http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/3489653.html Nov. 29, 2005, 2:15AM McGrady puts the 'V' in MVP Value of star to Rockets exceeds greatness as player By JONATHAN FEIGEN Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle The argument that the Suns convincingly made last season was that even a glance at their performance without Steve Nash proved that he was the NBA's Most Valuable Player when he did play. In that case, Tracy McGrady might have this season's MVP wrapped up. Of course, when he does play, McGrady might have to do for the Rockets what Nash did for the Suns. The Rockets, who are hoping to have McGrady back tonight against the Atlanta Hawks, are 0-8 without him and 3-3 when he plays. He has yet to play an entirely healthy game this season, having started the season with knee problems. But whenever McGrady returns, his value to the Rockets would seem to clearly go well beyond his numbers. Making team better It can be that way with the best players. "A guy like a Tracy McGrady ... can score 20 to 30-plus points, but ... he's a playmaker," Rockets forward Juwan Howard said. "He's a guy that can make his whole team better. That's what his greatness is all about." The Rockets have ample issues to address beyond getting McGrady's strained back well enough to play tonight. He said whether he will play would be determined by how he felt after Monday's full practice. They certainly can use the help. At 3-11, the Rockets would have to answer their seven-game losing streak with wins tonight against the Hawks, Saturday against the Memphis Grizzlies and next week against the Boston Celtics just to match last season's worst record, 6-11. "We've been through this before, but it's never been this deep," McGrady said. "This is like the Grand Canyon we got to dig ourselves out of." While they still must address other shortcomings, nothing can offer more of an immediate help than McGrady's return. The Suns last season averaged 111.1 points, made 48.1 percent of their shots and went 60-15 when Nash played. When he didn't, they averaged 103.4 points on 43.8 percent shooting and went 3-5. OK minus Stoudemire They won both games without Amare Stoudemire last season and continue to win without him this season. Last season, their scoring increased 9.3 points and their shooting percentage improved from 47.6 percent to 52.1 percent when he didn't play. Two games don't not make much of a sample. But the Suns could not improve through two minutes without Nash. Jason Kidd had the same impact on the New Jersey Nets. They went 38-28 with Kidd, 4-12 without him. They averaged 93.3 points with him, 83.4 without him. And they made 43.3 percent of their shots with him, 41.2 percent without him. Without McGrady, the Rockets have averaged just 83.4 points per game on 39.8-percent shooting. "It's more (a matter) of being needed," McGrady said. "You can be good but at the same time, you might not be that player that inspires his teammates and makes his teammates better. "I think I'm that person that is needed right now, because I do inspire my teammates on the basketball court. I make them better. Also, when we're struggling in the fourth quarter like we have been, I'll be that guy that will close out games and make the offense run smoothly and get us better shots in crunch-time situations." In many ways, as with Nash and the Suns and Kidd and the Nets, McGrady helps define the Rockets. Point guard depleted The team has surrounded McGrady with catch-and-shoot players to take advantage of his ability to drive and pass. Because McGrady handles the ball so often, they opted not to go deep at point guard, making injuries to Rafer Alston and Bob Sura more devastating. With McGrady off the court, teams can pressure rookie Luther Head and David Wesley in the backcourt, slowing the offense. "He probably won't ever be as pressured with the ball as some of our other guys are experiencing — the ... constant harassment and pressure," Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "He doesn't feel that same pressure because he can go by guys right away and make a solid play." McGrady's absence also allows defenses to gang up on Yao Ming. "When you don't have a guy such as myself, you're taking 25 points per game out of the lineup," McGrady said. "All the focus is going to your big guy. You have guys playing front and back of Yao, taking him out of the game, and we don't have too many guys creating their own shots or creating shots for their teammates." Offensively, McGrady basically does the things that have been left undone without him. Less certain is whether he is ready to come back. "It all depends on how I feel after a hard day's work at practice," McGrady said. "I'm sure that I will probably play tomorrow. I'll make that call before the game. You have no idea how much I want to." Just a little bit less than the Rockets need him. In the end, it's not complicated. "I think he's just great," Wesley said. "It's hard to give up greatness." jonathan.feigen@chron.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ROCKETS SUMMARY Guards still out A bone scan performed on Rockets guard Jon Barry failed to show any additional damage to his bruised left ankle. Barry missed Saturday's game and will be out tonight, with a timetable for his return not expected to be set until later this week. Guard Rafer Alston (fractured fibula) is also out tonight and doubtful to play on Saturday against Memphis. Rotation may change Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy indicated he might be looking at changing his rotation in the frontcourt. Ryan Bowen played power forward in the fourth quarter on Saturday, when the Rockets came back from a 15-point deficit. But Van Gundy did not say if using Bowen more was what he had in mind. "We have to find a rotation there that gives us the necessary awareness, knowledge and focus to help us there," Van Gundy said. "No-thing has prevented me from using Ryan at a 4 even when Tracy (McGrady) was out." Asked if that was what he had in mind, Van Gundy said, "I'm not saying where I'm heading. I'm saying if we're going to improve, it will be because we get some perimeter guys back and healthy, and hopefully play more efficiently on the perimeter. "But we've been healthy inside. ... I know who can play well for us there. That's guys with great intensity, awareness, knowledge and focus. That supersedes any individual skill or talent." Spring fever Heading into their last game of November at 3-11, Rockets center Yao Ming said it feels like spring, and he was not talking about the weather. "We have to start fighting for the playoffs right now, not wait for April," Yao said. "We are behind our opponents so far. We are far away from .500. It's a huge (difference) from our hope to now. But those mistakes did not happen by themselves. We did it on our own." JONATHAN FEIGEN
And Two V's Give you a W!!!!! Yeah Baby!!! This was a great piece btw. It's easy to forget how this team was really constructed with T-Mac as the centerpiece in mind. Without him, it's like losing the keystone to a bridge. This team with Yao and T-mac as a tandem, I feel, is kind of like the reverse of the Lakers of old. Absent Kobe, but plus Shaq, the Lakers were still winning. Last season, and arguably this one too, with Kobe, the Lakers could only go so far. With T-Mac and Yao, I think T-Mac is clearly the "franchise" player while Yao is the "nice to have" second option. Should Yao (heaven forbit) get injured but T-Mac healthy, it's possible as pure speculation that the Rox would be doing much better than 0-X. The up/downside of T-mac, as I'm now starting to see, is that he becomes so much a focal point on the team that teams come to rely on him heavily. A T-mac is very inter-dependent on T-mac. But unlike Orlando, T-mac does have a stronger more complimentary supporting cast here. With him, I think a lot of the things the Rox have been trying to accomplish on the offensive end will proceed much more smoothly. theSAGE
Without Yao, T-mac will probably get more wins than Yao will considering the current guard centric rules. However, the wins T-mac will pull in will barely get the team 8th place in the playoff hunt. Its the synergy that will get us over the top. T-mac = 1 Yao = 1 T-mac + Yao = 4. Both must be healthy to be considered a contender. Yao is not a nice second option. He is a necessary piece that 27 other teams need to get over the hump. Give the team more time, they will gel and dominate. We did extremely well last year and this year Yao is clearly better. When T-mac comes back, watch out!
damn... even the chronicle's in on the act fracture tibula = DOGHOUSE. also... broken spine = doghouse
'The team has surrounded McGrady with catch-and-shoot players to take advantage of his ability to drive and pass." This is the most ironic, perhaps even the funniest statement based on the results this season.
