Tracy McGrady was Kevin Durant's idol as a kid, and because of nights like this one you can see why.
McGrady scored 30 points in just 24 minutes of play, hitting 10-20 shots and uncharacteristically nailing all 9 of his free throws.
Perhaps when Rick Adelman said he wanted to make life easier for T-Mac he meant it, but at the same time T-Mac took (and made) several long jumpers, so we may have just seen a hot night.
There are just 3 preseason games left and the Rockets have one week before they must make some hard decisions in trimming their roster down to 15 players. So here are a few things that jumped out at me from this game (and the past few games).
Though Chuck Hayes and Luis Scola have been going back and forth as the starting power forward, learning the new offense hasn't seemed to faze last year's starting five.
The Rockets have played four preseason games so far, and for the fourth time they jumped all over their opponent right out of the gate. The Rockets led 22-9 just nine minutes into the game and did it this time without a strong performance from Yao Ming (2-8 shooting, 9 points in 23 minutes).
Shane Battier stepped up, scoring 19 points, including 5-7 from long range.
Adelman rolled out his starting five to start the second half, only he made one switch -- he replaced Rafer Alston, who was having his first bad preseason game (1-6 shooting, 2 assists), with Mike James.
The team exploded with 38 points in the third quarter.
James had a great shooting night two days before, but it was his point guard work that was really strong in this quarter. In just 9 minutes he picked a couple of steals and had 4 assists without a turnover. On one particularly impressive play, he nearly broke his defender's ankle with a crossover (which drew a gasp from the Sonics crowd), then found a wide open Battier for a three.
Rafer Alston is drawing heavy praise for locking down the starter's job early, but Adelman has terrific options with this roster. A lineup of James, McGrady, Battier, Scola and Yao (with Bonzi Wells off the bench) does not include an offensive or defensive liability.
Vassilis Spanoulis wanted to make an impact on the Houston Rockets, and he has -- he will forever be known as the guy who brought in Luis Scola.
Rockets GM Daryl Morey said early in the preseason that it was his job to land a high-caliber power forward. I never thought he could pull it off, certainly not without trading Battier. So far, Scola has looked like the perfect acquisition.
At one point last night, Scola (10 points, 9 boards, 3 assists in 24 minutes) threw a bounce pass through a defender's legs to Yao under the basket for a slam.
Yeah, they did it to save money, but I don't think we'll ever know what the San Antonio Spurs were really thinking in choosing Houston as Scola's destination.
It looks like Adelman is still trying to get a look at specific rotations and, as a result, is having guys take turns sitting games out. Against the Mavericks, Kirk Snyder and Steve Novak both sat out. In Seattle, Luther Head and Bonzi Wells rode the pine for 48 minutes.
Bonzi's rotation spot is likely safe, but Snyder, Novak and Head are all fighting for time and quite possibly are on the trading block over the next week.
Head has looked better than Steve Francis so far, but unfortunately for Luther only one of the two was hand-picked by the owner.
Rockets first round draft pick Aaron Brooks had his first real good stint in preseason action.
Brooks hit 4-7 shots, including a pair of triples, and showed off his explosion and quickness on a couple of occasions. There has been some talk that he may start off in the NBDL to keep him playing, but he looked sharp on this night.
First there was Mike James, then Steve Francis... now the Rockets bring you Don Chaney.
The former Houston head coach was doing some pregame and postgame commentary work for FSN last night, replacing Mario Elie, who left to become an assistant coach with the Mavericks. Chaney's voice is so distinct that I can't help but hear it and think Derrick Chievous is playing tonight.
