The best news was that Tracy McGrady was there, ready to roll. I didn't think he would be at training camp for a few days.

Under Jeff Van Gundy, the media never really got to see Rockets practice. Technically the NBA tells teams to give the media 30 minutes of practice time, so Van Gundy would get around that by letting the media in at the end for "shootaround", when players would just shoot free throws.

If Tuesday was any indication, that could change under Adelman.

When we were allowed in, I noticed right away that Rockets owner Les Alexander, general manager Daryl Morey and team CEO Tad Brown were seated courtside watching the action unfold.

The Rockets were in the middle of a Black Team vs. Gray Team scrimmage. Bonzi Wells was sitting it out on the sideline (groin injury) playing cheerleader. Seven players or so would rotate in or out.

What I found most interesting was that Steve Francis, Mike James and Rafer Alston were all on the floor on the Black Team.

Right off the bat you could tell the team was running. Francis got a loose ball, threw it to a cutting Rafer and Skip took off down the floor. I thought, "Wow, that's a nice change."

Then Rafer missed a layup and I thought, "That's not."

Luis Scola seemed to be working really hard in the post, blocking out and posting up. I was taking photos as well so I didn't spend the entire time observing, but I didn't notice him take a shot ... but it was obvious he was running the floor and working hard in the paint.

"He's aggressive. He goes after the ball," said Francis of Scola. "He's picked up on a lot of things quicker than we thought. Some of the schemes that we're running defensively he picked up on them real quick."

Scola knows that his role on the team will be defined over time, but that for now it's important to just bust it.

"I will work hard every game and every practice," said Scola. "What's going to be my role? I don't know. I think the games will give me a role naturally. All I got to do is work hard, make this transitition process as smooth as possible and try to help the team as much as I can.

At one point of the game, Jackie Butler tried to throw down a vicious jam down the middle of the lane, but lost the ball in the block attempt. He nearly tore down the rim in the process though.

Mike James iced the game for the Black Team, taking a feed on the wing and hitting the game-winning 21-foot jumper.

After scrimmage, Adelman broke the team in to a shooting drill. He lined up all the players along the baseline under the basket and selected one player at a time to shoot free throws. As the player shot from the charity stripe, all the others had to have hands up and bounce up and down.

If the player made the shot, they moved on to the next player. If he missed, everyone ran line drills (suicides). Adelman explained the drill afterwards:

"We want to run and guys got to be in shape," said Adelman. "I let them pick three guys (to shoot free throws) and I pick three. If they miss free throws they run line drills -- simple as that. We just do it twice a day. It's a way to get them to run but not (just) for the sake of running. They earn it by missing."

I'm going to guess that Butler was one of Adelman's picks because Big Jackie got to the line, heaved a brick and barked out a four-letter bomb that rhymes with an animal that quacks. Everyone let out a groan, and it was off to the races. They repeated the process when Justin Reed missed as well.

I noticed Bonzi was running, and he wasn't taking it easy. As much as I criticize Rafer too, I'll say this much -- he is working hard out there and is in incredible shape. He led the pack running, with Aaron Brooks running a close second.

Dikembe Mutombo and Big Jackie brought up the rear.

(Side note: I sincerely hope Butler makes this team as I don't think I've seen more comedy potential out of a Rockets big since Thomas Hamilton, or maybe even going back to the days of Adrian Caldwell. The name, the size, the beard... this guy is young and has some talent, but right now he's screaming "Six Hard Fouls". Mess with Yao? Deal with Jackie.)

As for Francis, we did get to speak to him afterwards, though I'd like to observe him more out on the floor tomorrow. He was definitely playing point guard when I saw him out there though ... unless you want to call him a two guard that was taking turns running the offense.

I'll have more after Day 2 tomorrow.