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Thursday December 4, 2008 11:03 AM

The Big Picture


Rockets vs. Clippers, 7:30 PM, FSNHOU

Jason Friedman
Rockets.com Staff Writer

Houston - Whenever you get extremely close to something, proper perspective becomes increasingly difficult to come by. The closer you are, the more likely it is that all those lines, colors, shapes and patterns – once so clearly defined – will transform into one big muddled mess.

That’s not to say there’s nothing gained by peering through the microscope, because clearly there is. It’s just that every once in awhile it’s just as important to take a step back and view the big picture in order to put the hodgepodge in its proper place.

So it is with the Rockets and their fans today as the team prepares to embark upon a multi-week stretch in which the club will be without the services of its uber-skilled playmaker Tracy McGrady. Viewed up close, this is a disheartening blow to a franchise which has dealt with more than its fair share of injury woes over the last few years. It’s all too easy to respond to the news of T-Mac’s absence with a “Here we go again,” refrain.

And yet, the macro view isn’t nearly as bleak. For starters, if there’s one thing we know about this Rockets team it’s that it is exceptional in its ability to respond to adversity. Last season’s club displayed that gift time and time again; both by bouncing back after a substandard start and elevating its play once more following Yao Ming’s season-ending injury. So it’s no surprise that this year’s club has displayed similar resiliency, consistently following up heartbreaking losses with stellar performances the next time they hit the court. It’s almost as if this group relishes the opportunity to rise up the moment critics declare them D.O.A.

“Some of the sweetest wins you have as a team are when you’re facing adversity and everyone sort of counts you out,” says Shane Battier. “Obviously, we’d love to have Tracy out there, but that’s not the case. So we’re going to go out there with the players we have and we think we’ve got some pretty good players.”

Indeed they do, which brings us to the next point: These Rockets were built specifically to withstand times such as these. Being all too aware of this team’s injury history, GM Daryl Morey and Co. constructed a club with enough depth to ensure the Rockets would be able to persevere when the inevitable injury occurred. So the players are in place to get the job done. Now it’s incumbent upon the coaching staff – which did such an admirable job mixing and matching a year ago - to maximize the talent at their disposal in order to steer the ship through this turbulent time.

“We have to do it differently,” says Rick Adelman. “ Yao’s got to be the focal point of what we’re going to do. We’ve got to make sure that he’s the guy we go to, he’s the guy that [opponents] are going to have to react to. Tracy was our playmaker; he was the guy who could run pick-and-rolls and when he had the ball in his hands he could score and find people – he just has that gift. He’s 6-9 and he just sees over everybody. So other people have to step up and we have to find ways to make them effective.

“We did a great job against San Antonio, moving the ball and everybody being involved – I think we had seven guys in double figures – I think that’s the way we have to play. We have to have everybody step up. Not one guy is going to be Tracy McGrady, but all of them together can make this a pretty good team if they all play the right way.”

Finally, the Rockets and their fans can find solace in the fact that fortune hasn’t completely abandoned them. As disappointing as McGrady’s absence is, the timing probably couldn’t be more ideal. Of course, it’s always better for these bugaboos to strike in December rather than April, but it’s also comforting to glance at the favorable schedule on the horizon. The Rockets play 15 games this month and a whopping 9 of those come against teams below the .500 mark. So despite the club’s less than aesthetically pleasing record with T-Mac on the sidelines, Houston should still be able to do more than merely tread water while he’s away.

“I just want us to try and win as many games as we can during this stretch," says Adelman. "We’ve got to get through this December and first part of January where we’re winning games, keeping our heads above water and then hopefully people will be back and then we can make a little run.”

Got a question for Rockets.com? Send it to Jason Friedman.