Houston, we have a problem - Page 2 - Dallas-Mavs.com Forums

Male30Dan · 11-28-2005, 10:57 PM

NEVER EVER again compare Rafer to the clutchness that is "Jet"!!!

alby · 11-28-2005, 11:03 PM

i meant their starting pg and their superstar player =]

alby · 11-29-2005, 05:50 PM

espn.com

Houston Rockets swingman Tracy McGrady said after the morning shootaround that he remains a game-time decision Tuesday night against Atlanta.

McGrady has missed the Rockets' past five games, all losses, with a recurring back injury. Houston is 0-8 without its best player this season.

The All-Star completed a full practice Monday but had to sit out portions of Tuesday's morning walkthrough when his back tightened.

"It's tough for me to run up and down the court and then when we stop and go through [the game plan] -- just standing around, that's not good for me," McGrady said. "It just depends on how I feel when I come to the arena tonight."

McGrady, though, expressed a belief that, if he chooses to play against the Hawks, the constant movement in a game situation would keep him sufficiently loose. The Rockets also have three off days after hosting Atlanta before Saturday's home date with Memphis.

"I definitely don't want to come back and then have to sit myself down and set the team back again," McGrady said. "That's why I'm taking my time on getting back and just being cautious about it."

AnMan21 · 11-29-2005, 11:43 PM

mcgrady suited up and played tonight - just got back from the game actually. my company gave me the tix last minute.....here's one problem i see with houston - when tmac is on the court, they feed him the ball and stand around. when he's not on the court, they play like individuals and not a team. another problem is yao - this guy seems to be a step slow on both ends of the court, which imo is why he's in foul trouble a lot. i think the lone bright spot for the rockets so far is luther head - that kid gets better each time i see him play. his decision making seems to be progressing, he's pretty quick off the dribble, his release is very quick and he doesn't take ill-advised shots. with tmac back, if head continues to improve, they'll stay in a lot more games.

DubOverdose · 01-08-2006, 10:54 PM

TMac was taken to the hospital during tonights game due to back spasms. He was on the ground for about 10 minutes, dying of pain, until they put him on one of those boards/stretchers and took him off the court and to the hospital. So now, TMac, Yao, Juwan, and DA are all out. Is this the final nail in the coffin? They already have 20 losses. They won't be winning with TMac and Yao out, and they could both be out for a long period of time. Will they be back next season with a very high draft pick?

mary · 01-08-2006, 10:57 PM

Oops, we posted about the same time.

I guess Houston's gonna have a few more balls in the lotto next year.

MavsFanFinley · 01-08-2006, 11:18 PM

When is Yao expected to return? I thought I saw an article on realgm the other day saying he was working on his way back.

mary · 01-08-2006, 11:34 PM

There was an espn article a couple of days ago that said it would be another 2-3 weeks before he returns.

DubOverdose · 01-08-2006, 11:58 PM

I really won't be shocked if Houston keeps these guys out for much longer than they need to be to make sure they don't re-injure themselves. I mean, why not? What's to lose? They'll be sure they will be in a great position to make a run next season and they will get a nice draft pick.

Milles · 01-09-2006, 02:13 AM

This article was from yesterday ..... talks about T-Mac's bad back.
http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/spo...l/13573426.htm

On the NBA | Waiting for help, McGrady holds on
Yao Ming is gone, and maybe the postseason as well.
By David Aldridge
Inquirer Staff Writer

For Tracy McGrady, there's this awful feeling of déjÀ vu.

He plays, a heralded teammate gets hurt, he plays harder, his back revolts, he can't play, the teammate comes back, but they're never together at the same time.

Remember Toronto, where McGrady short-circuited a potential decade with his cousin, Vince Carter, to bolt to Orlando and its $93 million free-agent contract in 2000?

Or Orlando, where McGrady waited and waited for Grant Hill without resolution?

So it is again for McGrady these days in Houston. Yao Ming's toe is all messed up, and he's going to be out for six weeks. Which leaves McGrady alone in trying to pull the Rockets out of a horrible hole that's left them well in the back of the pack in the Western Conference.

"It was hard for me to focus and not get discouraged" after Yao's injury, McGrady said recently. "We had a rough beginning of the year last year. But I think going through the months, the course of the season, we kind of found each other and what we had to do out on the basketball floor with each other, and we got it rolling toward the end of the year.

"And I was really excited about coming into this season with the additions we had."

Instead, McGrady wound up sitting out eight games early this season when his balky back again acted up, forcing him into traction for a few days. The Rockets lost all eight games. That created a chasm that Houston, last in the Southwest Division, has yet to close.

That is not what McGrady expected when the Magic sent him and others to Houston for Steve Francis and others. John Weisbrod, who made that deal, is long gone as Orlando's general manager, the future answer to a crazy trivia question: What former NHLer traded Tracy McGrady? (Weisbrod worked in the New Jersey Devils' organization after retiring as a player for San Jose.)

Neither Houston nor Orlando has benefited much from the deal in the year and a half since it was swung. The Rockets lost to Dallas in seven games in the first round of the playoffs last year; the Magic didn't make the playoffs at all.

Which leaves McGrady - improbably, 27 years old and in his ninth NBA season - about where he was in the Land of the Mouse.

He is, indeed, the best player in the NBA never to get out of the first round - though LeBron James is closing fast.

"Time is getting short," McGrady said. "I've got a few more years - probably three or four more years - playing at the level I'm playing at now, and then, who knows what happens after that if my body holds up? I'm trying to get it now, man."

It's hard to see that happening, even if the Rockets are at full strength. Stromile Swift, the big free-agent acquisition, has done little and is now backing up Juwan Howard at power forward. Houston's collection of veteran guards, from David Wesley to Bob Sura to Jon Barry, is showing signs of age.

So McGrady has to carry the load. It is hard to do with vertebrae as inflamed as his.

"My back is jacked up, Jack," is how McGrady puts it.

He trains and lifts and stretches and does everything he can to keep his back loose, but can't go more than an hour or so at practice before the pain becomes too much. How many games can he play? He doesn't know. (He does know that he will quit before he succumbs to back surgery.)

"I don't think about nothing else but trying to get healthy," he said. "Damn, man. Will this be an ongoing thing? Can I get rid of this?"

Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy is trying to keep McGrady from putting too much on his plate. But he knows McGrady hears those who continually note his teams' postseason failures.

"If he allows others to define him by what he hasn't accomplished, I think he's doing himself a disservice," Van Gundy said. "I want to win, too. Some people put the onus strictly on the best player, and certainly the best player always carries an inordinate amount of responsibility and accountability.

"But it is a team game for a reason, and I don't want him to put pressure on himself to do anything other than his best."

Still, if the Rockets are going to get to the playoffs, Van Gundy has to push McGrady right now. He has precious few alternatives. With Yao ailing, the Rockets are starting who-knows-how-old-he-is Dikembe Mutombo in the middle. Houston was last in the league in scoring with 87 points a game at the start of the week.

So McGrady plays (almost 38 minutes a game) and shoots (he's eighth in the league in scoring with 25.4 points per game). And he hopes that soon the cavalry will come.

"It's tough, it really is," McGrady said. "I just realize how hard I worked to get to the level I'm at. Regardless of what happens to the team as far as all these injuries, I've still got to go out, and I've still got to compete, and I've still got to produce. That's just my job. That's just what I have to do... .

"Hopefully, God's got a plan for the kid."

MFFL · 01-09-2006, 09:53 AM

Updated: Jan. 9, 2006, 2:07 AM ET
McGrady taken to hospital with severe back spasmsAssociated Press

HOUSTON -- Houston star Tracy McGrady left Sunday night's game against Denver with a recurrence of severe back spasms.

The 6-foot-9 McGrady, who missed eight games earlier in the season because of back spasms, missed a deep jumper near the top of the key in the final seconds of the first half. He started backpedalling, stopped abruptly, bent over and crumpled to the floor, screaming in pain as the buzzer sounded.

McGrady was lifted onto a stretcher and rolled off the floor, surrounded by several team officials and owner Les Alexander. An ambulance took McGrady to the hospital.

"I heard him moaning and groaning," Alexander said. "It was really sad to see a guy be in that much pain."

Rockets spokesman Nelson Luis said after the game that McGrady was getting an MRI and would be re-evaluated on Monday.

Houston coach Jeff Van Gundy was evasive about McGrady's condition.

"You know what? It's about winning in this league," Van Gundy said. "It's not about trying, that should be a given."

McGrady's doctor reassured Alexander by phone after the game.

"The doctor told me he thinks it's a bad back spasm and hopefully, he'll be OK," Alexander said. "He doesn't think it's anything serious that will keep him out for a long time."

The Rockets are already missing their other star, Yao Ming, who's out at least another month after surgery to remove an infection from his left big toe.

Guards Rafer Alston and Jon Barry recently returned from leg injuries and Derek Anderson remains sidelined with a calf strain. The backcourt trio has missed a total of 45 games this season.

McGrady had topped 30 points in Houston's last five games. He had 11 points on 5-for-14 shooting in the first half against Denver.

"That's sports and we can't do anything about it," Alexander said. "We've got to play with the players we have. What can you do? You have no choice."

sike · 01-09-2006, 12:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mary

I guess Houston's gonna have a few more balls in the lotto next year.

snicker

EricaLubarsky · 01-09-2006, 12:53 PM

Houston has never had any balls

DubOverdose · 02-26-2006, 03:53 PM

Did we (myself in particular) speek too soon? Right now the Rockets are 4 games out of the 8th seed. I can't believe the bottom seeds this year in the West are close to .500 teams. How is Memphis only 3 games above when they started out so well and have such a solid team. How are the Lakers in the playoffs only being 1 game above .500. This is pathetic. Is this what happens when 3 teams are on pace to win 65 games?

DirkGoesNuclear · 02-26-2006, 04:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DubOverdose

Did we (myself in particular) speek too soon? Right now the Rockets are 4 games out of the 8th seed. I can't believe the bottom seeds this year in the West are close to .500 teams. How is Memphis only 3 games above when they started out so well and have such a solid team. How are the Lakers in the playoffs only being 1 game above .500. This is pathetic. Is this what happens when 3 teams are on pace to win 65 games?

Could it be that Clips and Grizz are trying to avoid the 5th seed like the plague? Hornets and Laker are desperate to just make the playoffs making it pretty tight from 6 thru 8

jayC · 02-27-2006, 12:21 AM

The Rockets will not make the playoffs. They have the hardest schedule in the league the last 30 or so games. The Rockets offseason was atrocious. Swift has been awful. Man I am glad we didn't sign him. Derek Andersen sucked. They need a point guard badly. They also need a banger to play next to Yao.

alby · 02-27-2006, 12:22 AM

Rafer is playing pretty well and Tmac/Yao being healthy is a top 4 team in the West.

orangedays · 02-27-2006, 12:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jayC

The Rockets will not make the playoffs. They have the hardest schedule in the league the last 30 or so games. The Rockets offseason was atrocious. Swift has been awful. Man I am glad we didn't sign him. Derek Andersen sucked. They need a point guard badly. They also need a banger to play next to Yao.

Haha, even though I agree with everything you said, I'm calling it now that the Rockets DO make the playoffs.

DubOverdose · 04-11-2006, 10:24 AM

BUMP!
Now Yao is out
Can I can get some props up in here?

MavsX · 04-11-2006, 10:08 PM

rockets are soo beat. t-mac is weaker than my grandma

Dtownsfinest · 04-11-2006, 10:12 PM

There is definatley going to be a problem if the Rockets mess around and get a top 5 pick again.