As I mentioned yesterday, with the victory against OKC Rick Adelman tied Jack Ramsay's total for wins. Jonathon Feigen talked to Adelman about tying his mentor.

"When you hit milestones like 500, 600 or 700 wins, that’s something that indicates you’ve had good teams," Adelman said. "But if I’ve matched him, to me that’s a personal milestone that means something, because he’s one of the best coaches ever in this league.

"So when you attain that status equal to him as far as wins — not as a coach but as wins — it just makes you feel pretty good. Because I know what kind of coach he was, and I was around him a lot, and that means a lot to me."

Adelman is one of the NBA's greatest coaches, and (as much as he gets criticized around here) it's important to remember that. He has had some good teams (something he's quick to mention), but he doesn't screw up those teams, either. Yes, those Kings and Blazers teams were pretty good, but he did a lot more with them than many coaches do with more talented teams.

More links after the jump.

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More photos » by Andrew D. Bernstein - NBAE/Getty Images

Holy crap a lot has happened since McGrady had surgery.

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You know, it's amazing to me that some people can take a good thing and make it seem... dirty. In case you weren't paying attention: Tracy McGrady sent an e-mail to Yahoo! Sports claiming that he will be ready to return to the Rockets' starting lineup on the 18th (the game against Minnesota); Morey has stated that the Rockets won't let him play until after the next full practice on the 23rd (the next game after that is against Dallas on the 25th). There, you're all caught up.

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More photos » by Pat Sullivan - AP

Rick Adelman tied Jack Ramsey in wins on Friday, continuing his bid to become the NBA's most under-appreciated coach. I also like his expression when he questions calls.

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The Cavaliers make only one trip to New York City this year, and so the media has to get all of its "zOMG LEBRON2KNICKS2010" talk in one weekend. And, to his credit, Lebron James has done a good job of dismissing premature talk of free agency. Oh, wait, no he didn't - he plays with the "rumors" as always. But he did throw a wrench in the national media's (and Donnie Walsh's) plans for the Knicks in 2010.

"Right now, I visualize playing with a lot of guys in the NBA. There are a lot of great individual basketball players that I would love to be alongside of and try to contend for an NBA championship.

"I think at the end of the day, a max deal or anything like that doesn't really matter to me at the end of the day. It's all about winning for me. So I've put myself in a position that when that day comes next summer, I want to win, and if I feel like the team is capable of winning, I'll make my decision like that."

So maybe he won't sign a deal with New York? Blasphemy! How could anyone - James included - suggest that the greatest player in the NBA maybe sorta wouldn't want to play for the Knicks?!

Really, this is something that has befuddled me for a few years now: Why would James go to the Knicks? Yeah, there are a few good players (Lee's great, Robinson's a quality player, Gallinari looks good), but after those three or four players, it's all crap. And this idea of endorsements attracting James to New York seems to me to be total fantasy.

Admittedly, Cleveland probably isn't the best place for James to play out his career, but it's better than the Knicks right now. And this revelation - even if it isn't totally serious (and I doubt it is) - that perhaps a max contract isn't the most important thing to Lebron James makes things much more interesting in this coming summer.

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An intriguing game is scheduled for tonight, featuring your Houston Rockets and the NBA's finest rising star: Kevin Durant. The Oklahoman looks into Durant's growth as a player, as well as his contributions on the court.

More after the jump.

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Jerome Solomon has a column posted on the Chronicle's website, accusing Ariza of seeming "out of place" as a leader.

OK, maybe not the face-making, but Adelman wanted some attitude.

Ariza kind of brought it, but kind of didn't. He is just not that guy. Never will be.

Ariza just doesn't have the assassin's mentality that makes stars super. Prior to this season, he had never taken 21 shots in a game as he did Wednesday, and it seemed he didn't want to take some of those.

Kobe Bryant was the only other player on the court firing up shots at that rate. Bryant got off 30 attempts and scored a game-high 41 points. Unlike Ariza, Bryant is quite comfortable firing away.

If Ariza had more Aaron Brooks or Kyle Lowry in him, he might be a perennial All-Star. But he is what he is, and that's OK.

The Rockets knew what they were getting when they signed him with their mid-level exception.

There's good analysis, there's bad analysis, and then there's no analysis. And I'm having a tough time deciding if this is just bad analysis or a failure to even deal with what's happening on the court.

Look, it's fine to discuss "mentality" when we talk about players. Basketball, unlike baseball, allows players to take over the game, and so a player's thought process, emotions, etc. really do matter. But at the same time, we (as fans and as writers) need to be able to distinguish between "stuff happening in a player's head" and "stuff happening in reality."

Ariza's problem is not that he lacks some mystical "killer instinct," nor is it that he doesn't have "ice water in his veins" or whatever other cliche you want to use. Ariza's problem is that he can't create off the dribble. His ballhandling isn't pretty, and the result is turnovers and forced shots. A "mentality" is not what makes a star a star: it's pure ability, and Ariza isn't there yet.

Did his emotional desire to play well against his old team lead him to take bad shots? Maybe, but that has nothing to do with an "assassin's mentality" (whatever the fuck that's supposed to mean). Indeed, it seems to contradict that: he wanted to take those shots, and so he took them and failed. The point, however, is that the difference between the Kobe/Lebron/Wade wings of the world and the Arizas of the world is one of skill, not mentality.

The lesson to take from this game is not that Ariza has to "step up and be a leader." That's ridiculous. He, like everyone else, needs to play to his strengths and the system. And if the coaches, front office, and Ariza want him to become something more, then he needs to work on that in practice and in games against the Kings/Thunder/Nets of the league, not against the reigning champions.

As for being a "leader," I think it became fairly clear around March of 2008 who the Rockets' on-court leader is, and it isn't Brooks, Ariza, Yao, or McGrady. He's the guy running the defense and being the real "floor general." But I wouldn't want Battier to try to "take over" the game with his "assassin's mentality," either.

With that particular pile of crap dissected, let's get to some news:

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More photos » by Pat Sullivan - AP

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Here we have a game where Kobe was allowed to get to the line freely. A game where the slightest contact by a Rocket in the 4th was cause for a foul. A game that was nevertheless a field goal away from a win.

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Sorry about the lack of links yesterday. I'm sure all of you were staring blankly at your computer screens, confused and scared at the absence of what has become the most important part of your daily routine. And for that, I apologize. Let's take a look at all the crazy shit happening around the league.

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More photos » by Bob Levey - AP

Did anyone else notice that Dorsey and T-Mac were wearing the same outfit on the bench? Awkward...

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There's really only one team in pro sports that I hate more than the Jazz: the POS Tennessee Titans (and the fact that they're 1-6 to start the season dulls that resentment somewhat). The Jazz are the Dracula to the Rockets' Van Helsing; the Moriarty to our Holmes; the Borg to our Federation. They're pure evil, and it's really that simple. But let's ignore all that for a minute and get to some news.

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The biggest news, of course, is that the Rockets' home opener is tonight. Our conquering heroes (well, they conquered Oracle Arena, anyways) return to the Toyota Center for the first time since May. I envy all of you who will be there.

On that note: obviously the Rockets didn't play last night, so there's very little in the way of real Rockets news. However, the NBA rolls on.

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