Now that the 22-game win streak is swept aside and the national media can go back to ignoring and predicting failure for the Rockets, it’s time to look at what they will need to finally quiet the TV analysts and win their first playoff series since 1997.
First, they’ll need to continue their terrific defense and hot shooting, which really boils down to guard Rafer Alston continuing to hit 3-pointers. After that, the key to the Rockets’ chances of advancing is in the hands of their returning injured star, and I don’t mean Yao Ming.
When rookie forward Carl Landry’s knee swelled up before Houston’s game against the Nets on March 8, the Rockets reeled off five more consecutive wins without him. However, a closer look shows that the team barely won squeakers over Eastern Conference fodder such as Atlanta and Charlotte and were only able to blow out their opponents without Landry if Alston or guard Tracy McGrady exploded.
Landry came back against the Warriors on March 21 with the Rockets mired in a two-game skid, scoring 17 points and grabbing eight rebounds in Houston’s win against Golden State. While it doesn’t sound like a very impressive return, keep in mind that Landry accomplished this in just 18 minutes of action on the court and hit a free throw with 6.2 seconds left to give the Rockets the lead.
In fact, throughout the year, Landry has come up with huge production in limited minutes coming off the bench. The Statistics show him averaging 8.8 points and 5.1 rebounds a game. But ratchet his playing time up to 40 minutes, and Landry could be averaging more than 20 points and 12 rebounds a game.
ESPN.com writer John Hollinger invented a statistic called Player Efficiency Rating (PER), which measures a player’s productivity in all positive statistical categories. Landry ranks tenth in the league in PER, ahead of Yao and just behind Lakers guard Kobe Bryant and Celtics forward Kevin Garnett. He’s the only player in the top 25 who doesn’t average more than 28 minutes per game.
If the Rockets want to survive in the Wild West this summer, they are going to need a healthy Landry, and head coach Rick Adelman simply must give him more playing time. He doesn’t have to start; he can do a Manu Ginobli impression and be a star who comes off the bench. But he does have to play at least 30 minutes a game if the Rockets have any hope of getting the monkey off McGrady’s back and reaching the second round.
