Clippers-Rockets Preview

The Houston Rockets traded for Ron Artest in the offseason partially to have some insurance behind injury-prone stars Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady.

With McGrady expected to be sidelined three weeks to rehabilitate his sore left knee, the club needs Artest to start picking up his game.

Artest and the Rockets look to overcome McGrady's continued absence as they host the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night.

McGrady underwent offseason knee surgery and though he expressed some reservations about returning for the start of this season, the two-time NBA scoring champion played in Houston's first 15 games.

Since then, however, he's missed three straight and said on Tuesday he'd sit out three more weeks because of pain in the knee. Though they've advised that he take more time off, doctors have also told McGrady he won't need more surgery.

"Obviously, I came back a little bit too early," said McGrady, averaging 15.6 points. "I'm just not ready. ... I don't want to be out there limping like I was and not really being myself."

The extended time off should give McGrady a chance to heal properly.

"Now I've got some sort of peace of mind," said McGrady, who's been plagued by injuries over the last three seasons, particularly to his knees and back. "I don't have to worry about whether it's going to take the whole season for me to get healthy and what I've got to do for me to get back to 100 percent."

While the decision to shut down McGrady temporarily may be good for his long-term health, the Rockets (11-7) are left looking for short-term answers.

Artest is shooting a career-low 34.4 percent from the field, including 27.8 percent (15-for-54) in the three games McGrady has missed. He was 5-for-18 in a 104-94 loss to Denver on Sunday.

"I think our guys played great, but I think I threw the game away for us," Artest told the Rockets' official Web site. "I'm just not seeing the defense the right way. ... When somebody goes out, we have to do a better job of winning together and losing together. As a team we weren't in sync tonight, but we will turn it around. This team is determined."

Rockets coach Rick Adelman has discussed Artest's offensive woes with him.

"We talked about it," said Adelman, who also coached Artest in Sacramento. "I think he needed to look to kick it out better. When you put it on the floor and post up they were coming up at him, we have to find a way to make sure he sees the play, sees the kick-out."

Artest led Houston with 23 points in a 92-83 road win over the Clippers on Nov. 7.

Now, he hopes to get back on track against a Los Angeles team that blew a 15-point fourth-quarter lead in a 100-98 loss to Dallas on Tuesday. The Clippers (3-14) led the entire game before Jose Juan Barea put the Mavericks on top with a 3-pointer with 50.2 seconds left. Neither team scored the rest of the way.

"Once we stopped being aggressive, that's when the tables turned," said the Clippers' Baron Davis, who had 22 points and six assists before missing a potential game-winning 3-pointer with about one second remaining. "This is a tough loss. ... On the road you've got to find something to close it out."

The Clippers have had a hard time doing that in Houston, where they've lost eight of 10, including a 93-75 defeat in their only trip to the Toyota Center last season.