Chron: Schedule may define Rockets

Schedule may define Rockets

Stretch starting with Sonics, Spurs should sharpen postseason picture

By MEGAN MANFULL
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

The regular season doesn't end until April 20, but the Rockets expect to know their postseason fate much sooner.

They begin arguably their toughest stretch of the season tonight when they start a back-to-back series against two of the Western Conference's most formidable opponents. The Rockets will play Seattle (35-15) at Toyota Center, then travel to San Antonio (41-12) for a game Wednesday.

The schedule hardly gets lighter. In the Rockets' next 10 games, they will play only two teams (Utah and Golden State) with losing records. They will play Seattle twice in that span and meet San Antonio, Chicago, Washington, Dallas, Phoenix and Sacramento once.

When that stretch ends, Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said the playoff picture will be pretty clear for the Rockets.

"We're going to be in one of four places," he said. "We're going to be in the hunt for home-court advantage. We're going to be in the hunt for the fifth spot. We're going to be in fairly solid playoff position for 6, 7 or 8. Or we're going to be in a fight for our lives for one of those playoff spots. It'll be interesting to see."


No. 3 vs. No. 6
The Rockets (32-21) sit in the sixth spot in the West. If the standings remain unchanged, they would play third-seeded Seattle in the first round.

That matchup hasn't even crossed the mind of many Rockets. They are focused only on regaining the momentum of their eight-game winning streak and riding it to a top-four seeding, which would allow them to open the first round at home.

The Rockets need to pass Dallas (35-16) and Sacramento (33-20) to gain home-court advantage in the playoffs — something the franchise last accomplished in 1997.

Moving up may seem difficult, but guard Jon Barry said tough opponents are a benefit, not a detriment.

"The list goes on and on of tough games," Barry said. "If you're a competitor and you enjoy playing, that's what it's all about. Those are the ones you want. Those are the easy ones to get up for. The hard ones are going to Atlanta and going to all these garbage teams."

The Rockets must still play Seattle four times. They also have three more games against Phoenix and two trips to San Antonio. Miami and Cleveland also lie ahead.


Challengers below
Aside from trying to jump Sacramento and Dallas in the standings, the Rockets will have to try to maintain distance from Memphis, Minnesota and the Lakers. Minnesota won two games before the break with new coach Kevin McHale and is now at .500.

Memphis (30-23) won six of its last 10 games and trails Houston by only two games in the Southwest Division.

"We started off with the easiest part of our schedule in the first two months, the next six weeks was a bit more challenging, and the final 59 days is by far the hardest schedule in the league," Van Gundy said. "It's not even close. It's brutal. So if we're going to make the playoffs, we're going to have to play better."


Fast start sought
The Rockets struggled before the break to put together solid offensive and defensive outings, but they still were able to win their last eight games. They capped the first half of the season off with a 30-point victory over Washington.

After a week with no games, though, the players said the biggest test starts tonight.

"I don't think guys are going to try to ease back into this thing," Tracy McGrady said. "They realize what's at stake. Seattle is definitely one of the top teams in this league, and we've got San Antonio back-to-back. These first two games are really pivotal for us."

megan.manfull@chron.com


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rockets Summary
Mistaken identity
Jon Barry couldn't wait to see Tracy McGrady before practice Monday. He didn't want to congratulate McGrady on a strong All-Star Game outing, though.

"I was mad at Tracy," Barry said. "A friend of mine called me and said they were listening to ESPN Radio, and they were talking about our team.
Tracy said, 'The trades for David Wesley and Brent Barry really helped us out.' "

McGrady, referring to Jon's brother who plays with the San Antonio Spurs, knew he had slipped up.

"I saw him today, and I said, 'Trace, I have a bone to pick with you,' " Jon Barry said. "And right away he knew. He said, 'I called you Brent.'

"So I'm thinking of something. I'm just going to call him Vince (Carter) or something next week. I'll get him back."


Unwatchable
Despite Stan Van Gundy coaching the Eastern Conference All-Stars and Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady starting for the West, Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy didn't watch Sunday's game.

He turned on the TV only to see how his brother reacted during the introductions but saw nothing else. For a coach who loves defense, the All-Star action is too unbearable to watch.

"I would love to see them actually play all out," Van Gundy said. "That would be a terrific game. Even if you're not a coach, would it be interesting to watch NFL football if they just let people run into the end zone?

"I don't see what the attraction is when guys aren't competing as hard as they can. It would be like the All-Star Game in baseball if they were lobbing it up at batting practice speed. What fun would that be? I just don't get it, myself. But it's not really for fans; it's for sponsors anyway."

-- MEGAN MANFULL

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/3050989