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Tuesday January 13, 2009 11:59 AM

Rockets Circling The Wagons


Team relying on depth to see it through latest injury issues

Jason Friedman
Rockets.com Staff Writer

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE VON WAFER AUDIO HIGHLIGHT REEL.

Houston - The news swept through the message boards and media horde like a wildfire. Tracy McGrady was going back on the shelf for at least two weeks in order to fully focus on his continued efforts to return to form following offseason knee surgery.

Not surprisingly, T-Mac’s extended absence was the topic du jour following Monday’s practice. Reporters peppered players and coaches with questions about its effect, with one even going so far as to ask Yao Ming if he felt like the Rockets’ season was slipping away.

The problem with queries such as those is that they ignore the fact that this club’s calling card for the last twelve months has been its ability to thrive in the face of adversity; especially when the injury bug comes calling. We saw it last season when Yao Ming was lost in the middle of Houston’s historic winning streak. And we’ve seen it time and time again this year as Coach Rick Adelman and Co. have the Rockets nine games over .500, despite dealing with a line-up which has been in a perpetual state of flux due to the myriad injuries which have afflicted Houston since the start of training camp.

The truth is, the Rockets’ braintrust went into the season knowing injuries were likely to be an issue this year. Not only is that the reality of life in the NBA, but it’s especially true when a club comes off a spring and summer stretch which witnessed four of its five starters undergo surgery of some sort.

The Rockets response to that particular problem was to assemble the deepest roster it possibly could. It’s that depth which has kept Houston afloat up to this point in the brutal Western Conference. And it’s that depth which the Rockets will once again rely on while players like McGrady and Ron Artest recover injury.

“We have guys in this locker room and on this team who are pretty good NBA players, believe it or not,” says Shane Battier, who returned to the line-up Saturday night after missing six games himself. “When you put it all together, we still think we’re a pretty good team. It’s not the first time people have written us off and people will continue to write us off, and that’s fine. We just need to go out, keep improving and play with the guys that we have.”

Though the Rockets can’t currently lean on the Big Three that had fans in such a frenzy before the season began, they do possess the services of another talented threesome which has consistently made magic off the bench. Carl Landry continues to be a devastatingly efficient offensive player while teaming with Scola to form one of the most potent power forward combinations in the league. Aaron Brooks has snapped out of his mini-slump and is back to wreaking havoc with his blinding speed and dead-eye shooting. Then there’s Von Wafer, who’s been nothing short of a revelation in 2009, seemingly coming out of nowhere to average 15 points per game since the calendar flipped.

“He’s been crucial for us,” says Adelman. “He’s stepped in the last two weeks and played very well. We probably don’t beat Boston or Oklahoma City [without him]. He’s come up big. That’s what you hope players do; they hang in there, and when given a shot, they take advantage of it. And most of our guys who have been in and out of the lineup as far as playing time, have stepped in and done a pretty good job.”

And, just as one would expect, the more playing time guys like Wafer get, the more likely they are to progress as players and be of benefit to the team – both now and in the future.

“I think when you get reps and seasoning, it helps your confidence,” agrees Rafer Alston. “You grow with playing time since you get a chance to see different lineups, match-ups and defenses thrown at you. You get a chance to play through some good stretches and bad stretches, and I think that’s going to help those guys. Aaron had to go through it last year and now Von has an opportunity to go through that this year. I think, so far, Von has responded really well and Aaron has been fantastic all season long.”

The Rockets will need everyone at their best tonight with the mighty Lakers in town for a visit. On the surface, hope may seem slim given that Los Angeles crushed Houston the last time these two teams faced off, even though the Rockets actually had McGrady and Artest in the line-up at that point. But to discount Houston’s chances tonight is to ignore recent history (The Rockets looked just fine without T-Mac in wins against Boston and New York) and dismiss this club’s modus operandi: Simply put, these guys consistently play their best when the chips are down and their backs are against the wall.

“Every game that we’ve missed a lot of guys, we’ve circled the wagon so to speak and we’ve come out with a better determination,” says Battier. “And that determination has been the difference for us in many games. It’s won us a lot of games, so I certainly expect us to come out [tonight] and compete as hard as we have in any game this year.”

And 1's: Here's the latest medical update on Ron Artest: An MRI revealed no stress fractures in his right ankle. The test confirmed that Artest has a moderate to severe bone bruise in the ankle. He will continue his current rehabilitation treatment for the next seven to 10 days and will be re-evaluated at that time.

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