Houston Rockets Tickets

Without a couple of their superstars, the Houston Rockets have hardly missed a beat while staying in the thick of things in the Western Conference.

Houston had been without Tracy McGrady for what seems like forever, and center Yao Ming is out for the season with a foot injury. To lose your two franchise players would seem impossible to overcome, but the Rockets are doing just that.

On top of that, the team lost Ron Artest to the Los Angeles Lakers in the offseason, meaning arguably their three top players from last year were not on the court to start the season.

The good news is that McGrady is finally healthy, or so the Rockets hope, and is back out on the floor.

Rumors continues to float around that the Rockets want to show off McGrady to other teams and then trade him to a contender before the deadline.

The team has not been happy with McGrady's attitude over the years or his struggles to carry his team out of the first round of the playoffs. He has taken a lot of heat for the postseason struggles throughout his career.

The Rockets appear to have found a point guard in Aaron Brooks, who is leading the team with more than 17 points and five assists per game.
After trading away Rafer Alston last year, Brooks became the starting point guard and has held his own.

It also helps that Carl Landry has given the team so much production in the paint. He combines with Trevor Ariza, Shane Battier and Luis Scola for the team's inside production.

While head coach Rick Adelman was never much of a defensive coach with the Sacramento Kings, he has done an outstanding job with this group.
They play great defense, though much of that can be attributed to the tone set by Battier.

This is going to be one of the most interesting teams to watch in the NBA now that McGrady has returned. How will he affect the team? Will the Rockets take off to another level or fail to launch? Will he get traded? It should be an interesting time ahead in Houston.