This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2007, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Houston Rockets All-Star guard Tracy McGrady is known for his ability to score. He has won a scoring title and averaged 24.6 points this season.
But McGrady turned into Steve Nash on Monday night, in an effort to keep the Rockets from letting the series slip right out the doors of the Toyota Center.
McGrady racked up 16 assists - 10 in the first half. An impressive total, to be sure. Heck, the Rockets posted just 19 assists as a team in Game 4 on Saturday night.
But what made McGrady's "dimes" hurt the Jazz even more was that half of them set up three-pointers. Forty of the Rockets' 96 points were set up by McGrady and, if you factor in his 26 points on 11-for-25 shooting, T-Mac had a hand in 79 percent of the Rockets' points.
His ability to drive the lane, collapse the defense and kick out to the wing is equally as effective as taking it to the rim for a layup. Worse, Jazz fans could argue, when McGrady's teammates are on target from long range.
In Game 5, Shane Battier knocked down four threes from McGrady passes, and Rafer Alston connected on three more.
The Jazz aren't the first team T-Mac has confounded with his athleticism, just the one that will need to figure out how to stop it at least once down in Houston.