ESPN: Francis plays through pain of inner-ear disorder

Wednesday, October 23

Francis plays through pain of inner-ear disorder

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By Marc Stein
ESPN.com


Here are five observations of the Houston Rockets:


Rockets guard Steve Francis played only 57 games last season.
1. Steve Francis' shoulder is surgically repaired, rehabilitated and cooperating. The pain that invades his head, though, hasn't been chased all the way off. "It's not migraines," Francis said, reminding that doctors have diagnosed him with Meniere's disease, an inner-ear disorder. "With any disease, it's hard to beat it. You've got to work with it and hopefully it'll go away. I've been able to play and practice every day. (The pain in training camp hasn't been) real, real bad." Francis said he presently isn't taking medication for the condition but continues to adhere to a low-salt diet. By all accounts, he was scoring at will all summer in spite of any discomfort anywhere. Clearly, though, this is going to remain a topic in Clutch City.

2. Coach Rudy Tomjanovich insists that he's "keeping an open mind" about starting Yao Ming as soon as opening night if Yao proves ready for it. The likelihood remains that Kelvin Cato begins the season as the starter, but it'd be good for Yao's development (and those around him) if he gets accustomed to starting games as soon as possible. As long as he's physically able, of course. The threat of burning Yao out, after at least three summers with no break, is all too real. As for trying to put numerical expectations on the guy, that's tougher. A modest double-double (10 points, 10 rebounds) seems a reasonable target, but he's 7-foot-5. Whatever Yao winds up with as a rookie, he'll have plenty of people saying it wasn't enough.

3. Eddie Griffin made only 24 starts last season and wasn't originally lined up to start much this season, although he'll probably open the season in the first five with Maurice Taylor suspended and Kenny Thomas nursing a broken thumb. Griffin enters the season as a likely backup at the two forward spots, even though you could make the case that his development is almost as crucial as Yao's. The focus, of course, will be on the big fella and how he meshes with Francis and Cuttino Mobley. But it's easy to forget that Griffin turned 20 last May. There's plenty of time for the 6-10, 220-pounder to blossom into the fourth gem in Houston. That said, Griffin is high on a long list of Rockets who need to shoot the ball considerably better. He admits now he took way too many jumpers last season, settling for the J almost exclusively.

4. Perhaps you've heard about the Rockets' new five-man offense. Last season's rules changes have teams everywhere seeking more ball and player movement to combat zones, and Tomjanovich has joined the trend. Except for one small snag. "We haven't had a chance to run a lot of it in camp, because we've had different guys in and out of the lineup," Rudy T. said. "We're doing some of the same (old) stuff. We still pick and roll. There's certain situations that I'll never change. When I see a good (one-on-one) matchup, I'm going to exploit it. I've always been a coach that coaches to the talent I have. We do have a new five-man set with a lot of options on it. But we have about 30 other plays." The advice here: Whatever must be done to raise Houston's shooting percentage over the .430 mark and get the ball passed with greater frequency, do it.

5. The Rockets would love to tell you Taylor and Glen Rice have been among the camp standouts. Instead, that's a description for roster long shot Juaquin Hawkins, a swingman who has played professionally against Yao in China -- and who, more importantly, has guarded point guards, shooting guards and swingmen in the preseason. Terence Morris also had a strong camp until he was slowed by an ankle sprain. Fang Feng Di, Yao's mother, was another surprise. She got to camp before her son and made plans to spend the season in Houston, with a house already picked out as well. Taylor? Rice? Both are breaking in gradually, with a real need for Rice to contribute and just a faint hope that can throw in the occasional 3-pointer, if nothing else. Houston will get by at small forward (Griffin, Bostjan Nachbar, maybe even Hawkins) if Rice continues to fade.