Ahhh nothing brings the sunshine out of my ass quite like a Feigen article...

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The truth Rudy Tomjanovich didn't like to admit, even to himself, was that he was worried. He avoided the topic, pulling out the safe canard that it is best not to worry about those things he can't control.

But Tomjanovich watched the preseason slip by without ever putting together the same starting lineup. Half of his active Rockets roster was not on the team a year ago, and four of those players weren't in the NBA then.

He had a new starting frontcourt and new captains. Glen Rice barely had shared a court with Steve Francis. Kevin Willis barely had met Francis.

Tomjanovich believed the Rockets' schedule over the first two weeks demanded they get off to a fast start, but nothing pointed to starting quickly.

"It was a big concern, very much so," Tomjanovich said after the Rockets had secured a mixed-bag 5-2 start heading into a three-day break and a meatier part of the schedule. "I like to start out on the road because of the plus-minus deal. If you're going to be putting it together and not winning games, it doesn't hurt you as bad if they're road games."

Tomjanovich grades success on a plus-minus calculation that penalizes a team one point for every home loss and rewards it with a point for every road win. On his scale, the Rockets are not 5-2, but merely back to zero. And that, after Friday's breakdown in Denver, seemed about right.

They are off to a better start than last season's. They have stayed healthy and gotten the playing time together they did not in the preseason. They positioned themselves well for the coming run of playoff-caliber opponents. But the question they could not answer in the preseason remains: Is this team any good?

"We've done a pretty good job," Tomjanovich said. "The one game we lost (before Friday's blowout) was a one-possession game. We built some confidence, got the wins, and now is going to be our big test."

The difficulty in assessing the Rockets lies with their being good and bad in unexpected ways. A high-scoring, good-shooting team a year ago, they have been awful offensively most of the season. They have lamented the good shots that have not fallen their way while lauding their ability to continue to get good shots.

But much has gone that way for the Rockets this season. They have been thrilled with the early showings at their presumed weak positions, center and power forward. But their strength, the backcourt combination of Francis and Cuttino Mobley, has struggled to find its shooting touch.

Rice, long one of the league's celebrated gunners, has been unable to shoot straight. But he has been credited for helping to lead the upgrade in defense.

Considered a team with the energy and stamina of youth, the Rockets have shown all sorts of signs of maturity. But by the end of last week's three games in four nights, they were drained and depleted.

The biggest problem remains that after seven games, they are making just 41.6 of their field goal attempts and averaging just 90.7 points per game. They have made more than 40 percent of their shots just twice.

Rice, the third-most prolific 3-point shooter in NBA history and a hired gun Tomjanovich long coveted to take the open perimeter shots his system creates, has healed his preseason foot, Achilles' and back injuries. But his shot remains wounded, and he has connected on just 36.1 percent of his field goal attempts, including a mere 24 percent of his 3-pointers.

Francis is making just 38.9 percent of his attempts, Mobley 43.1 percent.

"We're doing a pretty good job creating good shots," Tomjanovich said. "We haven't been shooting well, but the defense, and the helping on defense, has been very good. People usually think teamwork is just passing. But the teamwork on defense has been getting better.

"Glen's been real good in bringing in that part of it. Coaches are always talking about talking. But to have a player out there is really good."

The defense has been "really good" in most games. The Rockets have held teams to just 44 percent shooting and 91.3 points per game.

But the most encouraging sign could be the play in the middle. Kelvin Cato has played with more determination, desire and discipline, welcoming not only Willis' addition but his stern leadership. Willis has brought his usual energy off the bench, if not the shooting touch of his first stint with the Rockets.

"I think we're doing a real good job at the center position," Tomjanovich said. "They're taking pride in it, working together on conditioning and things like that. I feel real good about it.

"It's been really good. There is a different comfort level I feel. I have two big guys that play really hard. Cato's intensity level has been very high. And Kevin's always been like that. Cato's been doing a great job."

Cato seems to have responded to the responsibility of his increased role while enjoying greater comfort and carrying less pressure since the addition of Willis. But more than any of that, Cato said, he and the Rockets are maturing.

"This team has embraced me as one of the guys and looks forward to what I'm going to do, instead of, Am I going to explode and go crazy on the floor about a call?" Cato said. "I'm having a good time. I talked to a lot of people this summer about my game and my attitude and the negativity that came with the way I played the last few years. I went back to the way I came into the league out of college. I went back to playing basketball and having fun. It's not about money or security. It's about going out and trying to win ballgames.

"We're getting older. We're still a young team. We've made mental mistakes instead of executing like we want to. But this team is becoming more mature. Steve is trying to become one of the premier point guards instead of a premier scorer. Cuttino came from a second-round draft pick to one of the guys everybody is scared to guard in this league. Glen Rice and Kevin Willis bring age and experience and make everybody play hard every night."

That, Cato said, is the difference the first few weeks' struggles cannot diminish, the success that brings credibility to the 5-2 start. Though tempted, the Rockets have not drawn the technical fouls that plagued them last season. Though shooting poorly, the Rockets have won close games. And when they have won, they have refused to celebrate when playing poorly.

"Getting excited now is not looking at the big picture," forward Walt Williams said. "It's going to take a lot of hard work to reach our goal. It starts now. You can't start the season playing mediocre ball and spend all season trying to catch up. That's tough. Last season's start (3-4) was horrible for this team. We spent the whole season trying to catch up."

They won't have to make up for the record of the first two weeks, as Tomjanovich had feared. The trick is to live up to it.

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