But those comments just rang true to me this morning.

We DON’T have McGrady. We DON’T have Yao. We are EXPECTED to lose. And we will lose games like this.

No one expects us to finish in the bottom of the pack, however no one expects us to finish in the top of the pack either or make it out of the first round of the playoffs should we get there this year.

For me, while I was watching the game I kept thinking about what Tracy would have done. How would Tracy have dunked that? How would Tracy have passed that? For a minute there I could have sworn Carl Landry was Tracy with the way he was moving inside, his spins, his shakes and just the way he was playing in the paint. But then he’d get blocked or he’d miss and I would remember that it wasn’t Tracy down there.

Folks, in two weeks we will have a very, very powerful force back on the court. He will probably be substituting in for Shane and more than likely starting for Ariza (I can’t see Adleman giving up Shane as a defender for the start). I have been hoping and praying that the Rockets would have a good season thus far and thus far they have proven themselves a worthy team. They have proven to the league that they deserve a spot in the postseason with or without Yao or McGrady.

However, as last night showed (and the Houston home loss to the Lakers showed), Houston needs a go-to guy. These guys can’t carry the team and they were never expected to do as much as they have. If these guys can play the way they are now and Tracy can come back and play like he’s going to lose 23 million dollars (which he WILL if he doesn’t play good at all) then I think this Rockets team could be one of the best NBA teams of all time. Bar none.