Rockets sizzle when their stars distribute freely By MEGAN MANFULL Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/2889646 Even though Tracy McGrady joined the Rockets wanting to play alongside Yao Ming, the shooting guard understood they wouldn't be playing 2-on-2. McGrady also had been around the league long enough to know 2-on-5 wasn't going to get them far, either. If the Rockets (2-2) were going to be successful this season, McGrady knew everyone would have to be involved. In the past two games, he has made that happen. He has created opportunities for his teammates, and that team philosophy has helped the Rockets to their first two victories. "We just can't rely on us two every night," said McGrady, who had nine assists against Memphis on Friday and five against Sacramento on Saturday. "With me being a playmaker, that's what I have to do. I'm trusting my teammates. "Regardless if they miss 10 shots in a row, I'm going to keep coming back to them. "They are important. They are important to our team, and we just have to put our trust in them and that's what we did." McGrady and Yao have created a number of open looks for their teammates this season with defenses collapsing on them almost every trip down the court. They have found the open man and passed off in hopes of capitalizing on what opponents give them. With time running out in regulation and the game tied against the Kings, McGrady found Tyronn Lue open for a 3-pointer on the wing. Lue, who had hit a 3 earlier in the game, missed the potential game-winner, sending the contest into overtime. But the Rockets stuck with their same philosophy in the extra period. McGrady and Yao attracted the defense, which eventually turned Charlie Ward into an unlikely hero. Ward had missed six 3-pointers in a row before hitting back-to-back 3s in overtime to give the Rockets the victory. "I like the fact that Yao and Tracy keep trusting, keep passing and live with the results," Van Gundy said. "I love that." The players seem to be embracing their roles. Different positions were up for grabs during camp, but no one needed to ask who the go-to guys were. In the Rockets' first four games, Yao and McGrady have shot 38.8 percent of the team's field-goal attempts and have accounted for 157 of its 360 points. "They are going to take their shots because we need for them to be aggressive," Ward said. "We understand who our guys are and who's going to have the ball the majority of the time, and we expect them to make the right plays. And we did a good job of getting them the ball and them making plays. "And at the right time, other guys stepped up and did what we were capable of doing." McGrady and Yao understand how much it benefits them to get their teammates involved. If Ward can continue to improve on his 42 percent shooting from 3-point range, opponents will likely be forced to step out, giving McGrady and Yao more breathing room. The same will be true if Jim Jackson and Juwan Howard start becoming more of an offensive threat. Jackson is shooting 35.9 percent from the field, well below his career average of 43 percent. Howard, who has shot 47.1 percent through 10 seasons, has hit only 34.3 percent in the first four games. "They've been doing a great job of finding us," Lue said. "And if we're able to knock down our shots, that opens up more for them. "They've been trusting us a lot and we just have to continue to knock down shots." megan.manfull@chron.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rockets Summary Two-headed point guard After Sacramento found success playing point guards Mike Bibby and Bobby Jackson together Saturday, the Rockets did the same. With the Rockets trailing 68-77 with 9:18 to go in regulation, Charlie Ward joined Tyronn Lue on the court. The combo helped to slowly cut into the deficit, and they remained in the game through overtime. "I thought in the first half, I just didn't like how we played when they had their two points on the floor," Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "And so in the second half, when they went to that ... we didn't really have a whole lot to lose at that point either." The lineup was new to the players, but they had few problems adjusting. "It was all right," Lue said. "I was playing mostly point. Charlie, being the veteran he is, knows all the positions, so he played the two." Home away from home Tracy McGrady isn't playing near his hometown of Bartow, Fla., anymore, but it felt like it at Toyota Center in the Rockets home opener. Many of the center club-level seats across from the Rockets' bench were devoted solely to the "McGrady Mob," which wore matching T-shirts designed solely for his Houston debut. They also wore Rockets baseball caps and carried a homemade banner that read "Tracy McGrady family." McGrady's grandmother even wore a red Rockets jersey that said "Grandma" underneath the No. 1. "I had like 60 people come from my hometown," McGrady said. "All my family came." MEGAN MANFULL
Didn't Weisbrod say that McGrady only cared about his own numbers, and wasn't willing to do what it takes to get the team to win? Isn't this more evidence of how much of an ass Weisbrod is? -- droxford
