Steve Kerr: Delayed launch

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Delayed launch

By Steve Kerr, Yahoo! Sports
November 11, 2005




MIAMI – The Houston Rockets have lost three consecutive games since Tracy McGrady went down with a bad back. The offense has been scattered and disorganized late in games.

In fact, Houston's fourth-quarter execution has been so erratic without McGrady that Jeff Van Gundy joked his team's late-game efforts should be referred to as "Rockets Gone Wild."

I'm assuming he's referring to the lack of discipline his team has shown offensively and not the "excitement" it is providing the fans in Houston these days. The Rockets averaged just 81 points during their three-game losing streak, including only 84 in Thursday night's loss to the Heat.

Fortunately for Houston, McGrady's back injury isn't as serious as first thought, and he should return within a week. His presence will provide punch to the offense and allow the Rockets to close out tight games – something they have not been able to do. Still, McGrady's injury has exposed some potential problems for a team that has championship aspirations, and it has raised an important question: Do the Rockets have enough talent surrounding Yao Ming and T-Mac?

Houston faced the same question last season when it started slowly. The Rockets were a plodding, stagnant club that was described by their coach half-jokingly as "the worst passing team to ever grace the floor in the NBA." But general manager Carroll Dawson made midseason trades for Mike James, Jon Barry and David Wesley to bring some much-needed energy and offensive skills.

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Those moves, combined with the return of Bob Sura from injury, transformed Houston into a tough, feisty unit that stormed into the postseason. If not for their slow start, the Rockets might have earned a higher seed and done some damage in the playoffs. But playing catchup after a 6-11 start led to a fifth seed and a first-round loss to the Mavericks, with the clincher coming in Game 7 on Dallas' home court.

Van Gundy was hoping for a quick start this season to put the team in better playoff position in April. But Houston is 1-3 following the loss in Miami, and nine of its next 11 games are on the road. Unless the Rockets can turn it around quickly, they're in danger of falling into a hole and seriously jeopardizing themselves in a deep Western Conference.

Assuming the Spurs stay healthy, a Southwest Division crown for the Rockets is highly unlikely. That means Houston's only hope for home-court advantage in the first round is a No. 4 seed. But in order to achieve that goal, the Rockets will have to make major improvements.

Sura is once again sidelined by back and knee injuries, and his return at any point this season is in question. Wesley, who turns 35 on Monday, is coming off knee surgery and struggling with his shot. Barry still has his moments, but at his age he can't be counted on every night. And James – the defensive dynamo who also sparked Houston with his shooting a year ago – was traded to Toronto for point guard Rafer Alston.

The Rockets are counting on Alston, along with fellow newcomers Derek Anderson and Stromile Swift, for energy and offensive firepower. So far, all three have struggled. Swift has been slow to pick up Van Gundy's defensive schemes and rotations, and as a result he is playing just 21 minutes a night off the bench. Alston and Anderson are starting in the backcourt, but without McGrady to create opportunities for them, each is having difficulty getting on track offensively.

As a group, Houston is relying too much on Yao, and that is wearing on him late in games. He was terrific against the Heat on Thursday, finishing with 24 points and 14 boards, but he scored only two points in the fourth quarter and was noticeably fatigued.

McGrady's health, of course, will determine plenty. The Rockets run most of their offense through him, and he provides – as Van Gundy calls it – "the greatness that all teams rely on at the end of games." If McGrady stays healthy the rest of the year and plays at a high level, he could change everything. The new additions may thrive playing next to the superstar, and Yao won't have as much of a burden on his shoulders. Perhaps Sura will return and again provide a spark. Maybe the puzzle will fit together and Houston will contend for a championship.

But until McGrady is back, Van Gundy won't really know what he has.


Steve Kerr is Yahoo! Sports' NBA analyst. Send him a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.