On the Air w/ Wex: Rockets halfway to nowhere

I've got some thoughts on the Rockets at the halfway point and I'll post that stuff later, but internet gold is much more important so I'll share this now.
I'll remind you that we are taking the show to Lucky's Pub, Friday night Jan. 25 for a live broadcast starting at 6pm, in advance of the official Rockets Viewing Party vs. Portland. Lucky's is a great new place downtown close to Toyota Center and Minute Maid Park.

Report card time...
Rockets 22-19, 4th in Southwest Division, 10th in Western conference.
Coach Rick Adelman: Sure, tough situation coming in trying to take a team from a 52-win season to something appreciably better, especially since the regular season hardly matters anyway. So his ultimate wholly rests on what this crew does in the postseason - if they get there. His inability to get a handle on the talents of his players is very disappointing. I actually would prefer a larger rotation, but he just brings guys in and out of the lineup and rotation with seemingly no rhyme or reason.
He hasn't made things any easier for Yao or Tracy and it still doesn't look like many of the guys know the offense too well. It's not his fault that T-Mac missed 14 games, not his fault that Mike James and Steve Francis have contributed almost nothing, but we all thought the 19 guys they brought to training camp included a ton of talent and it took forever to get Brooks involved, Landry involved and still no opportunity for Novak or Snyder while guys in front of them have done nothing to distinguish themselves.
Jack Sikma is doing a great job, I say that only to be able to add this awesome photo. This photo, too.
GRADE: C-
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GUARDS
Alston: On the nights he does the things he's good at, (handling, driving, defending) all is well. There were about 10 of those games. That's the problem. When will he realize that any shot from him that does not come within 5 feet of the basket (preferably a lay-up and not a tear-drop!!) is not a good shot. Every other team has. He should start passing up open shots and driving and dishing. The more he drives - and I mean drives all the way to the basket - the better the team is.
GRADE: C
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McGrady: No incomplete here, even though he's missed 14 games. Started very strong, faded quickly though. Scoring 20 points a game is way, way too easy for him. Two things he needs to do: Fit in and facilitate. The team has kind of figured things out regarding how to find easy ways to score and T-Mac can enhance that better than anyone - provided he only tries to fit in and hardly ever looks for his shot. He'll get his - there's no doubt. But he's got to accomplish that in a different way. I know he's a superstar (talentwise), but be a role player. A huge role, sure, but a role player nonetheless. It's Yao's team.
There is no reason He can't be averaging 6 assists per night, sure Chuck Hayes misses a lot of bunnies which cost Mac dimes, but you get the idea, he must be a distributor as much as he is a scorer for this team to actually be a threat.
GRADE: C-
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Head: He filled in nicely in his starts, he's shooting the ball a little bit better than he was a t the start of the year and he is probably the Rockets most aggressive player. But wow is he unable to dribble, pass and do pretty much anything other than score - shoot mostly. His overall game has shown very little improvement since his arrival. Best shooter on the team - worst ball-handler & defender among guards. That's a bit of a quandry for the coach. Keep in mind, I still call him the best shooter on the team despite the fact that with more minutes as a starter this month - all his shooting numbers are down.
GRADE: C-
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Brooks: We knew he had offensive game and when he finally got a chance to show it, he has performed well. Here's one of maybe 2 or 3 players who has exceeded expectations. He has a pretty good understanding of what he needs to do - he is not afraid to take the shot or take the ball to the whole and he's lucky he usually gets to play with a group that likes to run and that's where Brooks is at his best. He is deserving of more minutes and could prove to be a great late first round pick. Definitely a star rookie.
GRADE: B+
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Francis/James: This one is easy. James got first crack and just simply shot poorly and the rest of his play was nothing special. Francis got his turn and was only slightly better. At least Francis helped the Rockets win one game this year, and it was at Phoenix. James is a goner if GM Daryl Morey can find a taker. Francis might even get another chance to play when he gets healthy. Rafer still plays too many minutes and I'd love to see Brooks and Francis play some together - offensively at least, could be a disaster defensively.
GRADE: James:F, Francis:F+
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Forwards
Battier: The guy has been the same since he set foot in the league. He plays hard, mostly on the defensive end and on the glass. He should be as valuable as Bruce Bowen is in SA, but the Rockets don't have 3 bonafide stars in front of him so he gets exposed. My main beef with him is he won't get out and run on offense, playing alongside T-Mac and Yao as much as he does, that is a killer - b/c they don't run either. On a better team, he'd be a better fit. Kinda like last year. His 3-point shooting must improve, anything under 44 is unacceptable. He's at 28% for this month - yuck.
GRADE: B-
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Rest of the grades on the way.....
- I love Jerry O'Connell. Of course I mean that in a harmless heterosexual kind of way. (funnyordie.com)

- That reminded me of a killer Cruise MI parody several years ago from Ben Stiller.