Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle reports that the Rockets are getting frustrated with Tracy McGrady.

If you read between all the nice words, the Rockets sent a tough message to Tracy McGrady on Monday.

To summarize:

1. Get in better shape.
2. Learn to deal with the pain in your left knee.
3. Don’t come back until you do.

There were all sorts of things left unsaid as the Rockets delicately attempted to do the right thing for the team while not mentally losing their $21-million star.

Conditioning? That’s a tough word to use halfway through an NBA season. Is McGrady’s conditioning an issue because he hasn’t been working hard, or because his surgically repaired left knee won’t allow him to work hard?

Pain? Another tough one. The Rockets and their medical staff believe McGrady’s knee is sound and suggested he play through the pain.

McGrady has been unable to do this, and it’s important to remember that none of us — including the doctors — knows how badly McGrady is hurting. If he says the pain is intolerable, then the pain is intolerable.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again — if the Rockets have all three of their stars come playoff time, they are going to be a very dangerous team. But the way that the Western Conference playoff race is shaping up, there is going to be one very good team left out in the cold. The longer T-Mac is out, the greater the likelihood that the Rockets will be fighting tooth and nail for a playoff spot in April instead of having a comfortable #3 or #4 seed.