T-Mac's Ultimatum

The Houston Rockets won their 13th straight game last night, blowing past the Washington Wizards 94-69 to keep pace in the rugged Western Conference. However, the victory as well as the impressive win streak took the back page after news broke out that center Yao Ming would be missing the rest of the season with a stress fracture. Ming has been no stranger to injuries, missing 59 games combined in the last two seasons, suffering four injuries to his foot over that span. This season appeared to be different; he had only missed one game through the first 56, and had the look of a man who had finally grasped how best to play with his tall frame while being injury-free. But, this stress fracture has been nagging at Ming for a while, and team doctors elected that it was best to shut down the 7-6 center for the rest of the season, including the playoffs no matter how far Houston goes. The growing optimism under the belly of the Rockets that was building for weeks was crushed in a matter of moments following the announcement.

The huge hole left in the middle of the Rockets roster will be occupied by Dikembe Mutombo, who’s averaging just over eight minutes a game in his 17th season in the NBA. Clearly, this will be a huge boost in responsibility for the 7-footer that has seen his minutes dwindle significantly during his four years in Houston. His advancing age and lack of offensive prowess are major concerns, but he can still contribute. Defensively, Mutombo has proved in his limited time that he can still be a force, even at 41. He had a terrific performance in his first start of the year at center, grabbing six rebounds and blocking four shots against the Wizards. That type of production is what Houston should expect out of Mutombo, but more than anything, it’s his mere presence and leadership that will help keep the Rockets defense as stingy as ever.

The offensive production of Yao’s injury, however, will fall to Tracy McGrady (big surprise!), who has struggled in the past when he’s been thrown into the spotlight. In addition to the added pressure on offense, McGrady becomes the team’s unquestioned leader, something he’s struggled with in the past. Houston will only go as far as McGrady takes them now that Ming is out of the fray. There’s never been any question about McGrady’s talent or effort, but his heart and attitude have been the focus of tremendous scrutiny. Now more than ever, it’s up to McGrady to finally prove that he’s a winner.

This is the same guy that averaged 32 points a game as a 23-year old in Orlando, won two consecutive scoring titles, and scored 13 points in the final 33 seconds to single-handedly help the Rockets overcome an 8-point deficit against the Spurs. But, for as great as McGrady has been over his 11-year career, the only thing that’s attached to him is his reputation as the league’s biggest underachiever. This 7-time All Star has grown tiny during his career’s defining moments. McGrady has never made it past the first round of the playoffs, going 0-6, with the last three going the distance. The last two playoff defeats have come with Ming, which makes it hard to imagine how T-Mac could possibly lead Houston deep into the playoffs of one of the greatest Western Conferences in history by himself.

That’s the dilemma that faces McGrady as he prepares for the stretch run. The Rockets are part of a three-team race that involves the Nuggets and Warriors for the final two-playoff spots. Despite an NBA season-high winning streak of 13 games, Houston is still only seventh in the Western Conference, 3.5 games clear of Denver, which is out of the playoffs at the moment. For the Rockets to stay there, McGrady will need to turn around what’s been an ordinary 2007-08 season. His scoring, rebounding, and assists are all down, and he got left out of the All-Star Game for the first time since 2000. Gradually, T-Mac has gotten more and more comfortable to deferring to Ming as the team’s primary scorer. He’s used the big man as a security blanket, using the imposing presence of Ming inside to set up his own game on the perimeter. Without Ming, McGrady is forced to set up his own shot, something he will be forced to do in every game for the rest of the season. An imposing task to say the least. It’s do or die time for McGrady and the Rockets in the West. Is Tracy finally ready to get the monkey off his back, or is his legacy of failure destined to stay with him?