Rockets unleash a two-headed power forward Minus Howard, reserves' talents will be put to test By MEGAN MANFULL Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle RESOURCES ROCKETS Q&A Chronicle writer Jonathan Feigen takes your questions about the Rockets. Send your questions here Requires the free RealPlayer or Flash. SOUTHWEST CONFERENCE STANDINGS Team W L PCT GB San Antonio 49 15 .766 --- Dallas 42 22 .656 7 Houston 39 25 .609 10 Memphis 37 27 .578 12 New Orleans 14 49 .222 34.5 As of Mar 18 2005 12:29 a.m. CT COMING UP Friday: vs. Boston, 7:30 p.m. TV/Radio: Listings; KILT (610 AM) ROCKETS BY THE NUMBERS • Schedule • Movements • Roster • Depth chart • Chronicle story archive • Live NBA scores at a glance • NBA Playoffs 2004 THE PICKS • Writers & readers: Predictions for '04-'05 Scott Padgett understands that if he could transform himself to play just like Juwan Howard, the Rockets' most recent problem would be solved. But that would be too mundane for this year's Rockets. The Rockets will instead take the more challenging approach — just like they have all season. With 18 games left and their starting power forward sidelined for four weeks with a sprained right knee, the Rockets will try to prepare two reserves to match up against some of the league's best players. The challenge for Padgett and Clarence Weatherspoon continues tonight against Boston's Antoine Walker. In the next six games, they face Kevin Garnett (at Minnesota on Sunday) and Tim Duncan (at San Antonio on March 27). In the Rockets' first test without Howard on Wednesday, Padgett and Weatherspoon did a solid job in helping contain Portland's Shareef Abdur-Rahim. It doesn't get any easier for the duo, though. "They are both moving up in playing obviously more minutes, and they are playing against front-line players like Rahim versus backups, which is a big difference," Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "So (today), they get Antoine Walker and Al Jefferson, who has really played well. So that will be a change for them." Weatherspoon will start again and match up early on with Walker, who has helped Boston to a 9-1 record since he returned Feb. 24. Despite winning four difficult games on the road last week, the Rockets' only major problem came when teams spread the floor with five shooters. That's what almost doomed the Rockets against Golden State on Monday, and it's a tactic Boston will surely use. When the Celtics have Raef LaFrentz at center, Paul Pierce at small forward and Walker at power forward, they have five players able to shoot 3-pointers. The Rockets typically try to combat such play on offense with Howard in the low post, but they will have to make other adjustments tonight. "When teams go small, shooting-wise, and we have Yao (Ming) out, Juwan is our guy (whom) we can throw the ball to in the low post, so it certainly does hurt us," Van Gundy said. The Rockets will find other ways to score, though. Weatherspoon's strength is his low-post defense and rebounding. Padgett spreads defense with his ability to hit the 3. Padgett has gotten consistent minutes for most of the season; Weatherspoon's biggest adjustment comes in simply playing. He has appeared in only 22 games this season. Weatherspoon said he isn't worried about matchups, and his teammates said the same. Tracy McGrady didn't even hesitate when describing the best way to combat opponents like Walker, Garnett and Duncan. "They got Tracy McGrady, Yao Ming," McGrady said with a smile. "It's not really a big deal. Those guys are going to step up and do their jobs. It's our job to help them. It's not so much on them. "Yeah, they got a tough job, but at the same time, we're a team and we're going to do everything in our power to help them." With six consecutive victories, the Rockets are unfazed by another bump in the road. Padgett and Weatherspoon have been with the Rockets since last season and are familiar with the system. They also have earned the respect of teammates who are confident Howard's absence will be overcome. "Our team has a lot of pieces that you can put together to play small, to play big, to play an up-tempo game or a slow game," Jon Barry said. "We're comfortable in any type of game. We've shown we can score a lot of points. We've shown that we can win in low-scoring games. So we're comfortable with any type of lineup we might need." megan.manfull@chron.com
We should sign Barkley to play 12th man PF so he can get his ring with a team b/c we are going all the way this year. lol
I like Weatherspoon as much as Howad if not more. CW dosnt' miss as often as Howard and doesn't take Yaos shots in the 4th.
You want to talk about confidence! Check out this comment from Tracy: Tracy McGrady didn't even hesitate when describing the best way to combat opponents like Walker, Garnett and Duncan. "They got Tracy McGrady, Yao Ming," McGrady said with a smile. "It's not really a big deal. Those guys are going to step up and do their jobs. It's our job to help them. It's not so much on them.
I don't totally agree with this. Defensively, Spoon is able to keep up with his man, but it seems that he doesn't jump. When a player posts up on him and makes moves, spoon keeps up, but when a turnaround jumper comes, it goes right over spoon because he doesn't jump to block the shot. -- droxford
Forceing your man to shoot the jumper (as opposed to getting inside position for the layup) is always more desireable. He keeps his man away from the goal. IT will be on Yao and Tmac to give backside help once KG and Duncan look to shoot over Spoon
JVG may want to throw out a Deke/Yao 2-headed monster against the Spurs. I think Deke can still make Duncan work for his points. I'm not saying prolonged minutes here, but just try it out. Anyone know if Deke and Yao have played together for significant minutes this year? I remember one instance when they were on the court together for .7 second (end of game inbound-pass defense).
"They got Tracy McGrady, Yao Ming," McGrady said with a smile. "It's not really a big deal. Those guys are going to step up and do their jobs. It's our job to help them. It's not so much on them. "Yeah, they got a tough job, but at the same time, we're a team and we're going to do everything in our power to help them." Now thats what I'm talking about right there!!!
True. But a turnaround jumper is harder to hit if the defender actually jumps - easier to hit if he doesn't. -- droxford
not only confidence but also leadership from mcgrady and yao for what its worth t-mac and yao may not be super vocal when it comes to the media and leadership but they know what to do when it matters on the court
We should have a sticky of things that should never be mentioned again. Current items: 1. Suggest that Deke and Yao play at the same time. 2. Suggest we should pick up Malone 3. No, we cannot get the 3rd seed in the playoffs. Anybody have any more?
