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Monday January 7, 2008 6:00 PM


Rockets finding ways to win without McGrady


Houston at Washington, Tuesday, 6 p.m.


Damien Pierce
Rockets.com Staff Writer

HOUSTON -- During Tracy McGrady's first three seasons in Houston, Rafer Alston acknowledges that the Rockets struggled to produce wins whenever their leading scorer was out of the lineup.

He believes a few teams expected the same thing to happen this season when McGrady was placed on the inactive list two weeks ago.

"I think some teams were thinking they're going to beat us easily," Alston said. "But they were underestimating what we have out there."

The Rockets are indeed suddenly surviving without McGrady.

Despite struggling in previous campaigns when McGrady was out, the Rockets have found ways to win this season without the seven-time All-Star. They'll try to pick up another win Tuesday night with their star watching from the bench when the Rockets visit the Washington Wizards in the nation's capital.

McGrady, who might return Friday from his left knee injury, has missed the past six games. But unlike past seasons, the star's absence hasn't meant an immediate slide. The Rockets have won four of their past six games, improving to 4-3 without the star guard this season.

Sure, that record won't thrust the Rockets into the elite of the Western Conference. But what's impressive about that record is that Houston has never come close to playing at least .500 basketball without McGrady in previous seasons. Before this season, the Rockets were a forgettable 11-42 over the past three years when McGrady wasn't on the floor.

What's changed?

"We have learned to move on," Rockets forward Chuck Hayes said. "Injuries happen in this league. Unfortunately, it happened to one of our star players. But we still need to win games. The games are going to continue so we have to move on without him. When he gets back, we'd love to win with him."

The Rockets have touted their depth as a major reason why things have gone better this time around.

Before this season, the Rockets boosted their depth by re-signing Bonzi Wells and adding talents like Steve Francis, Mike James, Aaron Brooks and Luis Scola.

Not all of those names have had the sort of season that the Rockets envisioned in training camp. But even with a few of those players struggling, the increased talent gave the Rockets more options to choose from when McGrady went down.

"We have more talent," Rockets forward Shane Battier said. "Any time you replace talent with talent, you're in a better spot."

Brooks and Scola, in particular, have raised their games over the past few weeks. Brooks scored a career-high 22 points in Houston's win over New York on Saturday, while Scola hasn't been missing many open looks of late. Battier said that may be the only silver lining to playing without McGrady. The two rookies have grown because they've had more opportunities with McGrady out.

"It's never a blessing when someone goes down with an injury," Battier said. "But I'm excited about the way we've responded. Guys have stepped up. If Tracy wasn't out, I don't know if we would have found the gem that Aaron Brooks has become. He's played well for us. Luis Scola has played well for us. Adversity is a great opportunity for people to step up."

The Rockets will be facing a team Tuesday night that has done the same without their own All-Star.

Nearly two weeks into the season, the Wizards lost Gilbert Arenas to a knee injury that required surgery. Washington, though, hasn't dropped out of the Eastern Conference playoff picture. The Wizards are a surprising 14-10 minus Arenas.

Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler have been the major reasons why the Wizards haven't disappeared from contention. Jamison is averaging another double-doulbe and Butler is having career season, averaging a career-best 22.2 points.

"Jamison and Butler have really stepped up," Adelman said. "They're both really good and they're playing at a high level so they've been very consistent in the way they've played. When you have two players like that who can pick their game up, then you don't miss Arenas as much."

The Rockets, of course, aren't missing McGrady nearly as much as they have in the past.

"We're finding ways to play without him," Alston said. "That's good because guys' confidence is up. We just want to put together some wins before he gets back."