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Midseason Report
Rockets seek consistency, playoff push at midway point in season
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Damien Pierce
Rockets.com Staff Writer
HOUSTON -- The Rockets have managed to hang in the Western Conference playoff chase despite some struggles in the first half of the season.
Now, the Rockets are hoping to make their move up the standings with a strong second half.
"I'm not too happy about where we're at right now," Rockets point guard Rafer Alston said. "I though we'd have a better record. But we are above .500 and we're right there for the seventh and eighth (playoff spot). We're getting healthy so there's a lot of room for improvement and we have the components for making a good run at it."
On Wednesday, Alston and Co. will begin their second-half push.
Despite being mentioned among the preseason favorites in the West, the Rockets have had an up-and-down first half. They are anticipating a grind towards the playoffs as they begin the second half of the season Wednesday night against Seattle.
The Rockets (22-19)
are 10th in the West after spending much of the first half developing a rhythm within Rick Adelman's high-motion offensive scheme.
They've won without Tracy McGrady and have received surprising contributions from their trio of rookies -- Luis Scola, Aaron Brooks and Carl Landry.
Still, there's ground to make up. The good news is that no team in the West is running away from the pack. Through Monday's action, only seven games separated the top 10 teams in the conference.
Houston is only two games behind Golden State for the eighth and final playoff slot.
"We've had our ups and downs, but we're still in good shape," Rockets forward Chuck Hayes said. "We're on the outside looking in, but we're not far."
The biggest question mark heading into the season's second half is McGrady's status.
Even though he's provided productive minutes off the bench in the past two games, the Rockets' All-Star shooting guard is still playing with a noticeable limp after missing 11 games with a left knee injury. He hasn't had his usual lift on jumpers or the typical spring in his step on drives towards the basket. For now, he's playing through the pain.
Sure, the Rockets managed to go 7-4 during the star's most recent absence. But the Rockets also realize they need McGrady's ability to create for everyone else.
"I just felt like that's what our team was missing when I was out," McGrady said. "If I don't make the shot, I still bring attention to me."
During McGrady's time out, the Rockets did develop a better flow within Adelman's offensive system. Alston raised his scoring average to double figures by attacking the lane more and Houston got significant contributions from Luther Head, Scola and Brooks.
"We've been attacking more," Alston said. "We haven't waited to see how we're going to flow and who's going to get us going. We've got to continue to be aggressive even with Tracy back in the lineup."
Not everything has gone well over that stretch without McGrady.
In what has been a disturbing trend of late, the Rockets haven't been able to finish games with ease after building comfortable advantages. Despite building a 16-point lead over Philadelphia on Jan. 15, the Rockets coughing up the game in the fourth quarter. Houston had nine turnovers -- most of which came on entry passes to Yao Ming.
Even with McGrady back, those issues have persisted. If the Rockets are going to get back in the playoffs, they know they can't continue to give games away.
"We just have to continue to do what gets us leads," Rockets forward Shane Battier said. "When you play aggressively and play good team defense, that's what affords you a lead. At the end of a game, especially when a team tries to get you out of your comfort zone, you lose sight of that. You have to remind yourself constantly what's good for you -- aggressive play."
Despite all the preseason talk about transforming into an offensive-minded team, the Rockets know they'll still be relying on their defense to reach the postseason.
Judging by their defensive efforts this season, that looks promising. The Rockets are holding opponents to 43.8 percent shooting -- second only to Boston. Only one of Houston's past 10 opponents have reached the 100-point plateau.
"They're one of the three best defensive teams in the league," Seattle coach P.J. Carlesimo said. "You don't get a lot of easy stuff going to the rim and they got a great perimeter defender (in Battier)."
Still, the Rockets will need a stronger second half to the season if they're going to be playoff-bound.
The good news is that they aren't out of the race after an up-and-down first half of the season.
"We've got to take care of how we play," Alston said. "We have to worry about us winning our games instead of looking at what the other teams are going to do. We should be alright if we take care of our game."
