Even in struggles young Rockets show hope

BY MIKE MONROE
FOXSports.com
Jan. 11, 2002 7:18 p.m.
I've seen a lot of strange things in the NBA in 17-plus seasons, but I don't believe I'd ever seen a potential 50-point game wiped out by an ejection before watching Steve Francis get tossed out of the Rockets' Wednesday night game at Delta Center.
Francis had scored 27 in the first half against the Jazz, and while Utah had used the halftime break to adjust its defense against the pick-and-roll to make things tougher for Francis in the second half, it still looked to be one of those magical games that gets the whole league talking.

But referee Joey Crawford thought Francis threw an intentional elbow at John Stockton and called him for a technical foul. Since Francis already had gotten a tech in the first half, he was gone (Crawford to Francis: "Get the hell out of here."). The fact Francis' first technical was even less deserved than the second didn't matter.

There hasn't been much cause for celebration for Steve Francis and the Rockets this season.
Brett Coomer /Associated Press

What happened thereafter was pretty much the Rockets season, in a nutshell: They fell apart for a while without Francis; regained their footing long enough to get back in the game and take a lead; and, ultimately, suffered another loss when they didn't seem to know how to handle crunch time.

It was Houston's 23rd loss of the season, 15 of them came in succession in the league's longest losing streak this season. But the Rockets have had to play all season without their best big man, Mo Taylor, and most of it without their best player, period, Francis. It's amazing their record isn't worse.

Here's what is amazing about the Rockets this season, though: Rudy Tomjanovich, who coached them to back-to-back championships and was accustomed to their being one of the league's elite teams, may be having more fun than at any time in his coaching career.

Rudy doesn't like losing any more now than he ever did, which is to say he hates it. But he has embraced the opportunity to grow with a team he believes can be something special.

These Rockets aren't Dream's team any longer. Hakeem Olajuwon finally is gone, and it is Francis around whom the Rockets now are built. He is only 24 and is surrounded by teammates who are even younger, including 19-year-old rookie forward Eddie Griffin.

The Rockets are in transition, and purposely so, and Tomjanovich is excited about being part of it, even if it requires a degree of pain along the way.

"It was a decision by our organization," Tomjanovich said of the transitional nature of his team. "Because of Hakeem Olajuwon and the natural thing that happens after a championship, when those guys are gone you've got to plant some new seeds.

"Most teams go through it — and you can go back to the Celtics and some of the other teams, and even the Lakers had that situation before they made that big, big play and got Shaq to come over.

"We tried to hang on. We made a trade for Charles (Barkley) and then we got Scottie because we didn't want to get into that thing early with Dream. It wasn't fair to him. And then the last year was still having our main guy with us and these young guys.

"Now it's an all new era."

And coaching the youngsters has invigorated Tomjanovich. He has, he said, done more teaching than at any time in his career. Even during the 15-game losing streak, he claimed he remained positive because his team played so courageously.

Remember, this is a guy who reminded the world, after his defending champion Rockets won a second title after they literally had been written off for dead when they fell behind the Suns 3-1 in a conference semifinal playoff series: "Never underestimate the heart of a champion."

The Rockets won't be champions this season or next, but Tomjanovich sees the same kind of heart and sustains his optimism.

Take Wednesday's game in Utah, when Francis' ejection stunned the Rockets and seemingly left them no shot at victory. They battle back from a 10-point deficit and took an eight-point lead of their own before finally falling. But the outcome wasn't as important as the effort to Tomjanovich.

"I'm proud of the way our guys didn't give up," he said. "We just stayed in this game with heart. We wouldn't give up."

That's the kind of stuff you can't coach, and even in the NBA it usually prevails, even to the point of overcoming talent differential.

Eventually, the Rockets will get healthy again and Francis will reach a point where he doesn't get cheap technicals that get him thrown out of games.

Then he will have a few 50-point nights and the Rockets will be back among the league's elite.


Suspect selections
I don't understand some of the selections for the Rookie Game. Mostly, I don't understand how Griffin got bypassed in favor of Zeljko Rebraca and how Marcus Fizer got picked ahead of Darius Miles to play for the sophomore team.

I know one thing: I'd rather watch Miles play than Fizer, and I'll bet 99 percent of NBA fans feel the same way. Plus, Miles has made a significant contribution for a Clippers team that has made itself a playoff contender.

Go figure.

As for Rebraca over Griffin, who has played so well of late, I sense the heavy hand of David "Look At All The Great International Players We Have" Stern.


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Here is a link to the website for those that don't know. I think this was a great article by Mike Monroe.


www.foxsports.com/