Chron: Rockets go to aces in hole

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http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/3168578

Rockets go to aces in hole
McGrady, Yao on pick-and-roll keys to survival in Game 6 tonight
By JONATHAN FEIGEN
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

Yao Ming. Top of the key. A perfect screen followed by a roll toward the basket.

Tracy McGrady. On the dribble. Flying around Yao and into the teeth of the Dallas defense.

It would perhaps be fitting, somehow appropriate in an artfully ironic way if it all — tonight's Game 6, the series between the Rockets and Mavericks, the whole national debate swirling since the largest penalty ever assessed an NBA coach — came back to that, a simple pick-and-roll.

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said he complained to the NBA about Yao setting what he considered to be illegal screens.

Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy complained about Cuban's influence when complaining about Yao setting what he considered to be illegal screens.

NBA commissioner David Stern was livid about how Van Gundy complained about Mark Cuban complaining about Yao setting what he considered to be illegal screens.

Then from all that, from the Rockets' slide in the series to a 3-2 hole and the brink of elimination, from the record $100,000 fine Stern levied on Van Gundy, from the firestorm over the comments and the issues, the whole mess returned to the court where it began.

The Rockets rallied in Dallas with Yao setting screens and rolling to the basket, with McGrady finding him with sharp passes.

The Rockets lost Game 5, but might have found a way to attack — with their favorite play, the one that started all this.

The Rockets have their usual long list of concerns and necessary improvements heading into tonight's Game 6 at Toyota Center. They desperately need to secure their defensive boards and be quicker to loose balls. They have to be sharper and more precise defensively. But when Yao scored 15 fourth-quarter points Monday, most on McGrady's pick-and-roll passes, he and McGrady were back where they were when the season began six months ago, as the keys to the Rockets' playoff success, and now, survival.

"Very complicated," Van Gundy said. "We've run it every game, all game. It's been our most effective weapon, obviously, throughout the series."

They have run it all season, but it might never have been more effective than in Game 5 or perhaps more important than in Game 6. But with the scrutiny given Van Gundy's comments, Stern's reaction and the screens that began the controversy in the first place, the Rockets' best play was perhaps never watched more closely.

Forget the refs

"You have to play ball," McGrady said. "You can't worry about that. Refs are going to call what they see. We can't let them take us out of our game because somebody's complaining about Yao's pick-and-rolls. No, we're going to continue to run our things, run our sets the same way, whether it's pick and roll or catch and shoot. Whatever it is, setting a screen, it doesn't matter. We're not going to let them (referees) take us out of our game."

For all the attention, relatively few fouls have been called on Yao and Dikembe Mutombo for moving when setting screens. But Yao said such scrutiny would find missed calls involving any player.

"If you want to focus on one game and focus on every second in 48 minutes, you can find a lot. If we want, I think we can find a lot of players' mistakes in those tapes," Yao said.

That kind of review — or even a passing glance — could uncover opponents getting away with excessively physical play against Yao and other plus-sized centers, but Yao said he will have to live with the bruises.

"First of all, if they are not calling it, we still need to play," Yao said. "On the court, we still need to focus on the team's game plan. We don't fight with referees. If we fight with them, even if we beat them, that's not going to help us. But if we don't get a call, that means my room, my spacing is less. They can push harder."

That was one of reasons the Rockets switched to beginning much of their halfcourt offense with Yao setting screens. With Yao setting a pick on opposing perimeter players, the center assigned to him had to step out to help on McGrady and the Rockets guards, allowing Yao to move into position inside without fighting through the assorted elbows and body blocks teams set up in his path.

Works for Yao

The midseason change has worked well enough in the playoffs for Yao to average 21.8 points on 73.6-percent shooting, the best shooting percentage in the playoffs so far. McGrady has averaged 30.2 points per game, third highest in the league, while averaging 6.6 assists, to tie for sixth.

The Rockets' problems have come down the stretch in the past three games, when they could not get loose balls or rebounds that led to decisive plays. They could understandably believe they wasted opportunities to win or take a significant lead in the series, especially when leading in the fourth quarter of consecutive home games. Instead, they said those failings are correctable.

"You can look at it one of two ways," forward Scott Padgett said. "We were three games we were in. We thought we should have won all of them. What if we were playing our best and they were just beating us? You'd know there was no room for improvement. We know there's room for improvement. We can go out and improve. It's not like they're killing us."

With a win, the series would come down to one game in Dallas. And the Stern-Van Gundy issue might finally be moved to an afterthought.

Chance to win

"Let's see how we handle this adversity," McGrady said. "If we can come out and handle ourselves in the proper manner in the fourth quarter and do the right things and give ourselves a chance to win, or be leading in the fourth quarter, then we can get this win, and then it's back to a one-game series."

If they can do enough to get it to a one-possession game, they could even go back to where they started, with McGrady and Yao coming together in at least one more pick-and-roll.

jonathan.feigen@chron.com

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Rockets Summary

Mutombo to the rescue?

For all the attention paid to the $100,000 fine levied on Jeff Van Gundy, including offers to pay the fine, Van Gundy said thanks, but no thanks.

"I've been blessed throughout the years," Van Gundy said. "I appreciate all the gestures. It's just not something I would feel comfortable with. I got myself into it. Everybody can judge it however they want, and they have. It's up to me to deal with it. I appreciate everybody in Houston that reached out to help. I just wouldn't be comfortable with that."

Rockets center Dikembe Mutombo had a different sort of help in mind. Considering his affection for NBA commissioner David Stern and Van Gundy, Mutombo said he might appeal to Stern to reduce Van Gundy's penalty.

"I think $100,000 is a lot of money, even though we do make a lot of money in this league," Mutombo said. "I don't care how much money Jeff makes, but fining the guy $100,000, oh my God. Ten thousand dollars. Twenty-thousand dollars. Good. I don't care what temper came out Jeff's mouth.

"I think I'm going to make a phone call to the commissioner and talk to him on a friendship level if you can reduce the fine. I feel bad if he's going to hit my coach like that. I love coach. I love my coach Jeff. I love the commissioner. He's done a great job for this league. I'm like a man between both of them. I don't know who to hug next." - HE'S DA MAN!

Van Gundy, however, said he would rather Mutombo did not concern himself with this situation.

"I don't want him to think one second about my dilemma," Van Gundy said. "We should all be thinking about our dilemma, which is Dallas, transition defense, pick-and-roll defense, rebounding, handling their defense. Like I said, this is on me. I do like our guys. They don't need to think at all about my thing."

Backs against cliché wall

Rockets center Yao Ming's increasing mastery of English apparently includes the popular vernacular for a team faced with playoff elimination.

"I played this game before, this do-or-die game before," Yao said. "Maybe not in NBA, but in China and in the Olympics. I know that feeling. Your back is on the wall right now. We are like an animal in the corner. We are dangerous right now. We are dangerous."

Told of Yao's determination, Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy pointed out that Yao's mastery of sports clichés might not be a key tonight against the Mavericks.

"I'd much rather see him get 30 points than worry about what cliché we pull out next," he said.

Home blues

The Rockets had the worst home record of any Western Conference playoff team and are winless in two games in the series against the Mavericks at Toyota Center.

But Tracy McGrady said there is no reason, if the Mavericks could win at home on Monday after consecutive home losses, that the Rockets cannot win tonight after consecutive home losses.

"I won't say that we've lost control (of the series), but we sure enough don't have the lead," McGrady said. "We can help ourselves out (tonight) because everything's in our favor because we're at home. The first two games we won on the road, they came here and beat us on our home court, went back and they won at home. So why not us? Why not us?"

Smarter, now

There was considerable criticism and questioning of Avery Johnson's coaching credentials when the Mavs fell into that 2-0 hole to start the series.

"We never had any questions in the organization," said team president Donnie Nelson. "We're really proud of A.J. We threw him into a tough situation, taking over the club late in the year, and in this series he's shown his toughness. I think it helps that he's been in these situations as a player and knows what it takes to fight back."

Terry tunes

One game after he blitzed the Rockets for 32 points, Jason Terry was back to being a traditional point guard. He scored only 13 points, but dealt seven assists and committed just one turnover in Game 5.

"That's what I'm always telling Jason, that he's got to learn to read the different situations and take advantage of the opportunities that present themselves," said Mavs coach Avery Johnson.

Including playoffs games, the Mavericks are 23-6 when Terry hands out seven or more assists.

It's all a dramatic difference from Terry's first five NBA seasons in Atlanta, when he was usually on vacation by now.

No Josh-ing

After scoring 17 points in each of the first two games of the series, Josh Howard did not crack double figures in either game in Houston. But he bounced back in Game 5 with 17 points and eight rebounds.

"He was huge," said Jason Terry. "Josh knows his energy is key for us. He does the little things. The intangibles — loose balls, rebounds, runs the floor on the fast break and gets tip-ins."

-- JONATHAN FEIGEN and FRAN BLINEBURY