[Ft. Worth Star-Telegram] One Star Isn't Enough for the Rockets

<a href="http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/sports/basketball/11542978.htm"><font size="+1">Rockets Notes: One star isn't enough for Rockets</a></font>
Posted on Mon, May. 02, 2005
By Dwain Price, Star-Telegram Staff Writer

DALLAS - The Houston Rockets have a bona fide superstar in Tracy McGrady, a player capable of putting the team on his back and dragging it to the finish line.

But the further the Rockets-Mavericks series has progressed, the more Houston coach Jeff Van Gundy has asked of McGrady. And an overused McGrady just might be worn down and not as focused down the stretch -- when the Rockets have blown the past two games of this best-of-seven series.

"Great players [have] to be able to play both ends of the court," Rockets guard Mike James said. "He's doing a great job. He just has to have help from the supporting cast.

"We just can't ask Tracy to do everything all the time."

McGrady is doing the bulk of the scoring for the Rockets. He's also asked to bring the ball up the floor a lot; rebound; set up his teammates; defend the Mavs' best player, Dirk Nowitzki; and probably even sell hot dogs and sodas at halftime.

After the Rockets went up 88-82 with 5:40 remaining in Game 4, McGrady missed three shots and committed one of his team's three turnovers in the rest of the game.

"Tracy's got the ball in his hands so much right now he's going to have some mistakes," Van Gundy said. "You're asking a guy to defend their best player in the post; it's a wearing process."

McGrady, who is averaging 31.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 6.8 assists in 45.3 minutes per game in this series, said it's obvious he has had plenty of help this season. But now he needs someone else to step up and make a big play.

"I think right now everybody wants it so bad, but we're just not staying poised," McGrady said. "And when those guys double-team me and deny me the ball, it's like, 'What do we do now?' "

<b>Where's Yao?</b>

Rockets center Yao Ming is shooting 72.5 percent from the field in the series. But Yao rarely got the ball in the waning moments of Games 3 and 4.

Part of it was because he was in foul trouble. But the Rockets must find a way to get Yao more involved on offense to have a chance to win the series. He has attempted 40 field goals in four games, making 29.

Yao, who is averaging five fouls per game in the series, said he can help his cause by staying out of foul trouble. He was limited to 25 minutes in Game 4, but scored 20 points.

At 7-foot-6 and 310 pounds, Yao is a huge mountain for the Mavs to climb. But he's averaging only 28.9 minutes per game.

"Somehow, some way we have to ... get the guy the ball," Tracy McGrady said. "He has to take more than seven or eight shots a night, because if he doesn't produce and doesn't get the ball, regardless of what I do, we're not going to win."