Utah newspaper speaks high about Rockets

dfwrox · Mar 18, 2007

Nice taek on Rockets

http://www.sltrib.com/search/ci_5464718

Houston gets healthy
NBA: Resurgent Rockets on collision course with Jazz
By Steve Luhm
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 03/18/2007 02:17:42 AM MDT

Related
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Mar 18:
NBA Insider: 3-PointersSTEVE LUHM: Retro fouls: Wrong callNBA: Long road to championshipNBA NotesNBA Tribune Power RankingsKRAGTHORPE: Boozer can take boosUnhappy returns for Boozer, Jazz in ClevelandYao Ming is back, Tracy McGrady's back is holding up and the Houston Rockets are no longer a backdrop on the NBA landscape.
With Yao and McGrady in the lineup - not to mention blue-collar Shane Battier and a revitalized Rafer Alston - Houston has re-emerged as a legitimate contender in the Western Conference and, perhaps, beyond.
"This is a team that's as good as any in basketball," said Jazz coach Jerry Sloan.
The Rockets are fifth in the West, but moving up.
They are breathing down the Jazz's neck for fourth place in the West, which would translate into a home-court advantage in what looks like an inevitable first-round match between the longtime rivals.
Houston can't crack the West's Big Three - Dallas, Phoenix or San Antonio - but none of them would have an easy time against the Rockets in a second-round series.
So why has Houston been unable to turn the Big Three into the Big Four, at least during the regular season?
Flashback to Dec. 23.
In a game in Houston, the Los Angeles Clippers' Tim
Thomas drove to the basket and collided with Chuck Hayes, who rolled into Yao's leg and fractured it.
Yao, who had scored more than 30 points in five of the seven previous games and looked like a certain MVP candidate, didn't play again for three months.
Yao's absence wasn't the only one that has shackled coach Jeff Van Gundy.
McGrady missed nine games because of his touchy back. Bonzi Wells, who was supposed to be a critical offseason addition, missed 39 of the first 65 games because of a variety of physical problems. Backup guard Kirk Snyder also missed 39 games because of injury.
Still, the Rockets are alive and well and contending in the West. They went a surprising 20-12 without Yao and start down the stretch with their rotation intact for the first time.
Yao, Houston's uniquely talented 7-foot-6 center, remains the key to the Rockets' immediate and long-term future.
In his first game back from the broken leg, he scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds against Cleveland.
A few nights later, Yao scored 37 points against Orlando and its young All-Star, Dwight Howard.
In his postgame press conference, Van Gundy told local reporters, "He's out 71 days and he was able to play 35 minutes in his fourth game. That goes directly to his work ethic. No one - no one - works harder than he does. He can take great pride in that."
In Friday's 114-110 win at Toronto, Yao had 23 points and 12 rebounds. But the attention he received from the Raptors' defense helped McGrady and Alston shoot 7-for-13 from the three-point line.
"We had Yao back, worked inside out, got some threes and made them," McGrady said.
While Yao and McGrady are the Rockets' cornerstones, Battier has emerged as a critical component to Houston's success. He was acquired from Memphis last summer.
According to Sloan, Battier is a perfect fit for the Rockets, who finished 34-48 last season, when Yao and McGrady missed a combined total of 60 games.
Battier "can guard anybody in the league, except maybe the big, big guys," Sloan said. "I know he's guarded Memo [Okur] pretty well in the past. He's guarded [Carlos] Boozer pretty well, too."
In Battier's five-year career in Memphis, he averaged 10.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and became the franchise's all-time steals leader. He did it without much hoopla, either, which is something Sloan noticed.
"He gives you some things very quietly," Sloan said. "He doesn't have to be talked about. Some guys have to be talked about all the time. . . . That's something I've always appreciated about him."
To pry Battier away from Memphis, the Rockets sent No. 8 overall draft pick Rudy Gay and veteran journeyman Stromile Swift to the Grizzlies.
"Anytime a team wants you, professionally it's a good thing - you must be doing something right," Battier said during the Rockets' first visit to Utah this season.
Asked about playing for a contender, Battier said, "We need to stay healthy; that's been an issue here. And we need to come together quickly. . . . That said, we'll be competitive and - if you compete hard on a nightly basis and execute in the last five minutes - you're going to win your fair share."
Van Gundy said Battier is "better than we expected, and it's always nice to get more than you were expecting."
Houston is 41-25 heading into today's game at Philadelphia. The Rockets are on pace to finish with 50 to 52 wins - not many when you consider the last seven NBA champions have averaged 58 victories.
Still, teams like the Rockets have overcome injuries and undergone midseason roster reconstruction and won championships.
In 1977-78, Washington went 44-38. But All-Star point guard Phil Chenier played only 36 games. He returned in time for the playoffs, and the Bullets raced to the title under coach Dick Motta.
Closer to home, the 1994-95 Rockets won only 47 games but won the title after acquiring Hall of Famer Clyde Drexler before the trade deadline and getting Hakeem Olajuwon, Robert Horry and Vernon Maxwell healthy following injury-plagued seasons.
En route to its title, Houston survived a five-game opening-round playoff series against Utah, which finished 13 games ahead of the Rockets during the regular season.
"That [Drexler] trade was great for them," said Jazz assistant coach Scott Layden. "They were a fine basketball team."
Just like this season.
luhm@sltrib.com

Houston foursome
The Rockets have re-emerged as a legitimate contender in the Western Conference, mainly thanks to these four players.
Tracy McGrady 24.4 5.2 6.1
Yao Ming 24.6 9.2 2.2
Shane Battier 10.5 4.2 2.3
Rafer Alston 13.3 3.3 5.4
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WeBelieve · Mar 18, 2007

dfwrox said:

Nice taek on Rockets

http://www.sltrib.com/search/ci_5464718
Click to expand...

Maybe Utah preparing to take the underdog approach come playoff time. J. Sloan "Look, our own newspaper is calling these guys a better team". lol

I see this as like the girl that speaks and is cordial to other girls when she sees them and the minute they leave she talks about how horrible they look.

bladeage · Mar 18, 2007

regardless, we are killin them in the first round.

WeBelieve · Mar 18, 2007

bladeage said:

regardless, we are killin them in the first round.
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Can't wait to see Barkleys face.

ryandoc · Mar 18, 2007

utah seems to be giving rafer major props, maybe theyll double him instead of t-mac or yao?

rumcoke · Mar 18, 2007

seems to me like they don't want to be caught with their pants down if we beat them. they don't want to have people say, "what? houston won? but aren't we the better team?" at least now, they can say that houston was always good, they were just injured. which is fine, because it's true.

YallMean · Mar 18, 2007

rumcoke said:

seems to me like they don't want to be caught with their pants down if we beat them. they don't want to have people say, "what? houston won? but aren't we the better team?" at least now, they can say that houston was always good, they were just injured. which is fine, because it's true.
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Huh?

rofflesaurus · Mar 18, 2007

utah is a great team this will go 7 games with utah being the slight favorite imho

Dr of Dunk · Mar 18, 2007

ryandoc said:

utah seems to be giving rafer major props, maybe theyll double him instead of t-mac or yao?
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They're just trying to get Rafer to shoot more... don't fall for it Rafer!!!

shaggylambda · Mar 18, 2007

Dr of Dunk said:

They're just trying to get Rafer to shoot more... don't fall for it Rafer!!!
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DITTO!!!!

withmustard · Mar 18, 2007

good article,,, one mistake though. Vernon Maxwell played 0 minutes in our second playoff championship run. just puttin that out there.

Pocket Rockets · Mar 18, 2007

withmustard said:

good article,,, one mistake though. Vernon Maxwell played 0 minutes in our second playoff championship run. just puttin that out there.
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he played in the 1st game against utah before taking the leave of absence

fba34 · Mar 18, 2007

once jerry sloan retires from his coaching position, are we allowed to not hate them anymore?

Rocketmike · Mar 18, 2007

rofflesaurus said:

utah is NOT a great team this will NOTgo 7 games with utah being the slight favorite imho
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There you go, tied a couple of loose ends into knots for you.

Seriously, Utah a great team? They're in the worst division in the conference. They will get abused. I'm calling the series in 5 if we have HCA and 6 if they do.

Mike

rocketgo · Mar 18, 2007

Rox will beat Utah, then beat Mavs, the final of WC is between Rox and Spus, we will win the champion of WC. After that, we will beat Heats to win the title.

Dave_78 · Mar 18, 2007

I hate to disrespect Utah but they have almost no playoff experience. We have a bunch of guys who have seen the playoffs (if only the first round) and know what to expect. Not to mention, Tmac, Yao and probably Battier are going to come into the series with something to prove. These guys are so hungry it is going to be scary.

I just don't think the Jazz players understand how to turn up the intensity when it comes to the playoffs.

Rockets in 6.

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