[USA TODAY]James fits right in with Rockets

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James fits right in with Rockets

Fri Mar 4, 6:24 AM ET Sports - USATODAY.com


By David DuPree, USA TODAY

Mike James has always done things the hard way.


Undrafted by an NBA team after four years at Duquesne, James, in seven seasons, has played in the Austrian League, the French League and the CBA, had two stints with the Miami Heat and another with the Boston Celtics, won a championship ring with the Detroit Pistons, played for the Milwaukee Bucks and is now with the Houston Rockets .


James was traded to the Pistons by the Celtics at the trade deadline last season in the three-team deal that also brought Rasheed Wallace to the Pistons. He played nearly nine minutes a game in the playoffs and was productive as the fourth guard but was cut after the season and picked up by the Bucks. After 47 games and no starts, he came to the injury-depleted Houston Rockets last week in a trade deadline-beating deal.


He walked into the Rockets' starting lineup and has played like he was made for the job. After three games with the Rockets, James looks like the steal of the last-minute trades. He is averaging 23 points, five assists, three rebounds and two steals and is shooting 53.8% from the field and 55% (11-for-20) from three-point range. With Milwaukee, he averaged 11.4 points and 3.9 assists and shot 44.6% from the field and 38.2% from the three-point area.


Last season he made the leap from the struggling Celtics to the eventual NBA champions, and this season he was again traded from a team going nowhere to a title contender.


"I see a lot of similarity in this team (and) Detroit," James says. "Everybody counted us out last year, and I remember after the trade we lost three straight before everyone got a feel for one another. I see that same talent, and I see that same drive here. It's just a matter of us believing it and getting it all together."


He also said his new job is without pressure.


"It's an easier transition to go from a team where you didn't have a superstar to where you have two (Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady)," he said. "I don't have to put pressure on myself. All I have to do is play off these guys. I'm excited to know they're bringing me here to not just be another player, but to be a piece to their puzzle to get to another level."


From desk to bench:


New Portland coach Kevin Pritchard says he has no ambitions of coaching beyond this season. But when Maurice Cheeks was fired Wednesday, Pritchard was the logical choice to take over for the remainder of the season. He serves as the team's director of player personnel, a position he's held since August.


Pritchard, 37, was a second-round draft pick of Golden State out of Kansas in 1990 and had stints with Golden State, Boston, Philadelphia, Miami and Washington in addition to playing in Spain, Italy, Germany and in the Continental Basketball Association. He was a scout for the San Antonio Spurs (news) when the Trail Blazers hired him. Before that, he was the general manager, coach and director of player personnel for the Kansas City Knights of the American Basketball Association.


"We need to evaluate what we have," Pritchard said. "What better way to do that than for the player personnel director to get under the hood and take a look? We've got some young, talented guys that are fun to watch. We don't know exactly where they are, and we're all going to figure that out in the next seven, eight weeks and help us build."


West is best on road:


There are eight teams with winning records on the road, and six of them - Phoenix, San Antonio, Seattle, Dallas, Sacramento and Houston - are in the Western Conference. The East teams with winning road records are Miami and Detroit.


"Protecting your home court is very important," said Ray Allen of the Sonics, "but you have to be able to win on the road if you expect to win a championship."