[USA Today, Hoops World, Salt Lake Tribune] Newspaper Articles on the Rockets

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/2007-04-26-west-moves-countermoves_N.htm?csp=34

West moves, countermoves: Rockets-Jazz, Suns-Lakers

By David DuPree, USA TODAY
USA TODAY takes a closer look at the Houston-Utah and Phoenix-L.A. Lakers Western Conference first-round playoff series'. Heading into Thursday night's Game 3's, the Jazz and Lakers have to make some key adjustments to avoid 3-0 deficits.
Houston Rockets (5) at Utah Jazz (4)

Game 3: Thursday night, 9 ET, NBATV

Series: Houston leads 2-0.

Double trouble: Houston's Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady are having their way against the Jazz with Yao averaging 27.5 points and 11 rebounds and McGrady 27 points, seven rebounds and six assists in the two games.

Countermove: Utah has to take one or the other away. Trap McGrady when he puts the ball on the floor and force him to the baseline and away from the middle of the floor. Swarm Yao as soon as the ball goes into him. Decide which one to focus on and stick with it.

Bam-boozered: Carlos Boozer took advantage of Yao when the Rockets went to that matchup and had 41 points, 12 rebounds and six assists in Game 2.

Countermove: Boozer is the only Jazz player who has shown any consistency because he has been aggressive in going to the basket. He has to continue to do that. Yao on him isn't a good matchup for the Rockets, who were lucky Yao wasn't in foul trouble.

Rare Okur-rence: Mehmet Okur averaged only five points and shot 17.4% in the first two games after averaging 17.6 points and shooting 46.2% during the regular season.

Countermove: He has to show up if the Jazz are to have a chance. He must keep shooting because that's what opens the offense for Utah.


http://www.***************/article_21747.shtml

Rockets: 2-0 Lead, but Real Test Coming

By Bill Ingram
for ***************
Apr 24, 2007, 10:53


Two years ago the Houston Rockets were in the same position that they now find themselves in. Up 2-0 in their first round series against the Dallas Mavericks, they appeared to be sitting pretty on their way to the second round. Then they returned home and lost two on their home court and eventually lost the series.

Take nothing for granted.

Rockets head coach Jeff Van Gundy was unusually eloquent in his post-game session on Monday night, though you have to so some reading between lines to make out all of the keys to the Rockets¡¦ win. Here¡¦s a quick look at what Van Gundy had to say and what it all means.

"Digging yourself a hole again is not a great way to start," the Rockets coach began, referring to the eight-point lead the Jazz (well, Carlos Boozer) built almost immediately.

"Obviously, I thought we struggled with Boozer tremendously. I thought he played a great game," Van Gundy added next.

Indeed, he did. Boozer scored at will, no matter who was guarding him. He hit mid-range jumpers, made quick moves around Yao Ming to get to the hole, and made a variety of hooks and scoops in the lane en route to a 41-point performance.

"I thought we took some ill-advised threes in the first half - four or five contested threes. Some of the other ones that were open, that¡¦s who we are and to win we¡¦re going to have to make them."

Here Van Gundy was talking about Tracy McGrady. McGrady commented later that he's a rhythm shooter and he just has to keep shooting until he starts to hit. "Coach didn't say anything, so I just kept shooting," said McGrady. Well, maybe Coach should say something a little earlier. When Yao Ming picked up his third foul at the 4:07 mark of the second quarter McGrady seemed to decide that it was time to start launching. He missed four of his six jumpers over that last 4:07, including three straight long range bombs that were highly contested and taken from well behind the arch. Yao Ming shot the Rockets into the game, and for a few minutes it looked like McGrady might shoot them out of it.

"In the second half we had much better shot selection and took the ball to the basket aggressively, which led us to shooting some free throws and we shot them well. And we got some second shot opportunities."

By "we" here Van Gundy mostly means McGrady. As abysmal as his shot selection was in the first half, it was that much better in the second. After missing his first three shots he started taking the ball to the hole, setting up his teammates, and creating offense with his entire arsenal instead of relying on long range bombs.

"It's part of the game," said McGrady. "It's" nothing new, just part of the offense. Just stay aggressive and if the shot's not falling try to get to the free throw line. That's what I tried to do tonight because my shots weren't falling. As a team we're getting good shots and we've got to keep taking those same shots. They're just not falling right now."

To his credit, McGrady did indeed start attacking the rim in the third quarter. He connected on seven-of-eight free throws in the third, including all three after being fouled by Derek Fisher while shooting a trey. By the end of the period the Rockets had built a five-point lead. The Jazz would not lead again.

Both McGrady and Van Gundy were keenly aware of the fact that the only reason the Rockets were even in the game in the first half was offensive rebounding. Chuck Hayes had six offensive rebounds in the first half as he gave up his body time and time again to wrench the ball away from taller Utah front court players. Hayes finished the game with his first playoff double-double: 12 points and 12 rebounds.

As a team the Rockets collected 17 offensive rebounds to just 11 for the Jazz and held a 50-42 overall edge on the glass. The even bigger advantage came at the foul line, where the Rockets connected on 34-of-38 (90%) to just 13-of-17 (77%) for Utah. Once again the Rockets showed that hustle can make up for poor shooting - they hit just 36% from the field.

All five Houston starters scored in double-figures, led by McGrady's 31 and Yao's 27, but the team got just seven points from the bench. Jazz reserve Matt Harpring single-handedly outscored the Rocket reserves by a margin of 14-7. With the series now shifting to Utah for the next two games it will be imperative that the Rockets get more from guys like Luther Head and Juwan Howard.

A 2-0 lead is exactly where the Rockets wanted to be at this stage of the game, no matter what it took to get here. That said, they know they can¡¦t afford to let up at all. Preparing for what will certainly be a tough Game Three in Utah is the only thing on the agenda.

"We're worried about having a good day tomorrow," said Van Gundy. "That's it. Filling our cups back up with good energy, good practice on Wednesday, good shootaround. You can't get ahead of yourself."

McGrady, too, appreciates the nature of the challenge ahead.

"When I've been in the playoffs in the past it was one of those things where I was really just happy to be there. At the time I didn't feel like I had a chance to advance because I had a very young, inexperienced team, young coaching staff, and I didn't think we had the talent to advance. Especially playing the teams that we faced - it was always a one seed or a two seed. Not having Grant Hill in Orlando, not having another superstar was tough on my shoulders. This season, with the additions to our team, I felt like if we stayed healthy we could really do something special. I felt like if we stayed focused and played great basketball every time we stepped on the court, that this is where we would be. Right now I feel extremely good about our chances because this is the first time I've ever been on team with a great supporting cast of mature guys who know their role and we're up 2-0."

The series shifts to Utah on Thursday. Tipoff is 8:00 Central on NBATV and Fox Sports SouthWest.

TEAM NOTES

 Tonight's attendance was another sellout at 18,206. Houston also sold out its last three consecutive home games of the regular season and Game One to make this evening's crowd the fifth sellout in a row for the Rockets. Houston's longest sellout streak during the 2006-07 regular season was five straight at Toyota Center (1/5/07-1/26/07).

 Houston has now played five postseason games on April 23 in team history, winning all five outings. Oddly enough, Houston has played three regular season games on April 23 and have lost all three, with two of those defeats coming against the Jazz.

 Houston takes a 2-0 series lead with a 98-90 win tonight over the Jazz. In the five previous playoff series with Utah, the Rockets have held a 2-0 lead only once: Western Conference Finals in 1994. Houston went on to win that series 4-1 against the Jazz. Overall, the Rockets have held a 2-0 series lead eight times prior to this year, going on to win seven of those series. The only 2-0 lead squandered by Houston was against the Mavericks in 2005, as the Rockets lost that series in Game Seven at Dallas.

 The Rockets outscored the Jazz 31-28 in the fourth quarter tonight, which was in contrast to the first seven periods of this series, as either Houston or Utah failed to reach 20 points in a quarter a combined five times. Houston scored in the teens in two quarters, while the Jazz recorded three sub-20 stanzas. Neither team scored more than 26 points in a quarter prior to Houston's 28-point third quarter tonight.

 Houston was 2-for-17 from beyond the arc in the first half and finished 4-of-24 in tonight's game. During the regular season, the Rockets had a 1-for-6 first-half performance from 3-point range vs. Utah (4/1/07) after recording seven of the team's 11 3-pointers over the first two quarters vs. the Jazz (1/5/07).

 The Jazz were 1-for-9 from downtown tonight. During the regular season, the Rockets limited their opponent to one make or none from 3-point range on three occasions (0-11 3FG on 12/29/06 vs. Atlanta, 1-9 3FG on 3/7/07 at Boston and 1-10 3FG on 3/20/07 vs. Indiana).

 The Rockets had all five starters in double-digit scoring tonight, equaling their previous performance against the Jazz set in the opening game of the season at Utah (11/1/06). Houston's starters accounted for 91 of the team's 98 total points tonight.

 Tracy McGrady had 31 points and 10 rebounds tonight, including a 12-point third quarter. McGrady has now scored 28 of his 54 overall points so far in this series in the third quarter. He was also 12-of-14 from the free throw line, leading a 34-for-38 night by the Rockets from the charity stripe. Houston was also 21-of-26 from the line in Game One.

 Chuck Hayes finished with 12 points (5-5 FG) and 12 rebounds tonight, which are both playoff career bests. It also marked his first postseason double-double. Hayes has five career double-doubles in the regular season.

 Carlos Boozer had a playoff-career-best 41 points and 12 rebounds tonight. Boozer now has a double-double in all but one game against the Rockets this season, which was the season finale where he played just 18:30. Boozer becomes the first Utah player to reach 40 points in a postseason game since Karl Malone's 50-point game vs. Seattle (4/22/00).

 Mehmet Okur had four blocks tonight, equaling his postseason best of four set vs. Philadelphia (5/14/03).

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Rockets notes: Hayes is an unlikely hero
By Ross Siler
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 04/25/2007 09:53:45 AM MDT

HOUSTON - The unlikely star of these playoffs for the Rockets has been an undersized 6-foot-6 power forward who went undrafted out of college, was cut by Houston before last season and offers every excuse to shield your eyes when he steps to the foul line.
Chuck Hayes also has brought an unmistakable energy and effort to the court, even as he tries to catnap for an hour or two at a time following the birth of his son (Dorian Titus Hayes) before Game 1 on Saturday.
Hayes finished Game 2 with 12 points and 12 rebounds, keeping the Rockets in the game in the first quarter when Carlos Boozer couldn't miss for the Jazz. Without Hayes, Houston coach Jeff Van Gundy said, the Rockets likely would have trailed by double digits.
"Utah brings it out of you,'' Hayes said. "That's what I've been known to play like and play for. Playing against the Jazz, man, you can't go in there trying to finesse anything or trying to get it in and hope not to get hit."
Hayes made all five shots he took Monday, along with grabbing seven offensive rebounds and hitting the floor too many times to count. He had one of the Rockets' biggest baskets of the game, in his unique fashion.
After Rafer Alston missed a three-pointer and Yao Ming was blocked inside, Hayes collected the ball and punched in a basket to put Houston ahead 90-80 with 2:21 left.
"It was just one of those days, I guess, where I was at the right place at the right time,'' Hayes said.
He already has defied long odds in just making it to the NBA. Hayes was not drafted coming out of Kentucky and was released by the Rockets at the end of the preseason. Houston brought him back from the development league on a 10-day contract in January.
Hayes was signed for the rest of the season and has stuck around ever since. He also has the foulest foul shots in the league, holding the ball at the top of his shot before releasing it while falling toward the basket. The Jazz were called for a lane violation Monday on one of his attempts.
Offensive efficiency
The Rockets won Game 2 despite having Yao and Tracy McGrady make a combined 18 of 53 shots. The two subsisted at the foul line, where they went a combined 21-for-25, but Van Gundy didn't see it as a winning formula.
"I don't think there's any question that he and Yao have to be more efficient on offense,'' Van Gundy said. "There's no doubt that we have to shoot better. But part of their shooting problems are tied in to some other guys not making, so the floor is more crowded for them."
Van Gundy added the one thing he wouldn't do with McGrady is "judge every shot." His explanation was simple: "I don't think he plays particularly well when he has anything but complete freedom."

Final word
Van Gundy on Boozer's 41-point effort in Game 2: "He outworked us early and he outskilled us from there on." Hayes said the Rockets hope to swarm Boozer and force him to pass.
rsiler@sltrib.com