Chronicle's Rockets article featuring an unforgivable error

Unforgivable that they could do this....well, maybe not, but you get the idea.

Rockets ready for takeoff?
Preseason opener should offer clues
By W.H. STICKNEY JR.
Copyright 2000 Houston Chronicle


On one hand, the Rockets' date tonight in Dallas with the Mavericks at Reunion Arena is merely the opener to the exhibition season, the first of seven precursors to the 2000-2001 NBA championship chase.

Perhaps it shouldn't be taken lightly, but it's certainly not to be taken too seriously.

"It's a preseason game," Rockets guard Steve Francis said. "But I think we all are so eager to be a good team that we're all going to play hard, regardless of who we're playing, whether it's preseason or regular season.

"But I think we've definitely had a good showing facing each other day in and day out in training camp, and this will be a good test for us."

The hard-line business of getting ready for the regular season will take place in earnest around the middle of the preseason slate when coach Rudy Tomjanovich and his staff start to determine what four players will be trimmed from the 16-man training-camp roster.

There are still a number of facts to be gleaned tonight, however.

The cloud of uncertainty that hovers over Hakeem Olajuwon, in what will be the final season of his great career, could begin to clear, based on his performance.

Olajuwon hasn't played in "live" competition since being placed on the injured list March 23 with a respiratory illness. What he hopes to accomplish against the Mavericks is not hard to understand.

"I just want to get in better condition and prepare for the season," he said. "I've told Coach I'm here to support, always ready to go any time he calls on me."

Tomjanovich said he will divide the playing time at center among Olajuwon, Kelvin Cato and second-round draft pick Jason Collier of Georgia Tech.

"I just want to maximize any time that I'm out on the court," Olajuwon said. "I don't really care about how much time. I just want to try to do something while I'm out on the court."

A barometer of sorts could start to crystallize regarding how the Rockets, a lottery team a year ago, are progressing as they embark upon a second year of rebuilding.

"We'd like to win," Tomjanovich said. "But that's not the No. 1 priority. Whenever we take the floor, if there's going to be a winner and a loser, we'd like to be on the winning side.

"But I'm going to split up the time, maybe play 12, 13 guys."

It is generally thought Francis will build on a phenomenal rookie season and become the beacon Olajuwon has been over many of the past 16 years, including MVP-caliber campaigns while leading the Rockets to world championships in 1994 and '95.

An inkling of Francis' maturation, too, could be a byproduct of this early clash with the Mavs.

"In crucial situations, Coach is definitely going to get me the ball and tell me to call the play," Francis said. "So hopefully, the guys will have confidence in me that I'll get the ball to the right person in the right place."

Free-agent signee Maurice Taylor gets his first chance under live fire to fit into the Rockets' chemistry. And draft picks Dan Langhi and Collier will receive their initial taste of NBA competition.

Also to be gained is an idea of how much improvement the Mavericks have made through the draft and several offseason transactions.

Tonight's matchup could begin to show where the Rockets-Mavericks rivalry stands and whether either, or both, can break out of the lottery mold.

There's a dramatic new look to the Mavericks. Center Sean Rooks has been traded to the Los Angeles Clippers, that remote outpost in which Taylor resided for three years until the Rockets signed him to a one-year, free-agent contract in August.

The Mavs on draft day traded to the Rockets the rights to Langhi so they could take Oklahoma's Eduardo Najera, who so far has been one of the more impressive performers in training camp.

Former Rockets forward Rodrick Rhodes was waived in July. But perhaps the biggest move the Mavs made, literally, was getting veteran forwards Christian Laettner and Terry Mills from the Detroit Pistons in exchange for forwards Cedric Ceballos and John Wallace, guard Eric Murdock and cash.

Tonight is indeed the exhibition opener. But there's so much to be gained from this clash of Midwest Division rivals. They meet for the first time during the regular season Dec. 5 at Compaq Center.

So, it looks as if Collier will get mainly minutes at center. Wish him the best.

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