Chron: Swift starting to show his stuff

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/3559703.html

Rockets forward finally puts solid games together

By JONATHAN FEIGEN
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

The Rockets were locked in a tight game in the final seconds of the third quarter Wednesday against the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets when during a timeout, Juwan Howard said the supportive teammate version of what Rockets fans had to be thinking.

"Who is that No. 4?" Howard asked his teammates. "Did we sign somebody to a 10-day?"

He of course knew perfectly well that No. 4 is Stromile Swift, and that he had been signed to a five-year, rather than 10-day contract as the Rockets' primary offseason addition. But it was as if he and the Rockets never had seen the player who finally was producing as they had hoped.

Swift finished with 27 points and 13 rebounds, both season bests, and followed that with 17 and 13 against the Golden State Warriors on Saturday. The Rockets lost both games, extending their losing streak to five games. But as they search for bright sides, the Rockets also might have found the help they wanted when they added Swift in July.

"It would be huge," Rockets forward Tracy McGrady said of the hopes Swift could reliably become so productive. "Especially with Yao (Ming) out, he's got the opportunity to go out and score for us. We need other scorers. If teams are going to key up on me, we'll need somebody else.

"He showed this is the type of player we think he can be. He has to want to be that every night for us. Especially with all those other guys out, this is what we need from Stro. Hands down, this is what we need. He has unbelievable talent. He has to want it. We all believe in his talent. We all believe in him. He has to believe it himself to be able to go out and produce."

With his 44 points over the past two games, Swift, a 6-9 forward, is averaging 9.3 points and 4.9 rebounds, almost his career averages of nine points and 4.9 rebounds.

The Rockets were not the first to believe he could be more productive than that. He always has provided flashes. But for Swift, the issue this season, as with his five with the Grizzlies, has not been what he could do, but how often he will do it.

"I just have to be more consistent and do that more often," Swift, 26, said. "There's always opportunity. Yao is out. We're undermanned. I try to just do my job and play hard, and try to bring energy to do what I can to help the team win.

"I feel a little better. I'm learning as I go. It's time for me to bring energy, play hard, do what is asked of me, just do my job."

Pace picking up

In the Rockets' first four games without Yao, including two that Swift started, he made eight of 28 shots and averaged 3.75 rebounds. In his past two games, he made 16 of 27 shots.

"This is not like a Stro thing, it's anybody in this league," coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "If you want to play well, you prepare well, you are intense by nature, you play a smart game that can be a consistent game, you have a skill you can go to and you have an energy that can carry you. That's how you become consistent in this league.

"If consistency was easy in this league, every player on every team would do it. The reason there is inconsistency, the skill level, energy level and preparation level varies. That's why guys who have habitual consistency problems have problems in those areas."

That might sound like a "Stro thing" but Van Gundy stopped short of analyzing how well Swift does the things he said lead to consistency.

"I'm not going to judge him for public consumption on that," Van Gundy said. "I don't think that does anybody any good."

Productive in many ways

But when he is in public, Swift has shown a tendency to go however things go for him early. If he is productive quickly, he has seemed more likely to continue to produce. But those that believe in him most also believe Swift can help in many ways and at many times.

"If you don't get your touches, there's other ways to be productive for us," McGrady said. "That's on the defensive end, blocking shots, running the floor like a thoroughbred. If you run the floor, you have a guy that's willing and able to pass you the ball and reward you for running the floor. Those types of things."

So when Swift had 19 on his way to 27, Howard openly wondered about the new guy. McGrady was convinced Swift could make nights like that the same-old, same-old.

"He can be that type of player, 20 and 10, without a doubt, without a doubt," McGrady said. "He's unbelievable."