Rockets cook up idea for togetherness Mobley's mom feeds hunger for Mavericks By JONATHAN FEIGEN Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle The Rockets' stunning victory in Phoenix was barely minutes old when Cuttino Mobley called for yet another meeting for the team that by now surely leads the NBA in closed-door sessions. But this one was different. No analysis of the Rockets' troubles, no confessions, no hard truths. There would, however, be a warm kitchen. "I just said to everybody, `My mom is going to cook (Thursday night),' " Mobley said. " `She's going to cook; we're going to sit down; we're going to relax. We're going to enjoy ourselves. We're going to enjoy being together.' I invited everybody over just to bond a little bit." Jackie Mobley had not yet been told how she would be spending her day, but her son said she would be happy to fire up the stove and put out a spread worthy of a celebration. But the evening's host said the idea was not to celebrate a big win. The invitation was so spontaneous, he really had no motive. Things just felt right with the Rockets on Wednesday in ways they had not in weeks. With the Dallas Mavericks in town tonight, the Rockets skipped the customary day off after a back-to-back. "The Mavericks have so many things they do," Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. "It's not a physical practice, but to hear it (the game plan) twice (at practice and today at shootaround) can help a young team with different problems they cause." But once the Rockets got through with a Compaq Center practice to go over all the things that have given the Mavericks three wins by an average of 19 points against them this season, Mobley wanted to reinforce the attitude the Rockets found in Phoenix. "It's a revenge thing with the Mavericks," he said. "We know what we're going to have to do. We're not going to talk about it. We just want to enjoy the food that she cooks, watch a couple of games, watch a couple of movies, whatever, and get ready for Friday. It just came to me." Besides, he was ready for something more appetizing than the crow the Mavericks have forced the Rockets to swallow this season. After the first two Dallas routs, the Rockets generally refused to acknowledge the Mavericks' contribution to the mismatches. After the third, they were forced to admit the team with the best record in the NBA is pretty good. They have since looked forward to this final regular-season chance to get a win against Dallas, a team the Rockets played well even as they were heading in opposite directions the past three seasons. But the Rockets may play without Steve Francis, who struggled through 29 minutes with a sore lower back Wednesday and was listed as questionable Thursday. "We owe Dallas. But we owe everybody," Francis said. "They've beaten us three times already convincingly," Mobley said. "Two times were our fault. They're a really good team that we took for granted, which we shouldn't have, because they accomplished more than we had. We just have to go out and play hard." More specifically, to keep pace with the Mavericks, the league's most prolific offensive team, the Rockets might need to play as they did in Phoenix. The most obvious difference in the Rockets on Wednesday was their sharp ball movement. But as much as they have talked about passing the ball more effectively throughout the season and celebrated the nights they won with balanced scoring, Wednesday's win seemed more about attitude than strategy. "When this team is driving, drawing (the defense) and dishing, it creates shots for other people, and it makes it an easy and fun game," guard Moochie Norris said. "It's fun to watch. Even sitting on the sidelines, it's fun to watch." The Rockets consistently found wide-open shooters Wednesday by making the second, third and fourth passes, much as the Mavericks had done against the Rockets in their second-half blitz in their previous Compaq Center appearance. "This is how we've got to play," Rockets forward Maurice Taylor said. "This is what it's going to take -- to move the ball and get everybody involved. That's the type of team we have to be to be successful. Let's move it. Let's get everybody involved. That's how we have to play." That might be especially true against the Mavs, who have used a zone and zone tendencies to vastly improve their defense and to give the Rockets fits. "You've got to give the guys credit," Tomjanovich said. "They've always been a good offensive team. They've become a good defensive team with their zone principles and all of that. That's what it's all about -- finding a way to make it work for your team. And we're in the process of that." With that in mind, the Rockets went back to work Thursday. After landing at 2:30 a.m. a day after a 3 a.m. arrival in Phoenix, they might have preferred a day off. But if they worked up an appetite, they knew what to do about it. Staff writer Richard Dean contributed to this report. Thanks to Cat's mom. Guess Cat's really happy that he's not to be traded (and the victory). So am I.
