But Houston had better not focus on questions about the past, because there are pressing issues at hand. To wit:

Is this team too old?

The Rockets will start four players who will be 34 or older this season: Drexler (35) at shooting guard, Charles Barkley (34) at power forward, Hakeem Olajuwon (34) at center and Mario Elie at small forward (he will turn 34 in November). Frontcourt backup Kevin Willis is 35, and the gunner off the bench is 38-year-old Eddie Johnson.

There might be a lot of mileage on this roster, but there are also a lot of points. The 1997-98 Rockets will be the first team in NBA history to open a season with four players—Drexler, Barkley, Olajuwon and Johnson—each of whom has scored 18,000 or more points in his career. It doesn't matter that the team's veterans are past their physical prime. The NBA today is more about knowledge and experience and leverage than it is about athleticism. These guys know how to play, and they still have one good year left to make a run at an NBA championship.

How important is it for Barkley, Drexler and Olajuwon to stay healthy?

When the Big Three played together, Houston was a deadly 32-8 (.800), but Barkley missed 29 games last season, Drexler 20 and Olajuwon four. The Rockets may not need all three stars to play every game, but they'll certainly need them in top shape come the playoffs.

After those three, who is the team's most indispensable player?

Elie. Houston's 6'5" swingman is one of just three NBA players—Chris Mullin and Kevin Johnson are the others—to have shot at least 49% from the field and 85% from the line, and to have averaged more than 10 points a game in each of the last two seasons. The low-profile Elie doesn't worry about the limelight—he's too busy hounding the league's top shooting guards and small forwards. He's also a clutch shooter, especially on three-pointers, and a team catalyst.

Who will be the point guard?

The Rockets signed Brent Price to be the starter last year, but when he broke his left arm in October, Matt Maloney stepped in and excelled. A free agent who spent '95-96 in the CBA, Maloney started all 82 games as an NBA rookie, averaging just 2.5 turnovers per 48 minutes and hitting a team-high 154 three-pointers. But when Seattle's Gary Payton decided during the playoffs that Maloney wasn't going to score, he didn't.

Maloney will open the season as a starter, but if coach Rudy Tomjanovich needs more quickness, he can turn to second-year-man Emanual Davis or rookie Rodrick Rhodes. Price, who returned last February only to blow out his right anterior cruciate ligament, now has two rebuilt knees—he missed all of '94-95 with a torn left ACL—and it's unclear how effective he'll be when he returns in early '98.

Did Houston add anyone in the off-season to improve itself?

The Rockets looked hard for a backup 2-guard but couldn't find one through trade or free agency. They took the 6'6" Rhodes with the 24th pick in the draft, intrigued by his potential to play both guard spots and small forward. But the selection shocked most analysts, who had pegged Rhodes as a late second-rounder at best.

Is Sam Mack in the plans?

Two years ago Mack, a 6'7" swingman, made a healthy contribution, but last season he was nagged by injuries and his work ethic flagged. He scored 15.2 points per game in the Rocky Mountain Revue summer league, but he'll need a good camp if he's to make the club.

How much running will the Rockets do?

As usual, not much. Houston's game is to dump it down low to Olajuwon, Barkley or Willis, who'll either shoot it or kick it out to Maloney, Elie, Johnson or Matt Bullard at the three-point line. It's not pretty, but it works.

Will Barkley ever get his ring?

It had better be this season, and he thinks it could be. "I like our team," Barkley says. "If we don't get injured, I think we'll have a terrific season." Indeed, the Rockets are capable of winning the Midwest, and if the Big Three stay healthy, they'll be dangerous, as always, in the postseason. This is their last chance, and they know it.

—Tim Kurkjian