McGrady returns to practice

Tracy McGrady rejoined the Rockets today in his first full practice since November 6. He says that he is ready to play right now, while Daryl Morey and Rick Adelman insist that he will have to wait at least until they get the results of his next MRI. One thing is for sure and that's that no one is quite sure what is going to happen with T-Mac this season. McGrady and the Rockets haven't been seeing eye to eye on this issue from the very beginning.

If you remember back to last season, McGrady let us all know that he was going to have microfracture surgery and that he would miss the remainder of the season. He told everyone, that is, except Rockets management. Some might even suggest that McGrady went searching around for the one doctor's opinion that told him the surgery was the way to go. Unfortunately, this is only where the miscommunication begins. Early in his rehab, Morey and others in the organization insist that he is out for most of the first half of the season, while T-Mac thinks he can return early. Then in the early part of the season, McGrady says he is eyeing November 18 as his possible return date. This time, both Morey and Adelman say that there is no way that is happening as they want him to take part in the full practice scheduled for the week after that date first. Sure enough, come November 18, McGrady warms up with the team and then goes into the locker room and slips on his uniform as if to say that he is ready to go. What we do know happened after that is that he and Adelman had a little discussion about that particular decision. What is unclear is just how heated that conversation got. A Yahoo sports report said that the argument got loud at certain points, but both Adelman and McGrady deny that this was the case.

In McGrady's absence, the Rockets had a solid regular season. They went into the playoffs and dispatched the Portland Trail Blazers before taking the eventual champion LA Lakers to seven games before bowing out. This season, without McGrady or Yao, the Rockets have adopted a more up-tempo style of play led by lightning-quick point guard Aaron Brooks, emerging star Trevor Ariza, and the solid power forward combination of Luis Scola and Carl Landry. They are receiving contributions from every player on the roster and maybe most importantly, they are playing as a team and seem to be having fun doing it.

To bring Tracy McGrady back into the fold could be suicide for this style of play that has worked so well. Even in his best years with the Rockets, McGrady could be maddening with his insistence on playing in the half-court. He would nearly always bring the ball up himself and invariably, he would find himself with the ball in his hands 25 feet away from the basket with the shot clock at three. If he comes back in here and plays that way, there is no way this team as it is assembled would be successful. His bringing the ball up effectively takes away the tandem of Brooks and Kyle Lowry away as a weapon and the lack of the fast break would make life hard on guys like Chase Budinger and David Andersen would have done a lot damage thus far as the trailer on the break shooting wide-open jumpers.

Sure, he could come in here humbled and ready to play in the system that Adelman has put in. If he were to do this, he certainly could be a huge asset for the team and he could help lead this team to great things in the postseason. I'm convinced that the biggest part of fitting into any given system is wanting to fit into the system. I'm not sure that McGrady really wants that. I'm positive that he wants to come back and be better that ever, but I have a sneaking suspicion that he is more concerned with his personal play rather than team play.

It all comes down to if the Rockets want to take this risk on him. If you allow him back, you may have a McGrady who is healthy and as good as he once was. You may even have a player who is re-motivated and ready to be a part of a winning team. On the other hand, you may end up stuck with a selfish player who is only interested in playing his game regardless of what's good for the team.

For me personally, that's not a risk I'm willing to take. This season has gone too well thus far. The guys are playing together and having fun doing it. This group is certainly better than the sum of their parts. I don't want to see what could be a special season wrecked by one player's return. I'm looking to see Daryl Morey move McGrady before he can return. I don't want to see Tracy denied the chance to come back this season. I'm just hoping that it's for someone other than the Rockets.

Texans and Titans on MNF

Well, my hometown Texans seem to have made a habit of losing like this. They always know how to make the most recent loss a little bit more painful than the last. Not only was this loss on the biggest regular season stage in Monday Night Football, the loss came due to a missed field goal by your generally solid kicker. Not only was this loss to your biggest rival at this point, the loss came at the hands of a hometown boy QB who has been much maligned by Houston media and fans alike.

No doubt about it, this loss stings. As much as it stings for the Houston fans, I can guarantee you that it stings twice as much for the players, coaches, and management. A lot of the media, particularly those on ESPN, have had a problem with Kubiak's decision to not try to move the ball with 8 seconds left. I, for one, don't have a huge problem with it. You run with Schaub to try to get Kris Brown in the middle of the field to make it easier on him. If Schaub drops back there and gets sacked or throws an interception, Kubiak is getting killed for not playing it safe. Kubiak gave the team a chance to win and normally, Kris Brown makes that field goal.

This loss certainly turns the heat up on Gary Kubiak's seat. His seat was piping hot to begin with and now it has just about reached the boiling point. It's painfully obvious that this team is talented enough to make the playoffs. This team just seemed allergic to winning games it shouldn't and closing out games when they are within reach. I think Steve Young said it best last night after the game. He said that this is a talented team, but they seem to lack leadership in some form or fashion. That, for better or worse, reflects on the coach. Either the head coach is not providing the leadership the team needs, or he is not putting his veterans in a position where they can lead on the field. This may be a situation where he needs to go up to his talented veterans and tell them in no uncertain terms that they are needed as leaders.

There is no one on this roster that reeks of a leader. Andre Johnson and Matt Schaub are very talented players but neither of them seems to be a take charge type of player that brings a team together. I had always thought that Dunta Robinson was that type of guy for the defense, but his recent off the field shenanigans have me wondering about that.

This team is by no means done. If they do happen to wake up a win a couple of games they shouldn't, they could still make some noise in the playoff race. They still have a couple of games against the likes of the Seahawks and Rams. The season is not over, it just feels that way one day after a crushing loss. This team can still get over .500. These guys can still make a playoff push and get in to the postseason. All I know is that Kubiak needs to make it happen. His job likely depends on it.