[Chronicle]T-Mac Probably Grounded

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/2895612

Tracy McGrady made his way around the Toyota Center practice court swishing shots, but he did so slowly and carefully. He didn't jump. He didn't smile, even when he swished the last shot with his eyes closed.


That McGrady was shooting, or even walking, on Wednesday seemed a sign of progress until he said he was sorer than the night before. It was Tuesday when McGrady revealed his strained hip flexor and groin strain and said that if the injuries did not improve, he could not play tonight against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

McGrady said Wednesday he had not given up hopes of playing, but Rockets trainer Keith Jones said McGrady is out for tonight and will be "day-to-day" from there.

"We're giving him time to rest, let it heal, get it stronger, and then we'll make another assessment Friday," Jones said. "It all depends. With muscular things, it is either three days, or it can be months. I don't think we're dealing with that. He's going to be out Thursday."

McGrady spoke as if he would be out tonight, though he later said he would not accept the assumption he could not improve enough to be on the court. He had been sore since playing the Grizzlies last Friday but played 47 strong minutes against the Kings a night later. His sore groin muscle grew tighter Monday.

By Tuesday, McGrady had pain shooting from the groin to his right hip. It grew worse when he landed awkwardly after making a first-half jumper over Memphis' Shane Battier and became debilitating when he collided with Battier early in the second half.

"I'm disappointed, but it's still early in the year," McGrady said. "I've been through this. It happened before. Two or three years ago, it kept me out for a game or two.

"It's a sharp pain every movement I make, every time I lift up my leg. There's a lot of sharp pain."

McGrady said the injury felt roughly the same as in the 2000-01 season. Once he returned, he was not hampered by it.

"I'm not even counting tomorrow out," McGrady said. "I'm going to get treatment ... and see how it feels, go through our pre-game. If I feel like I can go, I'm going to play. It's going to take a lot to really keep me out of this game. If I feel like I can't go out and be effective, I'm going to have to sit out. But I'm not counting tomorrow out. It's too early for that. I might wake up and feel good."

Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said he has not given McGrady's availability a thought and that he would leave the decision about whether McGrady will play to McGrady and Jones.

"If a guy's out, another guy's got more of an opportunity," Van Gundy said. "It's not who plays; it's how we play. We have to play better."

Still, Bostjan Nachbar, who will start tonight, will not be asked to initiate the Rockets' offense as has McGrady. Even moving slowly, and usually with a limp, McGrady had seven assists in 29 minutes Tuesday and set up much more.

"You just play to everybody's strengths," Van Gundy said. "You don't ask any player to do more than he's capable of, and yet you don't accept anything less than they're capable of. Boki and Ryan (Bowen) will do a good job.

"What wins remains the same. What we have to do is play harder than the team we play against, more together than the team we play against and smarter than the team we play against. We hit the lottery last night. We rolled some sevens. But if we continue to play like that, it doesn't matter who plays — we're going to lose.

"I'm interested in controlling what we can control. That's how we play. Who plays is up to Keith and the individual players."

The Rockets as a whole will likely not have the luxury of playing hard only in the second half as they did Tuesday, especially without McGrady and especially against the Timberwolves.

Nachbar will not be asked to direct and trigger the Rockets' offense. But he will be asked to contribute.

"I won't force anything. I'm not going to try to replace his scoring average or the things offensively he's been doing the past couple games," Nachbar said. "If there are openings, I'll take them. The most important thing is defensively. In no way am I coming out saying, 'OK, I'm replacing Tracy and will do the things he does.' "

That's OK. At the moment, McGrady can't do the things he does.

"It really is (disappointing), especially playing against Kevin Garnett with the Timberwolves in town, one of the elite teams in the league," McGrady said. "I was definitely looking forward to seeing where my team is at.

"It's disappointing overall to miss a game and deal with my injury. In this league, things happen like that. The good thing about it, it is the beginning of the season. The bad thing about it is I hate being injured, and I hate sitting out."

 

Here are the other Rockets notes:

Rockets Summary

Familiar face
Former Rockets forward Eddie Griffin will play the Rockets for the first time since he was released last season. Griffin, signed then by the Nets, did not play last season while dealing with personal and legal issues but was signed by the Timberwolves and played his first game since the 2002-2003 season on Tuesday.

"I think it's a good story," Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "I hope he makes it. He was a real nice kid the few times I dealt with him. I don't think there is any doubting that all the stuff that led to him having to be released or bought out set the franchise back dramatically. When you give up three first-round picks for one, what you're thinking will be a special player and it doesn't work out, I don't think it's any question it will set you back.

"But if you also look at what he was fighting through as an illness, which I do, you hope he gets better, which hopefully he has or seems that he has. I wish him nothing but the best.

"I'm just happy for him. If he's happy and he's healthy, that's a good thing."

Only three Rockets — Maurice Taylor, Bostjan Nachbar and Yao Ming — played with Griffin. Jim Jackson and Scott Padgett were in camp with him last season before Griffin was suspended and eventually released.


Drawn to Yao
With the Rockets likely to be minus Tracy McGrady, their determination to build their offense on an "inside-out" style could become stronger against the Timberwolves. Yao Ming averaged 18.8 points on 56.6 percent shooting against Minnesota last season, but with McGrady out, Yao might also be used to draw double teams that provide open outside shots.

"If I need to get the whole (defense) on me, the first thing I think I have to do is do a better job of sealing the defense before I catch the ball," Yao said.