 |
| |
|
 |
 |
||
 |
 |
||
 |
|||
EVENTS
CENTERS
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE
|
 |
Houston Rockets Francis ready to usher in new era in Houston
Updated: Tuesday October 09, 2001 2:49 PM
By Marty Burns, CNNSI.com The Dream is gone, but there's still optimism in Houston. Rockets fans will surely miss Hall of Fame center Hakeem Olajuwon, who was traded to the Raptors after 17 glorious seasons and two NBA titles in Houston. But the good news is cocky point guard Steve Francis is more than ready to usher in a new era. Francis, who led the team in points, assists and rebounds a year ago, will be joined on the perimeter by Cuttino Mobley and newly acquired forward Glen Rice. Houston lost power forward Maurice Taylor for the season with a torn Achilles' tendon, but highly touted rookie Eddie Griffin might be able to step in and contribute immediately. Houston also hopes to add free-agent center Marc Jackson to the mix, if Golden State opts not to match a $3.25 million offer to the 6-foot-11 second-year pro.
The key in training camp will be to find the best combinations up front to complement the team's perimeter quickness. The Rockets have two good shot blockers in center Kelvin Cato and rookie Griffin, and a decent rebounder in Kenny Thomas, but no real low-post scoring threats. The addition of Jackson would help, but they still will be almost entirely perimeter-oriented. With all the quality big men in the West, that's not a good thing. Standout stat: 24.9, 12.9 Points and rebounds, respectively, averaged by Olajuwon and Taylor last season.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
