Jim Reilly

Double Trouble
Yao goes down and the Rockets take off. How is this happening? Damien Pierce on Rockets.com examines the historic winning streak in Houston and cautions against conventional wisdom regarding the double-teaming of one Tracy McGrady.

"The Rockets (46-20) are riding the NBA's second longest winning streak -- 22 games and counting -- because the supporting cast around McGrady has consistently provided a boost," writes Pierce. "Double McGrady? Go ahead. The Rockets have more than one option."

Pierce goes straight to the source to buttress his point. "That's the makeup of our team," said McGrady. "There are going to be nights where I'm going to be off and there are going to be nights where Rafer (Alston) picks up the slack and Bobby (Jackson) picks up the slack. We have multiple guys that can pick up the slack. It's a good thing to have so teams just can't key on me."

Phil Jackson, whose Lakers fell victim to the streaking Rockets on Sunday night, agrees. "I thought Tracy had as poor a game as he's had all season," said Jackson. "I think that shows how good their team really is."

Up next for Houston tonight are the league-leading Boston Celtics and Rockets guard Bobby Jackson suggests a plan of attack against KG and Gang Green. "We have to move the ball extremely well against Boston," said Jackson. "We can't keep the ball on one side of the floor because they do a great job of keeping the ball out of the paint. If we don't move the ball against them, we're going to struggle."