[ESPN] Houston's watching his back

I found this a semi-interesting read, and really found that paragraph about Yao's gift for TMAC pretty funny. I love this team.


Houston's watching his back
By Marc Stein
ESPN.com

HOUSTON -- This Christmas, they don't really have the assets to make another trade or two. They can't even think about trying to manufacture a roster spot for Latrell Sprewell, furthermore, unless Spree significantly slashes his contract demands. All the Houston Rockets can do at this point is what they did Tuesday night.

Which breaks down to showing up for the games and hoping they find Tracy McGrady feeling this sturdy.

The signs weren't promising at the morning shootaround, when McGrady's back stiffened just standing and listening to the game plan. Yet by tipoff time, with the pain as manageable as it's been since his awkward fall in practice Nov. 4, McGrady decided to make his grand return. A few hours later, finally smiling again and tapping his wood-paneled locker for luck, McGrady expressed cautious optimism that he can play through this level of discomfort for a while.

"I'm not going to be 100 percent," he conceded, "regardless of what I do and how much rest I get."

The Rockets, as a result, couldn't get too giddy about McGrady's 25-point, nine-rebound, five-assist comeback in a 100-85 defeat of the Atlanta Hawks. This is probably how it's going to be for them for the rest of the season, praying McGrady can grind away at whatever percentage accurately assesses his health . . . and wondering how he'll feel the morning after.

Not that the Rockets have much choice. It's pretty clear, after they went 0-8 without him, that the only certain route to drastic improvement is a lasting upturn in T-Mac's health.

Ten days as a spectator, helpless to rescue a needy Yao Ming and the needier souls Yao tried to carry, "felt like forever" in McGrady's words. Yet he seriously flirted with skipping this one as well and waiting to come back Saturday against Memphis, having promised himself that he wouldn't play if a cortisone shot was required. After rushing back earlier this month, this time he preferred to wait as long as it took until the pain subsided to last season's levels.

"It's pretty much the same [back problem] I've had before," McGrady said. "So I know how to handle it. [But] I definitely don't want to come back and then have to shut myself down and set the team back again.

"Everybody's been in my ear telling me not to be Superman [and] just sit my butt down."

It was the prudent approach no matter how far Houston had sunk, considering McGrady hasn't been healthy since camp started. It was knee discomfort before the back, prompting the suggestion that T-Mac -- in his quest to atone for the 116-76 humiliation in Game 7 at Dallas that ended last season -- might have overworked himself in the off-season.

Of course, he's spectacular even at this speed and even when rust and fatigue leads to eight turnovers. He overcame any conditioning concerns to fill up the box score and the highlight reel, swooping at each end to block a Zaza Pachulia dunk attempt and then duck under the rim to toss in one of his trademark twisting layups.

He also liberated Yao from increasing scrutiny and criticism and you could tell how grateful Yao was. The big man has been promising to buy McGrady a new IPOD and promptly presented the gift in the locker room, after Yao suggested to the assembled media that this was "a new start for us to rebuild our whole season."

They need one, since Houston's 6-11 record from last December looks enticing compared to the 3-11 depths that greeted McGrady's return to work. Especially knowing that they're unlikely to swing the sort of turnaround-sparking deals seen last Christmas, when the Rockets acquired David Wesley and Jon Barry to help change their personality.

"I'm not happy with the win," McGrady said. "I'll take it, but we've still got a lot of work to do."

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