The Houston Rockets will have to depend on their defense until Tracy McGrady gets healthy because they sure can't rely on their offense.
With their star out for three weeks with a back injury, the Rockets (1-2) open a five-game road trip today in Miami. It looks like a tough stretch for a team that has averaged 36 percent shooting and blown fourth-quarter leads in consecutive home losses to New Orleans and Orlando.
"We're just not very good right now," guard Jon Barry said. "It's disappointing because the easy thing to say is that Tracy's not here. But we're good enough. There's no excuse."
McGrady strained his back doing a reverse layup in practice Friday. Without him, Houston coach Jeff Van Gundy has mixed up lineups, looking for the right combination to generate points.
So far, he hasn't had much luck.
Yao Ming scored 17 points in Tuesday's 76-74 loss to Orlando, but went 6-of-15 from the field and missed a short hook shot in the final minute. Since McGrady got hurt, David Wesley is 1-for-11 from the field, Derek Anderson is 6-of-21 and Stromile Swift is 5-of-17.
"We're just struggling," Van Gundy said.
CELTICS HIRE PARISH: Hall of Fame center Robert Parish was hired as a consultant by the Boston Celtics, whom the 7-footer helped to three NBA titles in the 1980s. The team said Wednesday that Parish will be involved in marketing and community relations, including public appearances and autograph sessions.
"I'm excited to be back in Boston working with the Celtics as this young and talented team develops," Parish said in a statement. "The fans of Boston have been great to me."
Parish played 21 NBA seasons, including 14 in Boston, where he was a teammate to Danny Ainge, the Celtics' current head of basketball operations.
SONICS' LEWIS HURTS SHOULDER: Seattle SuperSonics forward Rashard Lewis injured his left shoulder in the first two minutes of Wednesday night's 112-85 loss to the Cavaliers when he crashed into teammate Vitaly Potapenko.
However, Lewis is not expected to miss much time and could be back for Friday night's game at Washington.
"When it first happened, I'm thinking, 'Oh boy, there's a month or two,' " Seattle coach Bob Weiss said. "But we'll see how he feels. But right now, he's thinking it's not going to be long term. We should know tomorrow."