CNN/SI- Marty Burns Burning Questions

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/writers/marty_burns/12/30/burningquestions/index.html

1. What's wrong with the Rockets?

Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming account for 45 percent of Houston's offense, but haven't helped the Rockets past .500.
Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

It's safe to say that no team will be happier to ring in '05 than the Rockets. Expected to be among the league's elite when they acquired Tracy McGrady in the offseason, Houston instead has been mostly mediocre. Last week coach Jeff Van Gundy's band of underachievers lost twice to the expansion Bobcats, and on Tuesday they barely showed up in a 115-87 drubbing at Milwaukee. Although they showed more spunk Wednesday night in a win at Cleveland (LeBron James sat out the second half with a bruised eye socket, courtesy of Dikembe Mutombo's famous elbows) the Rockets clearly rank among the NBA's biggest disappointments so far.

Perhaps not surprising for a Van Gundy-coached team, Houston's problems have been on the offensive end. As of Wednesday, the Rockets ranked 28th in points per game (89.1) and 25th in field-goal percentage (.428). So far Van Gundy has simply not been able to harness the incredible inside-outside combination of McGrady and Yao Ming. Early on T-Mac appeared tentative, as he tried to keep his teammates involved. After a meeting with Van Gundy, in which the coach encouraged him to be more aggressive, McGrady has looked better but still not the force he should be. For the season he is averaging just 23.3 points on 41.4 percent shooting, below his lofty standards even when taking into account Houston's slower pace. Word around the league is that T-Mac is growing frustrated.

Van Gundy, though, hardly deserves all the blame for the Rockets' slow start. Lost in all the hoopla over the McGrady acquisition was the fact that Houston gave up three starters (Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley and Kelvin Cato) in the deal. It's not unreasonable to expect that it would take a few months to sort out the pieces and find the right chemistry. In addition, the Rockets clearly still need a true point guard and athletic forward. With nobody to penetrate and dish, and nobody to go to the offensive glass when Yao and T-Mac get swarmed (Houston ranks last in offensive boards per game), Houston doesn't get enough easy baskets.

The good news for the Rockets is that the defense is strong, and there is still a lot of time to straighten things out. The recent acquisitions of Jon Barry and David Wesley should bring better ball-handling and new blood. In Wednesday's win at Cleveland, Houston's lineup of Bob Sura, Wesley, McGrady, Juwan Howard and Yao down the stretch seemed to do a better job of moving the ball and creating offense. Only time will tell if the roster renovation helps shake up the Rockets, but at this point Van Gundy has nothing to lose.