The equation that lured T-Mac to Houston -- Big Man+Perimeter Threat=Title -- applies only if McGrady and 7'6" Yao Ming enhance each other's games. For too much of this season, however, it has looked like subtraction by addition. Through last Saturday, T-Mac was scoring 24.0 points per game versus 28.1 last year, while Yao's production was up only slightly, to 18.8 from 17.5. Houston's offense hinges on McGrady, whether he's driving and dishing, or staying on the perimeter to pass to Yao or to look for his own shot. With McGrady trying to incorporate his teammates into the offense, points have been scarce. At week's end the Rockets were 15-15, and they ranked 26th in the league in scoring.
There are too many nights when Yao is a nonfactor, when he has trouble executing the pick-and-roll, takes an eternity to repost and has trouble fighting through a screen without committing a foul. When asked whether Yao will ever be a dominant player, McGrady smiles and says, "That's what everybody asks me. Everyone wants Yao to be superaggressive, but he's not. That's not his game. Yao, he's like a Rik Smits-type, you know? He's so big, and he's got a nice touch. I think he can become that type of player."
But McGrady didn't force a trade out of Orlando to play with a Rik Smits-type, did he?
McGrady shakes his head. "No, he'll be better than that, once he learns to let the dog out every night."
