Not Making Excuses

The Houston Rockets are off to a 2-1 start after beating Portland last night. With Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady out with injuries and former Rocket Ron Artest departing for the Lakers, Houston is picked as a long shot to make the playoffs. However, guys like Shane Battier keep plugging away and fight through adversity:

"That's a testament to the guys in this locker room," Battier said. "We have guys who don't make a lot of excuses, who play to win, regardless of the situation. People take that for granted, but it's rare in sports over a long period of time. This is the third year we've faced pretty significant adversity and not once have we made an excuse, 'Well, Yao's not here, Tracy's not here.' We plug in the next guy and play harder.

"It's been pretty impressive. It's as impressive a three-year span that I've ever experienced, at least in terms of team attitude. The attitude sometimes can last for a year and then it crumbles the next time you face adversity. But we've always had a good attitude here in this locker room."

Send him to the help

Rockets coach Rick Adelman on how forward Shane Battier tries to defend Kobe Bryant, who even Battier acknowledges can't be stopped:

"One thing about Shane I really appreciate is that ... he has a really good understanding that he's not going to shut Kobe down," Adelman said. "He's going to send him to the right spot where he knows he's going to have help, and that's crucial."

The Rockets have Chemistry

Nice win for the Rockets last night over the Lakers in Game 1. Here are some quotes from the game.

Said Yao Ming:

"Besides Tracy McGrady on this team, we don't have a guy you can call a 'talent player,' like a Kobe, McGrady, LeBron, that type. We have to trust everybody, play together, play tough and unite together."

Coach Rick Adelman:

"We found out we had a group that played their tails off every day. They came together as a group. We had a regular rotation we didn't have before and we had young guys step up."

And it's not just Adelman, a veteran coach of 18 seasons, that sees something special in this team.

Ron Artest:

"It's weird because every other team I've played for in the Playoffs, players or coaches or whatever change their whole attitude or maybe become even more focused or more edgy. But this team, we played hard during the regular season and we want to play the same during the Playoffs."

Shane Battier:

"Honestly, the first thing we said when we came into the locker room was OK, good job guys. Now, let’s get a good Game 2, too."

Also, I found that Battier had this to say before the season:

Well, it starts with the coach and we have an outstanding coach. If there's one strong suit of coach Adelman, it's developing chemistry. We had amazing chemistry last year that was evidenced in the 22-game winning streak. And we have good guys who want to win. And as long as you have those things, the chemistry will come. Now if you win a few games, chemistry seems to come a bit easier. So it's on us to win a few games and find our identity as a team. But I'm confident that we have the coaching staff in place that will develop us and bring us closer together as a team.

Coach K on Jim Rome

Heard a great interview on Jim Rome's radio show yesterday with Coach K. Here are some notes from the interview about Team USA & Duke Basketball:

*When asked if he was tired from doing both Team USA and Duke Basketball

-You can’t get tired out when your are invigorated into something. All of us were invigorated. All of the players said it was the best thing to happen to them.

*In the first practice Kobe Bryant talked to Coach K and said, “Coach I want to guard the best player and I promise I will destroy him.” In the first practice Kobe did not take one shot. He gets it.

*Kobe is passionate about his preparation. He had to adjust his practices. He thought they needed two a days to prepare. Players told him that they didn’t need it. Coach K then realized they were lifting & doing their own skill work in the morning, and then coming back at night and shooting. Kobe never left the gym.

*LeBron wanted to learn from the best. Although he is one of the best passers in the NBA, he wanted to learn the fundamentals from teammate Jason Kidd. He wanted to learn how to prepare better so he wanted Kobe. Coach K said the best thing about practice was how everyone wanted to learn from each other to get better.

*Jason Kidd was the most valuable player on the team. He understood legacy, he had been there before. He had his finger on the pulse of everyone there from the coaches to the players. He had the respect of everyone there. Coach K said they don't win a gold medal without him.

*Shane Battier is Coach K’s favorite. Usually a point guard knows what everyone’s position is. Battier knows this better than most point guards. Coach K likes to huddle up to say something motivational. During Battier’s senior year coach is ready to say something and Battier takes over the huddle before practice. He decides he can’t say anything better than Battier so he doesn’t talk. It says that way the rest of the year with Battier leading the huddles before and after practice, they win a championship.