This was supposed to be the Rockets’ year.

The addition of Ron Artest gave them the NBA’s latest version of “The Big Three” and a player that could strengthen both their offense and defense. After averaging just 53 games played over the last three seasons, Yao Ming was healthy. And Tracy McGrady was still just 29 years old.

But things haven’t worked out so far. McGrady has been in and out of the lineup, still recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery that he had in early May. Artest has missed six of the last 16 games with an ankle injury, point guard Rafer Alston has missed six games as well and Shane Battier has played in only 15 games. Ironically, Yao has been the most durable of Houston’s stars. He’s missed only one game.

In all, the Rockets’ six best players have missed a total of 43 games, and only twice have they all been in uniform. Through 36 games, Houston coach Rick Adelman has used 13 different starting lineups.

Instead of competing with the Lakers and Hornets at the top of the Western Conference, the Rockets (21-15 through Tuesday) are holding on to the eighth spot, a half game ahead of the Jazz, who have been just as injury-riddled. Houston was supposed to make the jump from playoff team to contender, but the Rockets are in danger of making a trip to Secaucus, N.J., for the NBA Lottery in May.

Even when they’re all playing, the Rockets aren’t playing particularly well. Those two games that they had everybody in uniform? They lost them both, one to the woeful Wizards.

McGrady looks more like 39 than 29, having a tough time getting into the paint on offense or staying in front of his man on defense. With both Artest and Battier missing Tuesday in Philadelphia, McGrady was assigned to guard Andre Iguodala, and Iguodala had no problem with him, tying a season high with 28 points on 12-of-19 shooting.

In addition, the injuries mean bigger roles for reserves like Aaron Brooks, Von Wafer and Luther Head. They aren’t the defenders that the normal starters are, they aren’t used to playing this many minutes and they never know what their role will be when they show up at the arena.

The Rockets haven’t dropped off offensively from last season. They’re still a middle-of-the-pack team, ranking 15th in the league, scoring 108.3 points per 100 possessions. That’s right where they were at last season.

Defensively, the Rockets rank sixth, allowing 105.4 points per 100 possessions. They’re still very good, but they’re not at that elite level that we’ve seen in years past. When Jeff Van Gundy took over as head coach in 2003, defense became Houston’s trademark.

Things started just fine this season. Through the first 17 games, the Rockets had a defensive rating of 101.3. But over the last 19 games, it’s up at 109.1. Their offense has shown improvement over that time, but not enough to cover for the defensive slippage.

The Rockets’ top six players haven’t missed more time over the last 19 games than the first 17, but attrition has taken its toll. Houston has lost six of its last eight games, and Tuesday the Rockets let the Sixers, who have one of the worst offenses in the league, shoot 56 percent and put up a season-high 29 fast-break points.

“For whatever reason, we’re taking ourselves back on the defensive end,” McGrady said after Tuesday’s loss. “In the past, that’s been our makeup, being a great defensive team. No matter how we’re struggling on the offensive end, we always seem to play defense. The last week or two, we got away from that. Teams are shooting a high percentage and we’re finding ourselves losing ball games.”

McGrady isn’t playing both games of a back-to-back these days, so he’s likely out for Wednesday’s game in Boston. But Artest may take his place. The Rockets hope to get Battier back when they return home on Saturday, but it’s likely he won’t be 100 percent at any point this season. The same probably goes for McGrady.

“Frankly, I’m very frustrated because we don’t have a set rotation,” Adelman said Tuesday. “Guys have been up and down and when you’re that way, you’re going to really struggle. There’s no easy solution to this.”

(nba.com)

Popularity: 1% [?]