EVENTS
 Sportsman of the Year
 Heisman Trophy
 Swimsuit 2001

CENTERS
 Fantasy Central
 Inside Game
 Video Plus
 Statitudes
 Your Turn
 Message Boards
 Email Newsletters
 Golf Guide
 Cities
 

CNNSI.com GROUP
 Sports Illustrated
 Life of Reilly
 SI Women
 SI for Kids
 Press Room
 TBS/TNT Sports
 CNN Languages

COMMERCE
 SI Customer Service
 SI Media Kits
 Get into College
 Sports Memorabilia
 TeamStore

Life without Hakeem begins with an outstanding duo manning the backcourt but a void to fill at the pivot

By Jack McCallum

Francis says the chemistry with his backcourt pal Mobley is excellent, but is that enough fuel in the West?  Bob Rosato Enemy Lines An opposing team's scout sizes up the Rockets "They'll be better than last season but not a lot. ... Losing Hakeem Olajuwon is obviously big, but he had slowed down, wouldn't go out and play people on the perimeter at all. If they can get anything from Kelvin Cato at center, they'll be better defensively. Long-range, though, Cato's not the answer. Jason Collie r is not the answer even short-range. ... Eddie Griffin was lazy in high school and lazy at Seton Hall, so I see no reason he won't still be lazy. He has talent, but Walt Williams will outwork him, and as much as Houston seems to be counting on Griffin, Williams could end up getting more minutes. ... Terence Morris can do a bit of everything, but he's not a real difference-maker. Still, Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley will keep the Rockets in most games. They're among the best one-two duos in the league. Either one can handle, shoot on the run, break people down, make standstill shots and defend. Anything else you can ask of a guard? Both guys, along with Glen Rice , are willing and able to take big shots. Rice won't win you a championship, but he's got some gas left in the tank, and he'll be good with this backcourt, where he'll be able to roam and find his spot. ... Kenny Thomas is an underrated player -- a four with the quick feet of a three. He gets the job done with know-how. ... If the Warriors hadn't matched Houston's offer for Marc Jackson and the Rockets could have brought him off the bench, they'd have a nice rotation, but it's going to be tough for them to get much better in the West."

Cuttino Mobley has it made. His reputation as a slashing all-purpose guard is growing; his outgoing personality has made him one of the most popular athletes in Houston; he gets along great with his best buddy, Steve Francis, who happens to be the Rockets' star; and his personal launderer and cook, Jackie Mobley, lives only a short walk from his house. "I go over to Mom's place sometimes to eat, and she cooks a lot for Steve, too," says Mobley, known as Cat to his teammates, "but she always comes to my place to do the laundry." He shakes his head and smiles. "Man, it's great."

Man, how much greater it would be if the Rockets had some players to take care of their inside game as well as Moms takes care of Cat and his pal. As the P.H. (Post-Hakeem) era begins in Houston, the Rockets find themselves hog-tied, trapped in the middle of a strong Western Conference without an obvious answer to their pivot problems. They finished two games out of a playoff spot last season and would seem hard-pressed to improve upon that this season, considering that, barring a deal, future Hall of Famer Olajuwon will be replaced by the firm of Cato and Collier. (That's Kelvin Cato and Jason Collier if you're scoring at home.) So unpleasant is that prospect that coach Rudy Tomjanovich is even talking about filling the middle from time to time with frail 19-year-old rookie Eddie Griffin, eight months removed from his single college season, at Seton Hall. "We're kind of on trial with our centers" is the way Francis puts it.

The verdict is in on the backcourt, though. Francis and Mobley just might be the finest combo in the West (unless that title belongs to Kobe Bryant and whoever else is in the Lakers' backcourt with him). "Sometimes having a player whose game is like yours can be a problem," says Mobley. "You take Allen Iverson and Larry Hughes -- they kind of bumped heads in Philadelphia. But Steve and I talked about it beforehand, got it all out. I told him, 'I'm here for you, whatever you want me to do to make it easy for you.' It's Steve's team. What I want to be is a Scottie Pippen, there to pick up whatever he can't get done."

Francis said the chemistry between the two was there almost immediately after Mobley was installed as a starter midway through last season. "We just understand things the same way," says Francis. "We both got groomed by Hakeem and Charles [Barkley]. That means we learned how to go inside first, then back outside; learned how to get our points within the framework of a set offense." Won't that be different without an established low-post scorer? "No matter what kind of guard you are," says Francis, "you've got to have some kind of low-post presence in there. We'll find it."

One player Mobley and Francis will find inside is improving post-up power forward Kenny Thomas; one player they'll find outside is Glen Rice, acquired in an off-season trade with the Knicks. Rice will be on the wing, as he has been for five teams over 13 seasons, waiting to release that sweet jumper. "We're thinking penetration and kick-out," says Mobley. "It'll be a different sight with Glen's waiting to launch that thing." Mobley smiles. "Still, we don't want to be kicking out all the time." Rice, for his part, says he can't believe the quickness of Francis and Mobley. "Damn, they're good," says Rice. "By the time this season is over, I'm going to have run out of 'damns.'"

But, damn, what about that center problem? It would have been partly solved had the Warriors not matched Houston's offer sheet to free agent Marc Jackson. The Rockets hope that Cato, to whom they gave a six-year, $42 million deal two seasons ago, will at last develop an offensive game and more consistently display his shot-blocking prowess. The quiet hope, too, is that Griffin develops quickly, particularly since Maurice Taylor will probably miss the entire season after having surgery on his right Achilles tendon in September. If Griffin does emerge, don't count on hearing about it from him. "He hasn't said a word since he got here," says Francis. Griffin waves that off. "I don't have to do much talking with Steve and Cat around," says Griffin. True, this backcourt doesn't need any help with the quotes. They'll even handle a lot of the scoring and pressure defense. Yet if the Rockets are going to get to the playoffs, they're going to need serious contributions from someone other than Moms Mobley.

Issue date: October 29, 2001

Click here to look back at CNNSI.com's preseason Rockets preview.