T-Mac Era is Over

Tracy McGrady has been given permission to leave the team while the Rockets attempt to trade him. That effectively ends his tenure in Houston; one of unfulfilled potential. In his 5+ seasons here, the Rockets did not win a single playoff series while he was on the court. That speaks volumes.

For his entire career, McGrady has been told that he was a superstar. It is understandable that he would begin to believe it and let it go to his head. Unfortunately, while Tracy has the talent and the skills to be a great player, he has never had the mindset. Great players do whatever it takes to win, especially using their teammates to the team's advantage. With Tracy, it was always T-Mac first, then the team. At least that's the impression he gave out at every opportunity. He was the leading scorer in the league for two years, but those teams were terrible. So rather than help them become better, he demanded to be traded. He was warmly welcomed in Houston and given every chance to succeed. The Rockets surrounded him with a great center and as fine a cast of role-playing warriors as has ever been on an NBA team, yet he still could not win. Why not? Injuries certainly played a part. He was never healthy for a full year. But mostly, players didn't rally around McGrady. They were not as convinced of his stardom as he was. He was their best player, but he was never their leader.

Now the problem is, how do you trade him? He is the third highest paid player in the NBA. To make a trade, the salaries of the players involved must fall within 125% plus $100,000 of each other and must fit under the salary cap for both teams. Players that make even close to that kind of money are superstars, critical to their teams and not touchable. That means they would have to trade for a combination of players, most of whom could not help the Rockets this season and could affect team chemistry. This is a hard deal to make. The Rockets don't want to take on any large long-term contracts because they want to have space under the salary cap to make a pitch for a big-name player this off-season. And what an off-season it will be! Among the available free agents will be Joe Johnson (ATL), LeBron James (CLE), Dirk Nowitzki (DAL), Kobe Bryant (LAL), Dwyane Wade (MIA), Amare Stoudamire (PHO) and Chris Bosh (TOR). Put any one of those players beside Yao Ming and the aforementioned cast of overachievers and you have an instant championship contender. Houston is lucky to have Daryl Morey at the helm at this point in time. He has shown the patience to not make long-term deals for short-term gain. On a budget, he has put together a team that is one or two players from the NBA finals.

Texas does not have a state income tax. Isn't that interesting, LeBron? Dwyane? Chris? Tell your agents to give Daryl a call.

Gimme a Break!

Every once in a while, the Rocket's schedule cuts them a little slack. It's hard to say that a back-to-back on the road which includes Cleveland tomorrow night is a break, but at least the lead-in game should be a breeze. The Rockets face the hopeless and hapless New Jersey Nets tonight. I can't remember a worse team in modern history. 2-27 is about as bad as it gets. If the Nets were a horse, the league would shoot them.

No Way-fer

Cancel the last post. Von Wafer failed his physical and will not sign with the Rockets. Von first tried to sign on with Memphis, but according to the Memphis Commercial Appeal, the Grizzlies opted not to sign him after a physical revealed pre-existing back and hip injuries . Apparently, the Rockets found the same problems. I will not lose any sleep over Wafer not returning to the Houston Rockets, but I do wish him the best in his struggles against his injuries and his future career.

To fill the open roster spot created by Chase Budinger's ankle injury, the Rockets have signed Mike Harris of the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. Harris is a former Rice University star that has bounced around through training camps and the NBADL since he went undrafted in 2005. He played in 17 regular season games and 3 playoff games with the Rockets in 2008. A 6' 6", 240 pound forward, he averaged 25.3 ppg and 7.1 rpg in ten games this season for the Vipers.

The signing is considered a "Gatorade Call-up", under which any D-League player can cancel his NBADL contract to sign with an NBA team. Only players that are in their first or second season may be kept under contract with the parent NBA team while playing for their minor league affiliate. This is an excellent example of why the Rockets entered into the first "hybrid" affiliation with a minor-league team. They have a stable of players available for fill-in duty that can be closely monitored and are being coached in the same style as the Rockets. For more on the Vipers and their NBA affiliation, see their web site at http://www.nba.com/dleague/riograndevalley/index_main.html?hp+1

The Prodigal Son Returns

Von Wafer is coming back to Houston. According to the Rockets, he bought out his contract with Olympiakis (Greece) for $1.2 million to return to the NBA. His greek contract was for $1.8 mil per year. European League sources, however, say that after playing in only three games, Wafer was being ditched by Olympiakis because he did not fit in with the European style of play, i.e., fundamentals over athleticism. Wafer wanted to hold out for his entire contract amount, but apparently realized that was not going to happen.

"This is great," Wafer told Fox Houston's Mark Berman on Tuesday evening. "Oh my goodness, I'm so happy, I'm about to start crying. I want to play in the NBA. I want to play for the Rockets. I love Houston and I love their fans." If that's true, why did he first negotiate to come back to the NBA with Memphis? When that fell through, he decided on Houston. Adelman and Wafer had words last season in the playoffs. Did Wafer come back with hat in hand? If he has any sense at all, he did.

This has implications for the Rockets beyond just adding depth, Rick Adelman's reasoning for the signing. Some of the possibilities:

• The team is not that high on Jermaine Taylor. He may either be outa here or a candidate for the Vipers.
• Tracy McGrady is not in their long-term plans.
• Chase Budinger is not perceived as the answer for the 1st or 2nd guy off the bench.
• Management doesn't see this Rockets basketball team as a title contender.

Readers may remember that I shed no tears when Von left after last season. I felt that he and Ron Artest were everything that was wrong with the Rockets. They were both uncoachable ball hogs. The team won some games, but it was a hard team to love. This year's team is imminently lovable because of their share-the-wealth attitude. If Wafer can get into the right frame of mind, listen to the coaches and do the little things that help a team win, he could be a positive factor for the Rockets. He is definitely fun to watch and has skills that will fit in with the Rockets' new style. It will be great to see Wafer and Kyle Lowry running the break off the bench.

Wafer will sign with the Rockets for much less than his Greek contract. This could be his last chance. If he doesn't adapt to the Rockets new team-first style, his career may be over.

Here's to You, Coach!

On paper, every single Rockets player is inconsistent. The stats are all over the board almost every night with no one player dominating the box score night in and night out. Yet the Rockets continue to win games. How is that possible?

On most good teams, the +/- stats show a wide disparity between the star players and the backups. The +/- stat, for those who don't know, shows the ratio of how many points one team scores versus the other team while a given player is in the game. A positive number means that the player's team outscored the opposing team while he playing. When looked at on a per minute basis over a significant number of games, it can be a very telling statistic. On the Lakers, for instance, the difference between the best player and the worst is over half a point per minute. On the Rockets, the variance is only .15 points per minute. That tells us that either there is very little difference in the quality of players at the top and bottom of the Rockets' lineup or that they are being well-taught and well-utilized by the coaches. The latter is the case.

This post is a toast to Rick Adelman and his coaching staff. It is not an accident that the top four Rockets players in the +/- stats are backups, led by Kyle Lowry. Adelman is a genius at matchups and substitution patterns. He has a great feel for the game as it unfolds and listens to his assistant coaches and scouts to be as well-prepared as he can be. He and his assistants have every man on the team on the same page, keeping goals, egos and relationships in crystal clear perspective. Trevor Ariza got in Aaron Brooks' face after Brooks made a bone-headed play at the end of regulation in Dallas - and what was the fallout? Nada. Brooks said, no big deal. Ariza was right, I screwed up. Just heat of the moment stuff. We all get along. What would have happened if Artest had gotten in Kobe's face or vice versa? I shudder to think.

Let's also not forget that Adelman was instrumental in putting together this lineup of role players whose whole is far greater than the sum of its parts. Yes, Daryl and Les were involved too, but this is not their toast.

This team is a testimonial to the talent, skills and experience of Rick Adelman. That includes his ability to find, hire and keep top assistant coaches. Adelman is one huge reason that Les Alexander continues to sell Rockets tickets without a star in sight. Here's to you, Coach! Merry Christmas!

Mac Ain't Back

Tracy McGrady made a showing in both Tuesday and Wednesday's games. He looked like he was walking through molasses compared to the rest of the team. This is nothing new for T-Mac. For his entire career he played in a half-court offense where he was the offensive focal point, jogging down the court, then moving around only sufficiently to get open enough to get the ball. He then drove around a pic and either took a jump shot or made a slashing move to the basket. In recent years with the Rockets, he even added passing off to the open man when he was double-teamed, earning a respectable number of assists. Unfortunately for this Rockets team, that's not enough.

This year's Rockets run. They don't know how to jog. They are committed to an up-tempo, unselfish, ball-movement game. They are exciting to watch and even win games. And even without a star player in the bunch, they sell basketball tickets. If Tracy wants to get on the bandwagon, he's going to have to do more than just speed up. He's going to have to change his style. Whether he can do it or not is a huge question, with major implications.

When Rick Adelman let McGrady suit up, the Rockets began to pay his salary. The insurance policy only paid when he was too injured to play. The seven minutes per game he's playing now is costing Les Alexander a fortune. And they can't really trade the guy. They would have to take on another contract almost as big for a player that some other team is trying to get rid of. So the clock is ticking. Can he help the team this year? If not, the Rocket's won't re-sign him and no other team will offer even close to his current maximum contract. If so, he can write his own ticket next year. He has every reason to give it his best to fit in.

It's all up to you now, big guy.

Philly in Toronto

Houston seems to have developed a disturbing trend of coming out flat in road games. On Friday in Philadelphia, they went down by seventeen in the first half before reviving themselves and coming back to win. They had a similar start today against Toronto, but opened the second half with a 1-15 shooting slump that doomed the Rockets to a 13 point loss. Only Luis Scola and Carl Landry played well offensively against the Raptors, but nobody seemed to remember how to play defense. Houston shot only 36.4% and allowed Toronto to hit at a 50% clip.

The loss was not due to a lack of effort. The Rockets played hard. They were just not sharp and they did not seem to be on the same page with each other on either end of the court. It would be easy to blame the 11:30 AM start for their asyncronicity, but it was 11:30 for the Raptors too. All in all, a forgettable game.

The Rockets' schedule doesn't get any easier next week. They fly home for a Tuesday game against Detroit, then head to Denver on Wednesday. Two days later, they play the Mavericks on the road before returning to Toyota Center to face the much-improved Oklahoma Thunder. Two back-to-backs in four days is a stern test.

What Happened in Philly?

Was it just me or did the Philadelphia game last night seem like two different games? There was the first quarter when the Rockets acted like they were mailing it in and the third quarter when they looked like world-beaters.

The Houston Rockets started the game in a daze. Brooks and Ariza both seemed clumsy and out of sync. Hayes, Battier and Scola were all a step slow defensively. The Sixers' Dalembert, Iguodala and Brand, on the other hand were aggresive and hungry for a win. If it were not for the bench, the game might have gotten out of hand. Landry, Budinger and Lowry came in to spark the team to within 3 at halftime.

The game was won in the third quarter. The entire team came together and put forth a defensive effort that held the Sixers to only 13 points. Offensively, the Rockets fed off the defense, scoring 28 points, mostly off Philadelphia misses. That was a fun quarter to watch.

If there can be a goat in a win, it would be Chuck Hayes. You gotta love the guy, but he did not play well at all last night. Samuel Dalembert beat him like a bastard stepchild. Hayes scored only one point, had only four rebounds (to Dalembert's 14) and committed five fouls in just 16 minutes of play. I would not want to be Andrea Bargnani Sunday night. He's Chuck's next opponent.

Reason for Hope at the Quarter Pole

It's hard to believe, but the season is already one fourth over. And how has the home team fared? Pretty darned well, considering.

Despite the absence of their top two stars, the Rockets are over .500, both at home and on the road. They have outscored their opponents by running the court, exactly as promised by their owner and head coach before the season started. But that's not all - they have maintained their defensive focus, shutting down some of the strongest players in the league. And get this - the Rockets have outrebounded their opponents despite the fact that they start a 6' 6" center and the starters average only 6' 6". Describe this team in a word. That's easy. "Hustle." This is an easy team to root for and a fun team to watch. That's not to say that they will finish in the playoffs or above .500 for the season, but the outlook is good for both.

Still, there are weaknesses. Trevor Ariza is a good defender and hard worker, but he is not filling the bill as a go-to scorer. He is shooting a respectable 34% from the 3-point line, but is only hitting 39% overall. He barely has more points than FGA, the minimum standard for effective offense. That's not good enough to take this team to the NBA finals. Battier and Scola are doing their jobs, but neither can carry a team. Aaron Brooks and Kyle Lowry have both been playing well and as a duo have manned the point efficiently - on average. That's one big problem. Neither Brooks nor Lowry are consistent night in and night out. Fortunately, if one is playing well and the other not, Rick Adelman is smart enough to let the hot man stay in the game. That brings me to the bright spot of the season: Chuck Hayes. He outplayed Shaquille Oneal last night in every way. Hayes is a great defender. Not a great defender for his height. A great defender, period. Granted, he will never block many shots, but once you get past Bill Russell and Hakeem Olajuwon, not many defensive centers do. The smart ones play defense with their feet, body and brain.

Mention must also be made of the coaching staff, starting of course, with Rick Adelman. He has taken a bunch of role-playing spare parts and made them into a finely-tuned engine. Kudos as well to Elston Turner, Jack Sikma, T. R. Dunn and R. J. Adelman. Good job, guys.

If this quarter's report card is based exclusively on their record, the Rockets get a C+. If we're grading on the curve because of the injured stars, this team gets straight A's.

New Year's Countdown

If the Rockets are going anywhere this season, they will have to not only survive a tough December, they will have to prosper in it. So here we go counting down the many victories to come this frosty month.

They took care of business in California. Considering the teams they faced, that should have been expected, but the feat was tougher than it looked. The Clippers were 5-5 at home coming into the Houston game and had won 4 of their last 5 contests. Add in the Clippers' west coast time zone advantage and the Rockets did a good job to pull out the victory. Similarly, the Warriors were 4-3 at home and had beaten the Mavs (in Dallas) and the Blazers only a week before, but Houston beat Golden State in San Francisco on a back-to-back night. That's taking care of business.

The real test for this road trip - and maybe a benchmark for the season - will be the next two games. They face Portland on the road on Saturday night, then Cleveland at home on Wednesday. Thank goodness for the rest between those games. I can't wait to see if Chuck Hayes can hold his own against Shaq.

The question on everyone's lips: With several days to practice beforehand, will Tracy McGrady see action against Cleveland?