[Foxsports.com] Western Conference grades

http://msn.foxsports.com/story/3241202 - to view the whole article. I just took the Houston portion out.

Houston: D
Despite recent signs of life, the Rockets have yet to lift off. Playing belligerent defense has been a hallmark of all of Van Gundy the Shorter's teams, and Houston is certainly continuing the tradition. However, putting the ball through the ring is the Rockets' most daunting task. The major problem is one of philosophy — the Rockets' retro-pace on offense is well-suited to the lead-footed movements of Yao Ming and Jim Jackson, whereas Tracy McGrady needs to sprint his way through a game. How, then, to establish a workable balance between T-Mac and Yao?
Should the big fellow be primarily used as a moving pick and occasional post-up option? Or should Houston play inside-out basketball, with Yao regularly receiving passes only a short-jumper away from the ring, thereby forcing the defense to twist itself into convoluted, protective alignments that leave McGrady either unguarded or in one-on-one situations? From Jabbar to Hakeem, from TD to MJ, championship teams have always relied on somebody being The Man, singular. With Phil Jackson's Lakers, Shaq was The Man until crunch time, when his miseries at the foul line turned him into a decoy. Whenever a game was on the line, it was usually Kobe who wore the Big Hat.

Might the Lakers' model work for Houston? It sure looked that way in McGrady's miraculous finish the other night against San Antonio. My guess is that Van Gundy will eventually tailor his game plan to suit McGrady, only because it's easier to two-time Yao in the pivot than it is to double T-Mac on the outskirts.