The case of the Houston Rockets vs. Tracy McGrady appears to be nearing its end. Read the full story

Tracy McGrady is back.

With his expected return thought to be no sooner than early December, at best, the Rockets swingman told Yahoo! Sports that he will make his return to the court on Nov. 18 against Minnesota.

For the past eight months, McGrady has rehabbed his surgically repaired left knee.

In an email to Yahoo! Sports, McGrady wrote, “Excited to get back and compete at a high level again. For a full year I had to play on one leg against the best and I couldn’t compete with anybody the way I was feeling. It’s gonna be a relief to get out there and play knowing what I went [through] last season and this summer.”

McGrady played in 35 games last season before undergoing microfracture surgery.

He averaged 15.6 points on 38 percent shooting from the field and was clearly hindered because of the knee, relying more and more upon the jump shot.

McGrady was expected to take another MRI on the knee on Nov. 23, but the play of rookie wing Chase Budinger may have led him to move up his return.

Budinger has averaged 10.6 points on 52.5 percent shooting this season and is undoubtedly the Rockets’ swingman of the future due to his athleticism, shooting ability and savvy offensive ability.

The bottom line is, at 4-2 so far, including wins against Utah and Portland, the Rockets have surprised and have played at a high level even without McGrady, a fact that probably doesn’t sit too well with the seven-time All-Star.

With Budinger one of the Rockets’ top bench players, McGrady’s return would likely mean either Trevor Ariza or Shane Battier get sent to the bench.

It would likely be Battier. The Rockets didn’t spend their mid-level exception to have Ariza as a glorified sixth man, plus the professional and team-oriented Battier would not complain about the move.

Either way, it would make sense for the Rockets to see what McGrady can do before February’s trading deadline.

He is in the final year of a contract which reportedly pays around $20 million this season, and would likely play well to showcase for a new suitor and earn one last, big deal.

If he doesn’t play up to par, and he provides no aid at all to the Rockets, the team might consider dealing him, considering it’s a buyer’s market in these hard economic times for NBA teams.

At best, McGrady is a No. 1 offensive option that would allow Brooks and Ariza to assume the complimentary roles that fit them best.

McGrady is a playmaker, and with a Rockets team that struggles in the halfcourt and has no true, legit lead player, he would help immensely in that area as a scorer that could demand a double team and make plays for others.

However, at worst, McGrady is a ball-stopper who settles too often for jump shots, particularly the aggravating kind that are just a step inside the 3-point line.

Yahoo! Sports reported that, while McGrady is awaiting final clearance from team doctors, Rockets sources don’t expect there to be any problems.

- Dennis Silva II/The Katy Capsule

In an era of basketball where individualism is king and the King is its scene, the 2009-2010 Houston Rockets, through the first five games of this season at least, are a throwback to yesterday.

Only, if yesterday was three decades ago, when teamwork, ball movement and passing graced the NBA during the days of Bird and Magic.

Yesterday, as in back to the days when the give-and-go was as sexy as the alley-oop.

The Rockets are 3-2 so far, with two of the three wins coming against Portland and Utah, two projected Western Conference powerhouses.

One of the defeats was in overtime to the defending champ Lakers.

These Rockets – without their top three scorers from last season – are currently playing .600 ball, when many thought they’d be fortunate to sniff .500 at any point of the season.

Whowouldathunkit.

For old-school basketball enthusiasts, this year’s team is a joy to watch, and further proof that sharp passing, ball movement, and hard screening and cutting are not completely lost arts.

There is no lead star. There is no assured go-to talent. There is no legitimate interior threat, superstar wing and/or blazing-quick point guard … err, scratch that, the “blazing-quick point guard” still does apply.

No, this is a collection of superior basketball energy and unselfishness; a collection that refuses to let up and understands the sum is greater than its parts.

Need proof?

Five Rockets are scoring in double figures. Eight average at least 8.2 points per game.

This is a team that assists on 60 percent of its field goals, and shoots 46 percent from the field and 41.4 percent from 3.

In today’s game, numbers such as those are unheard of.

This is a team whose heart and soul is an undrafted, 6-foot-6 power forward out of Kentucky; an undersized post player who serves as the team’s starting center and, entering this season, had averaged no more than 5.6 points per game – and that was two years ago – and 6.7 rebounds per game.
If you need one player who embodies the heart and soul of these Rockets, it’s Chuck Hayes, human proof that if you pursue the ball, defend and play for your teammates, everything will fall into place.

“We can score,” Hayes said following Wednesday’s heartbreaking OT loss to the Lakers. “As you can see from these last three games (of which the Rockets scored 102, 111 and 113 points, respectively), we can put the ball in the basket. We don’t have one guy who’s going to go for 30 or 40 except maybe every now and then, but everybody can put the ball in the basket when we play well together.”

That, in a nutshell, is the Houston Rockets, and the game is better off for it.

In a league that grossly sensationalizes its superstars and enforces the individual over team, the Rockets are spitting at that message and paving a new path back to the glory days of hoops.

Back to the days of physical screens, hard cuts, quick ball reversal and finding the open man.

Many figured the Rockets to be left for dead this season. Charles Barkley, I’m looking at you.

And, who knows, that may still be the case.

The Western Conference is no cupcake, and you can thank the Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs, Portland Trail Blazers, Utah Jazz, Phoenix Suns and Denver Nuggets for that.

But if the Rockets are headed toward a subpar this season, and if this early start is nothing but another cruel arrow into the hearts of Rockets fans, know this much: The Rockets will keep fighting, playing the way basketball is supposed to be played.

Somewhere, the NBA gods are smiling.

“When you lose your star players, people don’t expect very much from you but we’ve had the attitude that we’re going to play hard, compete and we’re going to see what we can do with this group,” Rockets coach Rick Adelman told Rockets.com following the team’s 113-96 win over Utah on Monday. “That’s how these guys have approached every day and that’s what makes them fun to coach because they do compete.”

- Dennis Silva II/The Katy Capsule

Video via clutchfansDOTnet YouTube

Rockets-Trail Blazers Preview Read the full story

Courtesy of the Courier-Journal newspaper.

Rick Pitino is trying to move on.

He wants this hellacious offseason to go away; an offseason that saw his name tarnished, branded with mud and dirt and kicked around to no end.

Rick Pitino wants to coach basketball.

That’s the message reflected when Pitino spoke to ESPN.com as practices are under way for the Cardinal of Louisville. Read the full story

To get away from pro hoops a bit, how about this – a 13-year-old, 6-foot-6 hoops phenom.

Meet Andrew Wiggins, a Canadian citizen and the son of former NBA player Mitchell Wiggins and Marita Payne, an Olympic track star from Canada.

Judge for yourself. He’s a member of the 2014 recruiting class.

Forget basketball, watch Obama versus the press

President Obama has lined up a few basketball games at the White House today, but some folks are keeping an eye on another contest: The White House versus the press.

Oval friend Michael Scherer at Time magazine offers this take on what looks like a coordinated White House effort to push back on what it considers unfair coverage. Read the full story

Rockets down Spurs in Ginobili’s first game since April 5

SAN ANTONIO  — Trevor Ariza scored nine points in his Rockets debut, helping Houston beat the San Antonio Spurs 99-85 on Tuesday night in the preseason opener for both teams.

Carl Landry had 19 points to lead the Rockets, who are beginning the season without the cornerstones of their team. Yao Ming is out for the season after his broken left foot was slow healing, and Tracy McGrady is recovering from microfracture surgery on his left knee, and is not expect back until midseason.Ron Artest, the other big name from last season’s team, left for the Lakers in the offseason. Taking his place is Ariza, who helped Los Angeles win the championship.The Spurs’ Manu Ginobili saw his first action since a stress fracture in his right leg discovered on April 5 sidelined him last season. He played 13 minutes, scoring four points on 1-of-4 shooting.San Antonio played without Tony Parker, Tim Duncan, and Michael Finley, who were sitting in street clothes along with new teammates Theo Ratliff and Antonio McDyess. Rookie DeJuan Blair took advantage of the playing time with 16 points and 19 rebounds in 22 minutes.Houston also played without starter Shane Battier.

Read the full story

McGrady practices with Rockets

By JONATHAN FEIGEN Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle

Oct. 4, 2009, 8:07PM

McALLEN – The court was dropped down in the middle of the McAllen Convention Center, a make-shift training camp venue far removed in so many ways from the arenas and tests of the NBA to come. It was, however, a start. Read the full story

Replacement Refs? A Look Back at 1995

Labor disputes can create strange alliances and even stranger quotations. Fourteen years ago, the N.B.A. locked out its referees, handed their whistles to an army of wide-eyed substitutes and watched the insanity unfold. Read the full story

Rockets trade guard White to Denver

With little wiggle room left on the roster less than a week before training camp, the Rockets traded guard James White to Denver, largely to give him a better chance to stick with an NBA team, a person with knowledge of the move said Tuesday. Read the full story

http://sports.yahoo.com

• Ht:6′8″
• Wt:215 lbs
• Class:2010 (High School)
• Avg. 18 points 10.5 rebounds his Jr year. Read the full story