Lowry is a strong candidate, but I'd say it's Tracy McGrady. The things people keep saying about McGrady are the exact same things they used to say about Dwayne Wade a couple of years ago after he had to undergo two surgeries and came back looking like crap. Now they act all surprised when they see him exhibit a couple of flashes of his old brilliance. Even with his outing last night, I believe most people, both here and elsewhere around the nation, still don't realize just how good a player T-Mac will be when he is all the way back to full speed. They still think he's merely going to be a "good player who will help a team win some games". His long history of injuries has really severely blunted what should have been a HOF-candidate career. One year from now, people will be saying very different things about T-Mac, if we are to believe that his injury problems are finally behind him.
He got most, if not all, of his elevation back on his jump shots from what i saw last night and that is a great thing for McGrady. I still believe he won't be the "OMG 13 in 35!!;ldjaf;jf;sjfk" player many on here are still pining for but it's a good thing to at least see the dude jump on his jump shots
13 in 35 was a freak occurrence. I don't know why people keep bringing that up as a symbol of his great years. It was special when it happened, but it was a freak thing and it was anything but typical. That said, I myself don't expect him to fully return to his old athleticism, but athleticism isn't what made McGrady great, it was his sheer amount of basketball skill. Injuries just prevented him from being able to utilize that skill effectively. There are many players who are more athletic than McGrady, but very few of them have a comparable skill set. He can play on the perimeter; he has a variety of moves in the post; he is an outstanding passer and playmaker; he can rebound; he can run the offense; he can play off the ball; he is deadly coming off screens; he can drive in both directions and finish with both hands; he can shoot from anywhere on the court especially when he's feeling it. Most people have forgotten about those skills, because they just haven't seen them in action for so long. Rockets fans might remember somewhat; but elsewhere around the league, very few do. I still remember the days when even though McGrady and Yao were the only two offensive threats on the floor and all they had was JVG's less-than-imaginative offensive system, the Rockets were winning games at an almost 80% clip whenever they got to actually play together.
I'd say Rick Adelman. Given the amount of change in the lineup since he's been here, he has consistently gotten the team to play to their potential. It's a testament to his ability to coach that a couple years ago the Rox were considered an underachieving team w/ no identity, but now we are a consistently overachieving team with a clear identity, all without a superstar. He's gotten some gems from Morey, but he's the one who has really developed the younger players like Brooks, Lowry, Landry, Budinger, and even Von. He's able to keep a team identity even though his offensive concept has changed from an inside-out game last year to a freewheeling offense this year. The players obviously deserve some credit, but w/o RA, we're not 6 games over .500. Compared to the other coaches, he doesn't get much love.
No doubt Lowry, 2nd it would be Battier. Lowry, to me can start an NBA team with his competitive fire. I think if he got major minutes, his number in assist will be way up. One reason the Rockets have that record because of the bench with Lowry and Landry. I didn't pick Landry because he's going to get his usual number and I think teams know that, but they don't know the unpredictability of Lowry. I picked Battier 2nd because stats are overrated, he picks his time to blowup. For many years the Rockets have been shorted on PG since Francis (1st time), now they have to me one of the best 1-2 tandems.
