[Hollinger]To Reach the Next Level, the Rockets Need McGrady

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HOUSTON -- Tracy McGrady wasn't there. And yet he was everywhere.

In Houston's first game after announcing its star guard would be out for at least two weeks to work on a sore knee (and, many suspect, a bruised psyche), the Rockets made two things abundantly apparent: First, that they have enough talent to compete with anyone even without McGrady ... and second, that they have no chance of beating the West's elite unless he's there.

Playing without both McGrady and Ron Artest, Houston gave the Western Conference-leading Lakers everything they could handle for three quarters on Tuesday before ultimately falling short 105-100 before a Toyota Center-record crowd of 18,557.

Amazingly, the Rockets didn't seem to miss their two key perimeter scorers much in the first three quarters. Houston scored on its first six trips and shot 60 percent for three quarters, and Yao Ming destroyed Andrew Bynum in the paint, outrebounding him 17-1.

But after being outscored through three quarters 23-20 by Von Wafer -- you know, the Von Wafer -- Kobe Bryant took over the game in the fourth. He pitched a 13-0 shutout on his opposing number in the final stanza that included a game-winning 3 with Shane Battier "right in his grill," helping the equally injury-riddled Lakers overcome a rough night from Bynum.

Meanwhile, Houston didn't have a go-to guy around to answer Bryant's charge. After several weeks of timid play, McGrady and the Rockets agreed he'd sit out for at least two weeks and basically pretend it's the offseason, working on strength and conditioning in order to get him fresh for the stretch run and, hopefully, easing some of the pain in his surgically repaired knee.

"I looked back on some of the film it was hard," said McGrady before the game. "Some of those games I had some fast breaks [where] I was actually petrified at times to got to the basket or to have a fast break and to jump off my leg. I was. I'm not ashamed to admit that.

"I'll go back to my old regimen in the summertime. I will act like its July, go to the track and do my normal offseason workout. I've already started that."

Of course, some would argue T-Mac started acting like it was July several weeks ago -- part of an ongoing is-this-guy-really-hurt-or-is-he-just-a-wimp debate that is impossible to know the answer to without spending some quality time inside McGrady's knee. Houston seemed ready to move on without him before the game, with Rick Adelman declaring it was time to worry about the players who were there and healthy, but that would have been easier if it hadn't been reminded so clearly of T-Mac's absence down the stretch.

Bryant matched Houston's total with 11 points in the final 6:16, the final three putting the Lakers up 102-100 with 27 seconds left, and that's when things unwound for Houston. Rafer Alston missed two foul shots that could have tied the game, but the Rockets got another chance to tie down by three with seven seconds left.

Instead of going to McGrady and relying on him to make the right decision, the ball went to Aaron Brooks in the corner, who couldn't escape and threw it inside to Yao Ming, who turned, surveyed his options, and then let nearly the entire clock expire before missing a meaningless two-pointer with one second left.

It was amazing the Rockets were in this game at all given some of the rag-tag lineups they employed. With McGrady, Artest and Luther Head all sidelined, Carl Landry was pressed into service as a small forward and played the bulk of crunch time there. Brooks was guarding Trevor Ariza for much of the second quarter, Brent Barry took a shift guarding Bryant, and we had our first Dikembe Mutombo sighting of the year when he played for four minutes in the first half.

But the Lakers had to grind this one out as well. Bryant had to serve as the backup point guard since Sasha Vujacic and Jordan Farmar were out, Lamar Odom returned and gutted out a 10-point effort on a sore knee after a scoreless first half, and little-used subs Sun Yue and Josh Powell both saw some burn in the second half.

The difference-maker, in the end, was Bryant's presence, and McGrady's absence.

"I think it's just need," said Lakers coach Phil Jackson of Bryant's late-game heroics. "I think it sends him to another level."

"I'll take that shot every day of the week," said Battier. "That's probably the least efficient shot you can give him on any given Kobe possession, a 35-footer with a hand in his face. That speaks to his talent."

Meanwhile, the Rockets left the arena appreciative of a strong team effort, yet knowing that moral victories weren't going to cut the mustard in a cutthroat Western Conference playoff race.

And while no sane person would count this team out -- not after what they did in the second half last season -- it's abundantly clear what they lack without their top playmaker. Houston took only eight foul shots all night, one of which came on a technical foul, and mustered just 18 points in the fourth quarter.

Thus, Tuesday cemented that the Rockets find themselves in a very strange dilemma moving into the second half of the season. Yes, they're capable of winning it all if they ever get healthy. But there's only one guy who can take them to the next level, and they're not sure he's interested in doing it.

John Hollinger writes for ESPN Insider. To e-mail him, click here.

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