. But Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy made a point to emphasize that the back spasms were so real that even if Wednesday's regular-season finale was a playoff game, McGrady would not have played. McGrady's back, Van Gundy said, is "a concern." "That wasn't one of those fake sit-out-the-last-game, made-up injuries," Van Gundy said. "He wasn't out there. I can't tell you what might happen." He couldn't, but Jon Barry could. "He'll be ready," Barry said. "He'll make sure he's ready. There's no way he's not going to be ready. I don't care. I'll be over at his house massaging if I have to." Even without the healing touch of Dr. Barry, the rest of the Rockets seemed as ready as the run up to the postseason could make them. While McGrady rested his sore back, Sonics star Ray Allen was afflicted with disinterest, described as a sprained right ankle, and Rashard Lewis had enough tendinitis remaining in his left knee to join Allen as a spectator. That reduced most of the drama to the halftime ceremony for Turbo, the Compaq Center dunker who came back to retire, halftime speech and all. About the greatest tension was to see how many technical fouls could be called by official Steve Javie, who hit five before the need arose to bring in Jerry Lewis' telethon tote board. The Rockets did, however, accomplish most of what they wanted to during the late-season sprint to the finish line. Though Van Gundy fretted about the Rockets' still shaky pick-and-roll defense, knowing what awaits them in Dallas, he said his team's offense has gotten better. That was most apparent when Mike James went MJ, knocking down 10 of his 13 shots for 24 points. In the four-game run up to the playoffs, James sank 27 of 43 shots after making 13 of 34 in the previous four games. "I've been working hard, and hard work pays off," James said. "I've been in the gym every day, getting up extra shots and taking advantage of my opportunity when I get on the court. "It feels good, because we know it's not going to be an easy game on Saturday. We know we've got to focus on Dallas, and we've got to understand that Dallas is a very good team, but our main focus is the Houston Rockets. We have to play our game on both ends of the court." The Rockets made 53.7 percent of their shots Wednesday and 68.8 percent of their 3-pointers, more than enough to feel a strut coming on. They were making 62.3 percent of their shots and had led by as much 39 points when Van Gundy cleared his bench. "Offensively, we're really clicking right now," Barry said. "Mike James is tearing it up the last two games. Bobby (Sura, who made six of eight shots for 18 points) is shooting it good, David (Wesley). We're clicking offensively certainly, so we're ready to go. "(The Mavericks) are 17-2 since Avery Johnson took over. A ton of weapons. They're playing a lot better defense. They're a great team. But if this team plays to its capability, I don't care who we're playing. We're awfully good when we do the right things. We've shown signs of doing that. We've shown signs of being a bad team, too. But if we play well, I like our chances." The Rockets were so in command Wednesday that by the third quarter there was even a two-person chant of "Take Yao out." Yao Ming stuck around for most of a 15-3 run before being pulled after 23 minutes on the floor. No Rockets starter, other than McGrady's fill-in Ryan Bowen, played more than 27 minutes. "We're starting to play in the playoffs on Saturday, so tonight coming in, we knew we couldn't relax," Yao said. "We still had to play it like it was a regular game." It was not quite a regular game. But the Rockets can only hope it will be like the playoff games to come. jonathan.feigen@chron.com ROCKETS SUMMARY McGrady injury 'legit' When Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy announced that Tracy McGrady would miss Wednesday's game, he added the answer to the obvious question before it could be asked. "McGrady's out, back spasms which are legit," Van Gundy said. "It's not a fake thing. So that's of concern. Hopefully he'll be able to play on Saturday. We'll see." However, McGrady said he was certain he would be ready for the start of the first round in Dallas on Saturday. "It's bad enough to keep me out tonight," McGrady said. Asked if he were concerned about Saturday, McGrady said. "Nooooo. Nooooooooo. Not at all. This is bad enough to keep me out tonight." McGrady improved enough through the day to merit the optimism. "This morning his back was tight, sore," Rockets trainer Keith Jones said. "He got a lot better during the day, but we thought it was something where he wasn't 100 percent so it would be better to rest him. Saturday, I think it will be fine. "It could always get worse, but I'm more optimistic now because he's a little better than when he came in. We'll just have to wait and see." The Sonics held out Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis. Antonio Daniels and Vladimir Radmanovic are on the injured list. Double prep time The Rockets' coaching staff mixed time studying tape of Dallas with tape of the SuperSonics. "We were trying to get ready to play (Wednesday), and we're trying to get ready for Dallas at the same time," coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "In all this analysis, psychoanalysis and over-analysis, people are not showing any respect to what Seattle has accomplished, totally dismissing what they have accomplished as far as saying we would have been better off with a certain team that has a better record (than the Rockets) than another team that has a better record." Schedule to like Handed the playoff schedule shortly after arriving in the locker room Wednesday, Rockets players said they were happy to trade the opportunity to fly home between games for not having to sit around in the drawn-out playoff schedule. "You get in a rhythm like that," Bob Sura said. "You like to play, have an off day and play." Game 1 will be Saturday in Dallas with Game 2 on Monday. Game 3 will be Thursday with one day off before Game 4. Asked about giving up the practice day in Houston be- tween games in Dallas, Sura said, "We got so used to being on the road in March we should be able to handle that." Press row view If there is anything that could carry over from a meaningless regular-season game to the playoffs, it would seem to be shooting. Effort and intensity would seem givens. But shooting can come in streaks, and the Rockets head to the postseason on a roll. It turned out that the Rockets did not need to win four at home to end the season. But the way they rolled, the season-ending homestand might have been the tune-up to help them do something when they get there. Inside the numbers • 51 — Wins, fifth-most in franchise history. • 68.8 — Percentage on 3-pointers, a season best. • 4 — Home winning streak, matching the season's longest. • 51 — Points from the bench, the second most this season with the top three coming in the past three games. • 15 — Starting lineups by the Rockets this season, with Ryan Bowen moving to 5-1 as a starter. Did you know? With a 96-68 record in his two seasons with the Rockets, Jeff Van Gundy's .585 winning percentage is the best of any coach in Rockets history. -- JONATHAN FEIGEN
