HOUSTON -- To truly become the NBA's new dynamic duo, Tracy
McGrady and Yao Ming will need a lot more help in Houston.
That much was obvious during an up-and-down season that ended
with the worst Game 7 defeat in league history, a 40-point loss to
the Dallas Mavericks that showed just how far away the Rockets are
from making a serious title run.
"Our team had played well all year," Rockets coach Jeff Van
Gundy said. "To crack like that in the biggest game of the year is
disappointing."
But it shouldn't have been totally surprising, considering the
shortcomings McGrady and Yao were able to disguise until the
Rockets were confronted with a younger, faster, more athletic team
in the playoffs.
Outside of its two All-Stars, Houston couldn't count on anyone
else to create their own offense or stop any of the Mavericks'
talented perimeter players. As the league's oldest and most
experienced team, the Rockets too often looked feeble and slow.
Game 7 was a microcosm of a season-long problem: Yao led Houston
with 33 points, McGrady had 27 and the Rockets got just 16 points
from the rest of the team.
"When you don't have a third guy every night that you count on
... that third guy can be any one of a number of guys," Van Gundy
said. "I really do believe that if our chemistry hadn't been as
strong as it developed into, we would have had a lot less of a
year."
The Rockets brought McGrady to Houston in a trade with Orlando
hoping that he could mesh with Yao in a way that high-scoring but
erratic guards Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley could not in their
first-round exit last year.
The new union didn't click immediately, however, as Houston got
off to a 6-11 start that had McGrady complaining about Van Gundy's
rigid offense, Yao wondering about the direction of the team and
fans calling for the ouster of the irascible coach from New York.
Van Gundy responded by loosening some of his control over the
offense, and the Rockets made three midseason trades that netted
veterans Jon Barry, David Wesley and Mike James. The changes
sparked the Rockets over the second half of the season en route to
a 51-31 finish and the No. 5 seed in the West.
"It took a lot to get this team going ... we made a lot of
changes," Rockets general manager Carroll Dawson said. "It's hard
to take a team that far and count on it blending that fast."
The adjustments continued into the final month of the season
after starting power forward Juwan Howard was placed on the injured
list with a sprained right knee.
Lacking few other options, Van Gundy went with journeymen
forwards Clarence Weatherspoon, Ryan Bowen and Scott Padgett. That
underwhelming trio combined for an average of 6.2 points and 4.7
rebounds in the playoffs, essentially forcing Houston to play
four-on-five offensively against the loaded Mavericks.
The power forward spot will probably be where the Rockets focus
most of their efforts in the offseason. Houston will look for
someone who can take some of the rebounding load off Yao and can
reliably defend the top big men in the West.
Otherwise, Houston should return most of its nucleus. The
Rockets have only two free agents, center Dikembe Mutombo and guard
Jon Barry, and a $2 million team option for point guard Charlie
Ward.
Expect Mutombo, the NBA's second-highest paid player at $18.7
million this season (New Jersey covered $14.2 million of that), and
Barry to return at reasonable prices.
Van Gundy can only hope he has a quiet summer after drawing a
$100,000 fine -- the largest ever assessed against a coach -- for
accusing officials of targeting Yao this postseason. NBA
commissioner David Stern said the fine was only "an intermediary
step" and said an investigation will continue.
Perhaps anticipating a stiffer punishment, Van Gundy has
softened his stance and apologized for the remarks in recent days.
"I couldn't be more contrite about being sorry for those
things," Van Gundy said. "I never meant to impugn the integrity
of anybody, certainly not the NBA."
And McGrady, who fell to 0-for-5 in the postseason, plans to use
his latest playoff failure -- and the accompanying criticism that
he's not a winner -- as fuel for next season.
"All of this will make me stronger, and I love it, every bit of
it because I will have the last laugh," McGrady said. "I think
with Yao and me and the supporting cast we have, it's only going to
get better for us."