Leading scorer Tracy McGrady went out with a knee injury in late December and the season was leaning toward a disaster. But Adelman calmly turned to rookies Landry and Aaron Brooks and reserves like Hayes, Luther Head and Steve Novak, and finally, it all started to work.

“I said I was going to give it about 25 games, then evaluate where we were,” he said. “The young guys really gave us a lot of energy. That was the time we started turning it around.”

McGrady returned on Jan. 19 and the Rockets have lost only three games since. When Yao went out, Adelman adjusted again, giving more minutes to Scola, another rookie, and calling more pick-and-roll plays. The Rockets went on their winning streak one game after Scola entered the starting five.

“Rick has been through every situation you can imagine in the NBA,” Battier said. “There is no situation that can surprise him. He’s been great from the standpoint of, even when we struggled early on, he maintained faith in our team and kept telling us to keep believing in the plan. It’s served us well.”

Adelman never got too excited during the streak, just like he never panicked through the spate of early losses. He never talked about the streak, but set more tangible goals — getting the No. 1 spot in the West, finishing off a perfect February, mentally preparing for the inevitable loss. And the Rockets listened.

“Rick is probably the most calm guy. He’s probably a Triple-C — he’s cool, calm and collected,” said point guard Rafer Alston, who put up career-best numbers during the streak. “We were losing six or seven in a row and Rick didn’t flinch. And we won 18 straight and Rick still didn’t flinch, did not jump for joy. That’s one thing that impressed me most about him.”

Adelman, with a 61 percent postseason winning percentage, always says he’s looking no further than the next game. But Drexler said his old coach wouldn’t have taken this job if he didn’t think the Rockets had the potential to win a championship soon.

“He’s the best coach out there who’s never won an NBA championship,” Drexler said. “This team is probably the most talented team that’s never been to the second round of the NBA playoffs in the last five years. When you get a team that’s talented, with a coach that’s capable, qualified and hungry, that’s a great mix.

“He hasn’t won a championship and that’s what this team needs. It seems like they’re driving each other right now.”

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