http://www.sportsline.com/nba/story/8066976 We are 12th, and going up!! Power Rankings: Trades ignite Rockets' fuse By Tony Mejia SportsLine.com Sports Writer Houston, we have liftoff? After Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal divorced, many believed the combination of Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming would eventually ascend to the Western Conference throne. Tracy McGrady has benefited most by the Rockets' switch to an up-tempo offense. (Getty Images) Except the pieces didn't fit. McGrady felt handcuffed and offered little on the defensive end, while Yao grew visibly frustrated with his inability to carve out a niche. And Jeff Van Gundy wasn't about to shake his mentality that a defensive, plodding style was best suited to winning. He experimented with lineups and rotations, played the hot guy, played defense-oriented lineups, went big, went small, went crazy. Last week, the Rockets shipped former starters Jim Jackson and Tyronn Lue in separate deals, landing veteran guards David Wesley and Jon Barry in return. Van Gundy relented on his philosophy slightly, opening up the offense by starting three guards and giving them the freedom to run up and down the court. Houston hasn't lost since. Tricky Van Gundy. Everyone knows the only way to succeed at an up-tempo game is to have your defense key your break. Stops and steals equal quick transition buckets. Quick transition buckets equal a happy McGrady. A happy McGrady is a productive McGrady, as evidenced by the colossal averages he supplied in three games last week: 33.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, 5.6 assists. For the first time since Nov. 9, the Rockets are over .500. They will try to establish a season-high four-game winning streak at home against Phoenix on Wednesday, looking to excel in transition against the team that does it best. Yao might have to sacrifice some touches in the post, but the Rockets appear better suited for a quicker style. That's certainly the way they're now constructed, and at the very least, it's an improvement that all the pieces are now geared to fit the same puzzle. The Power Rankings through games of Jan. 3: Current 12 Houston Rockets Previous 15 From purgatory to playoff contention, David Wesley has got to be the most fortunate player in the league right now.
Lue never started. McGrady plays good defense. And yep go Rockets! I definitely like uptempo games with more scoring..and yes we still have to play our good defense.
as I pointed out in another post - of the last 3 wins, 2 were against teams with better records than the rockets (t the time) and 2 were against teams that already beat them this season...so "easy" is subjective. Also, the wins were not squeekers - we dominated all three games
