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Marc Stein: Stevie and the Rockettes off to great start

http://espn.go.com/nba/columns/stein/1280580.html

It's not just the hair or the name or that legendary stint on the injured list with insomnia. Martyn Bernard Norris always has something going to make you pay attention. Just like his team.
Francis is leading the team in boardwork -- again.

They're great entertainers, Moochie and the Rockettes, even though Houstonians inexplicably prefer the Comets. The attendance comparison is especially puzzling after another fun show at the weekend, with good stuff from Stevie and Cat ... and even before the opening tip from Mooch.

There was Norris, waiting near midcourt as the Houston starters sauntered onto the floor for the center jump, greeting each of them with an intricate series of hand slaps and chest bumps. Moochie went through five different routines, all choreographed flawlessly, the best performed in tandem with the new guy, Glen Rice.

In that one, Norris hit Rice with a couple of faux body blows, then launched an uppercut. Rice, for effect, left his feet as if inspired by the 25th anniversary of Rocky I.

All of which proved a fitting prelude to a knockout night for the home team, which so far isn't paying mind to the empty seats or the lowly projections for their playoff chances. Rudy T. will undoubtedly hope that they saved some offense for the four-game trip that comes next, but it's not too early to file Saturday's result as one of the season's most memorable scorelines:

Houston 124

Dallas 87

It was only one game, of course, so caution must be applied on both sides. The Rockets aren't that good and the Mavericks, purportedly one of the top six or seven teams in the league, aren't this bad.

But ...

The Rockets merit some notice now for starting better than expected, standing equal with the Mavericks at 6-4 entering Monday's visit to Sacramento. Road games at Portland, Seattle and LA (Clippers) follow, so you'll have to check back in a week to see if they're still surprising us, but it looks as though they were wise not to fold the franchise just because Hakeem Olajuwon fled for Canada.

The skeptical side of us says a team that's even smaller than the Mavericks, almost fully reliant on its backcourt to do the carrying, has little shot to do so much as make the playoffs in the unforgiving West. Then you are politely reminded, by the wondrous Stevie Francis, that the Rockets didn't look too bad against the Spurs or the Lakers in the two games that preceded the Dallas demolition.

In San Antonio last Tuesday, the Rockets rallied from way down to make a game of it before suffering a 90-86 defeat. Two nights later, on national TV, they looked even better against the then-unbeaten Lakers before falling by a point in overtime.

"There's only one team that's being carried by a center, and that's LA," Francis offers, still trying to help out. "No other team is dominant down low except LA. I definitely think it's a guard-oriented league."

Rudy T. adds: "One more possession (against the Lakers) and people would have been raving about our team."

At the very least, no one's ignoring them any more -- with the exception of Clutch City's ticket-buying public. Around the league, teams are finding that the new zone rules haven't forced Houston to change too much yet. Rudy T. is still getting the ball to Francis and Cuttino Mobley in isolation situations, and they're still a handful in one-on-ones. Especially when the other guys are making shots, as the Mavericks discovered.

Shooting, not rebounding, had uncharacteristically been Houston's big problem before the Mavericks arrived. The Rockets were hitting just .413 as a team, but ranked fifth overall in rebounding entering Saturday's play. The Mavs were on the Hasim end of Houston's 57.5-percent shooting and a 50-29 rebound disparity.

Yes. Fifty to Twenty-Nine.

And, no, the Rockets haven't added big guys when you weren't looking.

Kevin Willis, Kenny Thomas and Kelvin Cato are all they've got up front, after a painful summer. To review: Houston elected not to pursue Chris Webber to focus on re-signing its own free agents, then wound up having to deal the want-away Dream. The Rockets also wound up losing Maurice Taylor seemingly minutes after re-signing him to a six-year, $48 million extension, then lost Taylor's replacement when Golden State matched a six-year, $24 million offer to restricted free agent Marc Jackson at the matching buzzer.

Willis (10.6 ppg, 9.6 rpg) is a marvel at 39, and Thomas (12.8 ppg, 6.9 rpg) is off to his best start, but Cato continues to be a Hallucination -- as dubbed by one Houston columnist. Which is why Rudy T. yanked Cato from the starting lineup in the Dallas game and went super-small, with Walt Williams starting at center opposite Dirk Nowitzki.

That won't work against many teams, but the message was clear. The Rockets know what they are and what they aren't and, barring an unforeseen frontcourt acquisition, plan to get as much as they can out of the small, quick shooters and scorers and hope that's enough for No. 7 or 8.

"We had won only two first quarters," Tomjanovich said of the season's first nine games. "This was a team that vastly merited a change.

Said the Mavericks' Nowitzki, whose team struggles immensely with the backcourt whippets: "The whole league has problems with those two guys. They're so athletic, it's almost a joke."

If there are immediate concerns, besides Cato and the long trip, it's the slow assimilation for Rice and rookie Eddie Griffin. Those are the Rockets' marquee additions from the off-season and draft and neither is providing much yet. From Griffin, after one year of college ball, that's understandable. Rice, conversely, is going to have to do more than average 8.4 points on .388 shooting.

There is also some quiet fretting about Francis, who has complained of migraines since training camp. Mobley himself is a bit gimpy with a bad ankle.

Not that anyone can tell so far. Francis grabs your hand firmly to start the discussion and welcomes questions about the Rockets' continuing climb back to Western playoff territory.

He knows the Rockets won't Lennox teams every night, but Francis is confident that his amazing rebound average for a 6-3 dynamo -- 8.2 per game -- will stay that high. Which at least can't hurt Houston's chances of overcoming its size issues.

"I've been rebounding since junior college," said Francis, the Rockets' best board man last season at 6.9 per game. "It's something I take pride in, something I love to do.

As for the team, one of only 10 in the league with a positive rebound differential (plus-1.9 per game)

"Not only do I have high expectations, but I'm pretty sure the whole team does," Stevie says. "All the guys really think we've got a chance of being a contender this year. But it's going to have to come with everybody making a contribution."

Moochie, too.

Dr. Jack Ramsay: Rockets, Nets among surprise teams

http://espn.go.com/nba/jackprescription/index.html

HOUSTON (2000-01 record: 45-37)

The Rockets finished two games behind Minnesota last season, the ninth-best record in the tough Western Conference ... and a place in the draft lottery. They are primed for a playoff berth this year, and should be in a down-to-the-wire scramble with Utah and Phoenix for the final two spots.

Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley combine for 41 points, about 14 rebounds, and 8.6 assists, and light the fuse for this explosive team. Both are great penetrators with dangerous 3-point shooting ability. Moochie Norris is capable as their backup. Newcomers Kevin Willis (13 ppg, just under 10 rpg) and Glen Rice help to bolster a front line where Kenny Thomas (13 ppg, 7 rpg) has been consistent, but Walt Williams and Kelvin Cato erratic. The team is without forward Maurice Taylor for the season because of injury.

Coach Rudy Tomjanovich is encouraged by his team's two most recent outings, a one-point overtime loss to the Lakers, followed by a 124-87 blowout win over the Dallas Mavericks. In the latter game, Francis scored 33 points and had 9 rebounds; Mobley had 20 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists without a turnover; Williams lit a spark off the bench with 20 points; and Willis had 13 points and 12 rebounds. The Rockets had a 50-29 rebound advantage.

Two factors must come about for the Rockets to be a playoff team. Rice, one of the league's best pure shooters, must become 100 percent physically, and regain his outside touch (only 39 percent field goal shooting, -- 22 percent from 3-point range). Cato must become a more aggressive defender (only 5 rebounds and .6 blocks per game). It would also help to have another productive bench player -- a spot ready and waiting for rookie Eddie Griffin.

Francis and Mobley are irrepressible and fiercely competitive. They are capable of carrying this team into the playoffs, but will need consistent help to do it. The challenge starts now for these Rockets. Nine of their next 11 games are on the road, starting Monday at Sacramento.