Bonzi's last shot
Hey, look who's back. I skip one day of practice and let Fran get out of the house, and Bonzi Wells pops up. Was it something I said?
Bonzi will get a shot soon. And, Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said, it will be his "last shot."
Now that was fast.
Actually, JVG finally admitted that Wells was not put in the witness protection program solely to get in good enough shape to get in shape to play NBA basketball. That might be how his time in the cardio room started, but there have clearly been clashes since.
"I don't think it's any secret that Bonzi and I have struggled to find common ground," Van Gundy said.
Well, we all assumed but Van Gundy left it at Wells status was unchanged.
But about a week ago, it did change. Wells called Van Gundy and said he really would like to play some basketball. Van Gundy said he would give it some thought and by Friday, a day before Tracy McGrady was seized by back spasms, Van Gundy opened the door a crack.
By Sunday, it was agreed that they give it a "last shot." On Monday, Wells practiced with the Rockets.
Here is how we got this far:
Wells showed up for training camp terribly out of shape, saying it was because he did not want to work out while unsigned and was slowed a bit by last season's groin injury.
He missed nearly five days of training camp because of a root canal, missed another five days, for personal reasons, missed another day (the day before Thanksgiving) because of personal reasons and then was late returning to Houston after Thanksgiving when he waited for that Friday morning and his flight was delayed.
A few days after Wells was late, Van Gundy mentioned that they had 'many, many multiple" meetings, which we assume did not always go so well. Given Bonzi's conversation after his two-game cameo (you might recall it going something like "nah" and "nah"), it seems safe to assume he was not happy with how things were working out and in some way or another had made that position clear.
This is not the first time that a coach wanted to banish Wells to another part of the building as Van Gundy did. The Grizzlies couldn't wait for the playoffs to end to show him the door. Maurice Cheeks, all kinds of class, suspended Wells for his behavior.
But as much as Wells can be self-centered and, obstinate, overtly concerned with his playing time and touches, is that he doesn't play that way. He passes. He does the dirty work. He plays hard. If he doesn't, the "final go" as Van Gundy called it, will be long gone.
This is a team that is remarkably selfless. I've seen teams get along incredibly well, but this one is as team-oriented as I've ever seen, I think from the influence of Dikembe Mutombo and Juwan Howard, veterans who have been stars and who now cheerily fill whatever role is needed.
This is what will be expected of Wells and whether it will work can go either way. But it is like games themselves. The "last shot" has no chance if you don't take it.
• • •
This should come as no surprise, but Tracy McGrady is out for the Lakers on Tuesday. He had said Saturday that he was confident, but he could not stand up straight at the time.
Keith Jones told Fran on Monday the same thing that he told me the day before, that McGrady was still "stiff and sore." I think we all would have been surprised if he was anything but.
The trick, of course, will be figuring out when he can come back. The Rockets have learned a lot about McGrady's back in the past year. They don't want to let him play too soon and risk more setbacks, though it is worth noting that he was in much better shape Saturday night than after last season's episodes.
• • •
Fess up time. I messed up a stat today. The Rockets are not fourth in point differential, they are second, behind only the Spurs who always seem to be first. I clicked, for reasons I can't imagine, on assists differential. (And by the way, since when are the Rockets fourth in assists differential?)
Still, second in point differential is pretty impressive. For a team thought to have blown many big leads and even a game or two, 14-6 and outscoring opponents by 6.4 points per game is a pretty good sign at the quarter pole
