Rockets rally but can't catch Grizzlies

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Rockets rally but can't catch Grizzlies

MEMPHIS — The initiation of his first career start was tough. Waiting for it, however, was tougher.

At least now, Aaron Brooks got it over with, struggling most of the night as the Rockets rallied late, but fell short of the Memphis Grizzlies 96-90 on Wednesday at the FedEx Forum.

On Tuesday, as the night dragged on and on, through one overtime and then another, Brooks had struggled with watching as Memphis guards Mike Conley and Kyle Lowry blew past the Rockets guards with his sort of speed.

Brooks ached, or at least itched, to be on the floor where he could pit his jets against theirs, knowing that whatever similar speed he might have, it was useless to him on the bench.

He also might have suspected that his chance would come, with the Rockets going against the Grizzlies again on Wednesday and Rockets coach Rick Adelman determined to see more of his 18-man roster while he could.

So Brooks watched and imagined himself on the floor until getting his first start, most extensive playing time and also toughest lessons of the preseason. There was a lot of that to go around, as the Rockets giving Yao Ming, Tracy McGrady, Rafer Alston and Steve Francis the night off, and limiting the playing time of Shane Battier, Bonzi Wells and Mike James fell apart in the third quarter as the Grizzlies opened a 15-point lead.

Brooks, the Rockets' first-round pick out of Oregon, had 10 points and four assists, but made just 3 of 16 shots.

"I get an itch to play," Brooks said of finding minutes in the crowded Rockets backcourt against Grizzlies guards with similar attributes. "I just want to play in general. Those are good players. They definitely have a lot of speed. I wanted to play, but that's any game.

"I played against some fast point guards. Sometimes you play against fast guards that can't shoot. These guards have the total package. You kind of like playing against well-rounded players."

He made his first shot, a 3-pointer 36 seconds into the game. But he missed his next eight. When he returned to the court in the fourth quarter, he hit another 3-pointer. He was 3 of 6 from beyond the arc, but those were the only shots he made.

"It's been very relaxing on the bench," Brooks said. "No, really, you do learn a lot from the bench. I would have been nervous starting the game, going out there, playing against them, being in new territory. Now, when you sit on the bench and watch and see the flow of the game, it makes it a little bit easier because you can pick your spots and you know how the defense is playing."

The speed of the Grizzlies, which caused so many problems the night before, did not bother Brooks, going most of the night against Damon Stoudamire. He got in the lane often, but had trouble when he ran into the Grizzlies defenders rushing toward him.

"He's been doing fine," Adelman said. "He's been doing extra work. I think this is a whole new situation for him. This is the first time he ever sat, which happens with rookies. I think he's trying to feel his way through at this point. We still feel the same way we felt about him when we drafted him and the way he played this summer.

"He just needs experience right now and that's hard to get when you have so many people."

He got nearly as much experience, 36 minutes, as the 37 minutes he had played in the previous six games combined. Matched up with Conley in the fourth quarter, he even got a rare chance to go against someone with his sort of speed.

"I never actually thought about it," Brooks said. "That's something new. I just play basketball."

He finally did on Wednesday. He also found there might be even more to learn from the floor, than while aching to be on it.