Could this get any more confusing? First they say Ron Artest is going to play through the pain, when he really needs to rest. Then they say that he's not going on the upcoming road trip to rest his torn tendons in his ankle. First they say Tracy McGrady is out 2 days, then 3 weeks. Then they say that he's going to make this California road trip?
"Ron will likely not travel with the team tomorrow in order to rehab his right ankle," Keith Jones (Rockets trainer) said. "Nothing has changed with regard to Ron’s medical condition from last night. While our medical staff agrees that the ankle injury is fine to play on, Ron is understandably frustrated that the pain has not subsided as he had hoped so he wants to try sitting out the two-game road trip in order to see if the pain recedes."
If McGrady's not going to play there is absolutely no point in him making the trip. Even chartered planes aren't extremely comfortable for 6'8 guys. Even more so when compared to rehab in a whirlpool in Houston. I'm not exactly sure what to make of all of this. Is McGrady going to play? Count me as a believer in McGrady sitting out all three weeks and getting every second of his recommended rest. Dr. Andrews is not the worlds foremost sports medicine doctor because he gives bad advice. If McGrady's not going to get all of the rest, I absolutely do not want him playing back to back games against teams with a bunch of young guys that run and want to make their names against him.
The big dilemma for the Rockets is that they cannot afford to lose anymore games to teams they should beat handily. Yao has his own limitations, and back to back games definitely fall into that category. Especially when the Rockets, for some reason, are playing their games in back to back situations for the second time in a row. I know there is a 2 day gap in between, but I really do not understand the logic with some of the schedule during the season. But I digress, Yao can carry the team in back to back games, there is no doubt about that. But asking any player to be a one man team (obviously that's not totally true) is asking a lot. They should be able to beat the Warriors and Clippers without Artest or McGrady, but it's certainly less of a given.
My preference would be to let them both sit at home, let's feed the big guy, there is no one on either team they are going to play that can stop him. The Rockets have the best player on the court on each given night, and their role players are, for the most part, as good or better than the other teams players. Let's go out there and win two for our injured stars. Let them rest and come back completely healthy.