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Friday January 9, 2009 1:50 PM

Lesson Learned?


Rockets eager to prove they have learned from mistakes of the past

Jason Friedman
Rockets.com Staff Writer

Oklahoma City - We know the Rockets can get up for games against the NBA’s elite. Almost without fail this season, Houston has risen to the challenge and brought its best effort when facing the stiffest competition the league has to offer.

But when it comes time to square off against the bottom-feeders, something has clearly been missing. Call it energy, intensity, killer instinct, or whatever else you wish. The end result is that the aforementioned missing ingredient has led to lackluster losses against the likes of Memphis, Washington and the L.A. Clippers (to name but a few).

That’s why the Rockets are on red alert right now in Oklahoma City. The players and coaches know all too well that a loss to the 5-31 Thunder would render Wednesday’s huge win over Boston virtually meaningless.

“I think tonight, what’s very important is our attitude,” says Yao Ming. “When we played the Celtics, I feel that everyone knew they were a very good team and hard to beat. No one was saying in the second quarter, ‘Well, I’m just going to let this game go. I won’t fight;’ particularly after the bad loss in Philadelphia.

“Tonight, walking into this arena, we don’t need to lie to ourselves that they are a good team. They are not one of the strongest teams in this league. They are a team we can beat. But what kind of attitude will we bring with us tonight? It’s very important. We have to treat them like the Celtics.”

Do that, and the Rockets will go a long way in showing that they’ve truly learned from their painful mistakes of the past. It sounds easy enough. But there’s a reason games like this come with a “trap” label. Many an NBA team has fallen victim to the mid-season doldrums which all too often accompany January match-ups against the league’s cellar-dwellers.

“In order to be great in this league, you have to bring the same effort night-in and night-out, regardless of who you’re playing,” says Tracy McGrady, who will be suiting up for tonight’s contest. “Some teams, and this team on occasion, have a tendency to play to the standard of their opponents, and we don’t want to have that letdown.”

Perhaps no one understands the importance of tonight’s game more than McGrady. The white-hot glare of the spotlight has been firmly fixed upon him during his struggle to recover from offseason knee surgery, and there’s no question a strong performance from T-Mac tonight would help allay some of the frustration he’s been feeling.

“For me, I just have to take it one day at a time and keep on improving, regardless of how I play," McGrady says. "I just have to gradually keep on improving out on the basketball court. My knee is getting better. It’s just taking time. You just have to be patient with this thing. You can’t force it or rush anything. I just need to go out and do what I can do for the team.

“My teammates understand what I’m going through. All of them tell me to keep on pushing. They still have faith in me and that’s the most important thing. Because once your teammates lose faith in you, then you have some problems.”

And 1’s: Coach Rick Adelman will have to be at his rotation-juggling best once again tonight. Ron Artest (ankle) is doubtful for this evening’s contest and Brent Barry had to fly home to Houston Thursday night to attend to a personal family matter. He, too, is not expected to play. However, there is one silver lining: Houston expects to have Shane Battier back in action Saturday night when the club returns home to host New York.

Did You Know? (courtesy of Rockets’ Manager of Media Relations Bob Schranz)

1) Did you know that Wednesdays and Saturdays are the two days of the week that the Rockets hold their best winning percentages on this season? Five of the next seven home games are played on either a Wednesday or a Saturday.

2) Did you know that the Rockets have already recorded more fourth-quarter comebacks this season (4) than the past two seasons combined (3)? Houston has won four games this season when trailing after three quarters of play, including its 89-85 victory at Boston (1/7/09).

3) Did you know that the Rockets are on pace to win 30-plus games at home again this season after setting the best single-season win total at Toyota Center with a 31-10 mark in 2007-08? Houston has not had back-to-back 30-win seasons at home since 1992-93 (31-9) and 1993-94 (35-6).

4) Did you know that Rafer Alston (20) and Tracy McGrady (18) have registered 38 of Houston’s last 39 double-digit assist performances since 2005-06?

5) Did you know that Ron Artest has at least one steal in 27 of his 31 contests played in 2008-09, including three or more steals in eight games this season?

6) Did you know that Aaron Brooks has 20 double-digit scoring performances in 2008-09? He reached 10 or more points just nine times all of last season.

7) Did you know that the Rockets are 143-71 (.668) in the 214 career games that both Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming have played in together?

8) Did you know that the Rockets are 53-23 since Luis Scola entered the starting lineup last season (1/27/08 vs. Utah)?

9) Did you know that the Rockets are 14-1 this season when Yao Ming scores 20 or more points?

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