Chemical Reactions

Sometimes small lineup changes have a domino effect on the chemistry of a team. In other years, one would never refer to Tracy McGrady being lost for the season as a small change, but this year his performance to date had not influenced many games for the home team - at least not in a positive way.

In the six games since McGrady decided to have surgery on his ailing knee, Ron Artest seems to be fitting in better with the rest of the Rockets. Is it because he didn't fit well with Tracy or because he is just more comfortable in the starting lineup? With Artest starting in McGrady's shooting guard position, Battier has settled in as the starting small forward and is performing better than he has all season.

Likewise, the trade of Rafer Alston to Orlando allowed for the promotion of Aaron Brooks to starting point guard and Brooks has taken the bull by the horns. He makes mistakes - both physical and mental - mostly because he is young and inexperienced, but he has talent, speed and grit. Time will tell if he has the "Stockton factor." That is the mental accuity to run a team, see the floor, know his personnel and generally get more out of his team and himself than he could with just his athletic talent. Kyle Lowry, one of two players the Rockets received for Alston, has played well in limited minutes. It will be interesting to watch the competition between Brooks and Lowry in the future, but for now the combination of the two seems to have sparked the Rockets with renewed enthusiasm for the game.

Luis Scola has been a stabilizing force all year at power forward. He is playing very good basketball and has etched his name in stone in the starting lineup. Carl Landry has missed four games since spraining his ankle in the New Jersey game. When he returns, the team will have even more options at backup for Scola's position.

Subtract McGrady and Alston. Add a pinch more of Artest, Battier and Brooks. Stir in a little Lowry and what do you get? A six game winning streak!