Thursday April 10, 2008 4:24 PM


McGrady seeking to gain a rhythm before postseason


Phoenix at Houston, Friday, 7:30 p.m.


Damien Pierce
Rockets.com Staff Writer


HOUSTON -- During the final stages of practice on Thursday afternoon, Tracy McGrady was entrenched in a free-throw shooting contest with a collection of his teammates.

The friendly competition rewards players two points for hitting nothing but net, one point for a make and deducts two points for a miss until someone compiles 20 points.

Nearly half of an hour into the contest, McGrady finally ended the drama when he sank his game-winner.

But before McGrady could walk off the floor with his victory, the Rockets guard was hearing protests that his game-clinching shot had actually knicked the rim -- leaving him a point shy of winning the contest.

"Those guys try to cheat every day," McGrady said.

The good news, at least, is that McGrady could hoist up all those free throws.

Less than 24 hours after missing Wednesday's game with a bruised left shoulder, McGrady was back on the court and hoping that his latest trip to the doctor's office will reduce the pain in his shoulder heading into the playoffs.

McGrady, who has been dealing with the injury for over two weeks, was scratched from the starting five after receiving an anti-inflammatory injection Tuesday directly into the joint of the shoulder.

The shot left McGrady with some extra discomfort in the shoulder, forcing him out of the lineup.

But with an extra day to rest the shoulder, McGrady was feeling better. He expects to be on the floor Friday night when the Rockets host the Phoenix Suns in a pivotal game in the Western Conference playoff race.

"I still got some soreness in there, but I will be playing tomorrow," McGrady said. "I can't really tell (if the injection helped) because it makes your arm sore when you get it. We'll see as the days go by. Hopefully, that soreness will get out of there. But right now, I can't tell the difference."

McGrady is hoping that the soreness and pain will subside soon so that he can get into a groove before the playoffs.

Since banging his shoulder by running into a screen on March 26, McGrady has been searching for his shooting touch. The Rockets' guard is knocking down 37.3 percent of his attempts over the past six games, though he did have a couple of 30-point-plus efforts over that span.

Before receiving his injection, McGrady had typically gotten off to slow starts in games before his shoulder loosened up from a pregame pain-killer.

The Rockets guard will no longer need those pregame shots after receiving a series of anti-inflamatory injections on Tuesday.

"It's very important (to get back into a shooting rhythm)," McGrady said. "I want to be efficient when I'm out there. This is the time to be on top of your game. With my shoulder being the way it is, it's been tough. But I've been having some good games and I've been having some bad games. But hopefully, I'll turn it around and not so much worry about my shoulder and not cause it to hurt so bad."

The Rockets (53-25) are in the thick of a race for home-court advantage in the Western Conference. But even with that being the case, Rockets coach Rick Adelman acknowledged that the most important thing at this point is making sure McGrady -- and his other injured teammates -- are healthy before beginning the postseason.

McGrady said Adelman has already lightened his workload in practice, allowing the guard to watch most of the workouts and save himself for the game.

But with all that said, Adelman would like to see McGrady get into a good groove before the playoffs begin next weekend.

"We're going to play a lot of games here -- four games in six days," Adelman said. "It will give him a chance to get on the court. If the injection worked and his shoulder is feeling better, then that's better for us. But it is important to see where he's at at the end of these games."

McGrady plans on wearing a white shirt under his jersey that has a protective pad on his left shoulder. During Thursday's light workout, he practiced shooting with the pad on. But he hasn't seen how the padding will actually protect him -- yet.

"I'm just trying it out and seeing how it feels on my shoulders," McGrady said. "I don't know if it's going to stop from getting banged and feeling pain. But it will protect it a little bit. That's all I need."

McGrady will have the opportunity to bang that shoulder against plenty of big bodies with the Suns in town.

By acquiring Shaquille O'Neal before the All-Star break, the Suns have one of the league's most formidable front lines and have been clicking of late. McGrady even proclaimed that Phoenix was the team to beat in the West.

He's hoping that his shoulder will be ready for his latest challenge.

"The doctor said it should help because that's the same thing that I did to my knee and that definitely helped," said McGrady, who was dealing with knee injuries earlier in the season. "Right now, I don't know. Hopefully."