[ESPN.COM] McGrady practices, leaves decision to Van Gundy

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=nba&id=2291587


HOUSTON -- The Houston Rockets say they're not looking at the calendar, but they better start soon.

Four straight losses have dropped them to 12-22, the second-worst record in the NBA. And with stars Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming among six players out with injuries or illnesses, the Rockets need to get well in a hurry to turn around their dismal season.

"Right now, we're not even thinking about the playoffs," said McGrady, who practiced on Friday after missing two games with back spasms. "Our main thing is to get everybody back on the court healthy. We have a hell of a team when we're healthy."

McGrady said he felt fine after Friday's workout, but left the final decision on when he'll come back to Coach Jeff Van Gundy.

The Rockets play New Orleans on Saturday and Van Gundy is still mulling whether McGrady will go.

"If he says he feels good enough, then I'll decide if I feel good enough about the way he feels," Van Gundy said.

McGrady has missed nine games because of his recurring back problems, the most critical of the long list of injuries that have plagued the Rockets all season.

Guard David Wesley is the only player from the opening-day roster who hasn't missed a game and eight of the current 15 have missed a total of 77 games. That doesn't count point guard Bob Sura, who's missed the entire season after back surgery in November.

Yao is aiming to return on Jan. 29 -- the start of the Chinese New Year -- after surgery to remove an infection on his left big toe. Guards Jon Barry and Derek Anderson remain sidelined indefinitely with calf strains and forward Stromile Swift is out until at least next week with an eye infection.

Juwan Howard, who had 24 points and 15 rebounds in Tuesday's loss to Sacramento, said the team can't afford to dwell on the injuries this late in the season.

"We all know how that situation is right now," he said. "We just have to go with what we have on the court and feel confident with the guys who are going to play that night."

Despite the adversity and the losing -- the Rockets are a league-worst 3-11 at home -- the players say the morale hasn't suffered.

"We still believe in ourselves," said center Dikembe Mutombo, who missed two games last month with a broken and lacerated finger. "We have to stay positive, try to encourage to each other until we can find the solution to winning again."

Howard, who's been on losing teams before, said the attitude in the locker room gives him hope that the Rockets can finish strong.

"When you lose a lot of ball games, guys start to point fingers, guys start to separate, you see a lot of dissension, you see guys you call 'cancer guys," Howard said. "I haven't seen guys like that on this team. Each and every one of us is looking at ourselves in the mirror and wondering what can we do better."

A season like this is all new to Van Gundy, who's never coached a losing team in 10 NBA seasons. He can be harshly critical -- but always honest -- about what's been wrong with his team.

For a while, teams exploited their inability to guard pick-and-roll plays. Stopping penetrating point guards remains a problem. And the offense has been a weakness all season -- the Rockets are averaging only 89.26 points per game, the second-worst average in the league behind Portland.

Like McGrady, Van Gundy said the Rockets have to focus on the present and not worry about missing the postseason.

"Long-range thinking is not good for our team right now," he said. "Today, just concentrate on trying to have a good practice and tomorrow, just try to play well. If we keep it that simple, that gives us our best opportunity to play well versus looking at the standings -- 'Oh, my, we're 10 below (.500)' or 'Oh, look how good everybody else is doing.' It's a lot of wasted energy."