Chronic: Landry scoring, smiling and homeward bound

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/5504356.html

Carl Landry beamed that broad, youthful smile. He was sitting still, but something inside him bounced. Something always seems ready to jump.

For the first time in his NBA career, Landry will go home, first to Indianapolis tonight, not far from his alma mater of Purdue and where he spent his summer working out and waiting for a contract agreement, and then to his beloved hometown of Milwaukee.

Lindbergh didn't land in Paris with more enthusiasm.

For that matter, Landry described Milwaukee as a combination of the best of Paris, New York, London and Venice. Then again, he has approached many things more mundane than his first NBA trip home with the unfettered exuberance of a Labrador.

"I have some ties with Indy as well,'' Landry said. "That's like my second home along with Houston. But there's no place like Milwaukee.

"At the beginning of the year I had this game marked on my calendar, and I wasn't getting much playing time and was on the inactive list for most of the beginning of the season. Knowing I would probably still be inactive wasn't a good feeling. But now, being in the rotation a little bit and probably having a chance to play in Milwaukee, in my hometown, is just a wonderful feeling. I can't wait. It's going to be great.''

In a span of seven minutes, Landry used the term "great'' to describe, Houston, Milwaukee, the fans, Chuck Hayes, Dikembe Mutombo, having his contract guaranteed for the season, his increased playing time and, most of all, this road trip home.

Infectious style

But Landry's enthusiasm - whether in doing the veterans' bidding or volunteering for extra autograph sessions - seems to be more than a rookie thing. For him, it starts as a personality trait and has grown into a style of play.

"He is very enthusiastic and plays with an energy that really helps us,'' Rockets coach Rick Adelman said. "It's infectious to other guys - the way he plays, the effort he makes. That play the other night when he got the cut lip (diving into the courtside seats), a lot of guys wouldn't have done that. But Carl, he's shown that every day with us. That's what you love about him.

"The game changes when he goes in. The energy level goes up. The enthusiasm - everything about the game - changes for us because he has the quickness and explosiveness the other guys don't have.''

That explosiveness got Landry playing time as a backup center and has grown into minutes at power forward. It also is why the Rockets considered Landry a steal with the first pick of the second round in last year's NBA draft. As a college senior last season, his first after major knee surgery, he had the same tenacity, but without the quickness and jumping ability.

Bounce back in his step

Like many do, Landry regained his athleticism in the second year after the surgery, though he said it was not the time it takes to come back as much as last summer's three-a-day workouts in Indianapolis that brought back his bounce.

That explosiveness has surprised many, most of all Spurs great Tim Duncan when Landry went over him to steal an offensive rebound and a dunk, with the ball smacking Duncan in the face. Against Minnesota, the third team the Rockets will face on Landry's homecoming trip, he had his season highs of 15 points and 11 rebounds and heard the first chants of his name in Toyota Center.

"It felt great,'' Landry said. "I hear them shout out Yao Ming, sing the Yao Ming song. To hear them call my name felt real good.''

After playing in just three of the Rockets' first 36 games, Landry has played in the last nine, averaging 8.7 points on 66.7 percent shooting.

"I'm learning,'' he said. "I still have a lot to improve on. I'm soaking up as much as I can from the coaching staff and the older guys on the team.

"There's times I'm just, `Chuck! Hey, Chuck! What do I do in this situation? Chuck, what do I do?' Chuck is like a coach, especially to me because I can watch him and I can learn from him with him speaking to me. Dikembe is more vocal. He's almost like a dad to me.''

Landry included Houston on his list of greats and said he wants to play his entire career with the Rockets. But last summer, with the Rockets' mid-level exception money spent on Luis Scola and Steve Francis, contract negotiations grew contentious when it came to how much of his $427,163 salary would be fully guaranteed.The point was rendered moot when on Jan. 10 the deal was guaranteed for the season.

Future is bright

Assuming he does not accept the tender offer the Rockets will surely make, Landry can become a restricted free agent. If the Rockets do not use some of their mid-level exception to sign him, the longest contract they can offer would be two years, after which they would again have the right to match any offer.

"We're really happy with his development and have him in our long-range plans,'' general manager Daryl Morey said. "He's the type of player we think can contribute to us for many years.''

That would be fine with Landry, probably even "great.'' For now, however, he is too thrilled about the next few days to think much about the coming years.

"I'm really excited,'' Landry said. "To get a chance to play in front of my friends and family will be real fun. It's great.''