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orangedays · 03-16-2006, 09:28 AM

Shot means no McGrady
Rockets star barred from play after treatment

By JONATHAN FEIGEN
March 16, 2006, 1:54AM
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

Rockets forward Tracy McGrady received an anti-inflammatory injection Wednesday to treat his injured lower back, a treatment that bars him from any physical activity and would explain how the team could estimate how long McGrady would be out before it had completed testing.

MRIs performed Saturday and Wednesday and other tests performed on McGrady showed no damage beyond the injury suffered when he fell March 5 against the Portland Trail Blazers. McGrady has suffered back spasms since the Rockets' practice Nov. 4, saying he has a bulging disk.

McGrady was declared out for as much as five weeks after he was examined last week by specialist Robert Watkins in Los Angeles. That would have him returning in the final week of the season, though Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said Wednesday that McGrady could miss the balance of the regular season.

"They do (consider it a solution)," Van Gundy said. "He'll be fine. Unfortunately, it happens that he'll be fine in the summer instead of now.

"They're characterizing it as two separate injuries — the problems he had with spasms throughout his career and this being a separate thing when he fell against Portland.

Games stacking up
"Going forward, (McGrady) is going to have missed 35 games and a few more by not being able to finish the games," Van Gundy said. "Most of those games were home games. On top of that, he had a period in January and February, he was healthy enough. We're going to need him to be healthy and playing very, very well for us to make the improvement we want to make going forward."

After Wednesday's 95-81 loss to the Dallas Mavericks, the Rockets are 2-17 in games McGrady has missed, with many other players out for many of those games.

The Rockets have had 13 players miss a combined 219 games with injuries or illness, making durability an important consideration in rebuilding.

"Our team's lack of durability this year doesn't change in the summer," Van Gundy said. "Our lack of durability has cost us big-time this year. You have to have a much more durable team, particularly your main guys. It's not our depth that's been at fault; it's that we had to go that deep without our best players too much, so we haven't had enough offense to withstand (injuries to) Yao (Ming) and Tracy.

"When you have as much of our (salary cap) wrapped up in those two guys, those guys have got to be out on the floor for you to be a good team.

"That being said, we could play better. We didn't have to shoot 34 percent the other night. We concentrate on what we can correct. Our guards don't have to be 12 feet off their man on a pick-and-roll. That doesn't have to do with any injuries to anybody. That's correctable."

Same hope
The Rockets began treatments on McGrady on Wednesday with the same hope.

"They'll keep doing tests to get more and more information," Van Gundy said, "but they're not unclear about the course of action they're taking."

03-16-2006, 09:28 AM	#9
orangedays Platinum Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: New York City Posts: 2,938	Shot means no McGrady Rockets star barred from play after treatment By JONATHAN FEIGEN March 16, 2006, 1:54AM Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle Rockets forward Tracy McGrady received an anti-inflammatory injection Wednesday to treat his injured lower back, a treatment that bars him from any physical activity and would explain how the team could estimate how long McGrady would be out before it had completed testing. MRIs performed Saturday and Wednesday and other tests performed on McGrady showed no damage beyond the injury suffered when he fell March 5 against the Portland Trail Blazers. McGrady has suffered back spasms since the Rockets' practice Nov. 4, saying he has a bulging disk. McGrady was declared out for as much as five weeks after he was examined last week by specialist Robert Watkins in Los Angeles. That would have him returning in the final week of the season, though Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said Wednesday that McGrady could miss the balance of the regular season. "They do (consider it a solution)," Van Gundy said. "He'll be fine. Unfortunately, it happens that he'll be fine in the summer instead of now. "They're characterizing it as two separate injuries — the problems he had with spasms throughout his career and this being a separate thing when he fell against Portland. Games stacking up "Going forward, (McGrady) is going to have missed 35 games and a few more by not being able to finish the games," Van Gundy said. "Most of those games were home games. On top of that, he had a period in January and February, he was healthy enough. We're going to need him to be healthy and playing very, very well for us to make the improvement we want to make going forward." After Wednesday's 95-81 loss to the Dallas Mavericks, the Rockets are 2-17 in games McGrady has missed, with many other players out for many of those games. The Rockets have had 13 players miss a combined 219 games with injuries or illness, making durability an important consideration in rebuilding. "Our team's lack of durability this year doesn't change in the summer," Van Gundy said. "Our lack of durability has cost us big-time this year. You have to have a much more durable team, particularly your main guys. It's not our depth that's been at fault; it's that we had to go that deep without our best players too much, so we haven't had enough offense to withstand (injuries to) Yao (Ming) and Tracy. "When you have as much of our (salary cap) wrapped up in those two guys, those guys have got to be out on the floor for you to be a good team. "That being said, we could play better. We didn't have to shoot 34 percent the other night. We concentrate on what we can correct. Our guards don't have to be 12 feet off their man on a pick-and-roll. That doesn't have to do with any injuries to anybody. That's correctable." Same hope The Rockets began treatments on McGrady on Wednesday with the same hope. "They'll keep doing tests to get more and more information," Van Gundy said, "but they're not unclear about the course of action they're taking."