Rockets Team Report By Michael Murphy/Houston Chronicle Loss of Taylor puts crimp in postseason plans September 5, 2001 The Rockets thought they were in position to challenge in the Western Conference. But not any Mo. Maurice Taylor, who recently signed a six-year, $48 million deal, might miss the entire season after blowing out his right Achilles' tendon during a pickup game in Michigan. The Rockets examined Taylor on Wednesday morning and performed surgery later in the afternoon. Taylor has had a history of Achilles' problems -- he sat out four of the Rockets' final seven games -- but those bouts with tendinitis were unrelated to his latest injury. "He had Achilles' tendinitis," said Dr. Walter Lowe, one of the Rockets team physicians. "There's not a significant relationship between Achilles' tendinitis and rupture. Ruptures don't happen with tendinitis. His MRIs were both good. When he was here, he had absolutely no symptoms whatsoever. And that was the area most carefully examined." What now for the Rockets? If Taylor is ruled out for the season, they could apply to the league for a disabled-player exception to the salary cap, which would permit the Rockets to spend up to $3.25 million on a replacement. But the gods on Mount Olympus (aka NBA executives) are wary about granting such an exception, which would not happen if there was any uncertainty over whether the injury would keep Taylor out for the entire season. As it stands, the Rockets will start either Kenny Thomas or 19-year-old rookie Eddie Griffin at the power forward spot opposite Glen Rice. Thomas, who has one of the better drop-step moves in the league, has worked hard over the summer and has built up his body, which will now come in handy. Neither Thomas nor Griffin, however, is likely to keep Western Conference coaches awake at night, drawing up new schemes to stop the Rockets' power forward. But then again, neither did Taylor, who averaged 13 points and a meager 5.5 rebounds last season. More of the offensive burden is certain to fall on Steve Francis, with Rice sliding easily into the No. 3 option. "I know he (Taylor) is really feeling bad about this," Francis said. "He just signed his deal. He's been working real hard. He lost 20 pounds, looking real good. When he was here, he was playing real good. It's going to be hard for him to overcome mentally. "This definitely hurts us as a team. It's going to be hard for somebody to fill that role, but I think Kenny is qualified. He's played behind Charles (Barkley), behind Dream (Hakeem Olajuwon) and behind Mo. I look forward to him coming to training camp and stepping into that role." OFFSEASON TO REMEMBER The summer has been a good one for Francis, who began his offseason by making a tour of the NBA playoffs and observing how players like Shaquille O'Neal and Vince Carter performed not only on the court, but also as leaders in the locker room and in the huddles. With Olajuwon gone for the Great White (or Green) North, Francis, who averaged 19.9 points, 6.9 rebounds and 6.5 assists while leading the Rockets to 45 wins last season, is going to have to become the team's undisputed leader. Francis, who did his usual routines with the weights, has been playing just about everywhere he can find a game _ including high-level pickup games in Houston and back home in Washington D.C. Getting snubbed by the knuckleheads who assembled the United States' Goodwill Games team (Marcus Fizer and Calvin Booth?) will only add more fuel to Francis' drive. Somebody is going to pay for the slight, which means Francis is poised for a breakout season. ROTATION REPORT Projected starting five PF-Kenny Thomas SF-Glen Rice C-Kelvin Cato SG-Cuttino Mobley PG-Steve Francis The rotation (based on projected use) PG Moochie Norris PF Eddie Griffin C Jason Collier SF Walt Williams The rest (based on projected use) SF-Dan Langhi SF-Terence Morris http://www.sportingnews.com/nba/teams/rockets/20010905.html
damnit!!! dropped 20 pounds, too?!!! that sucks. he may have had a breakthrough season, since he rededicated his body. i just hope he doesn't get too discouraged.
I know this is off topic, but has Francis publicly made any comments about this supposed "snub" at the Goodwill Games? I mean, it's not like the Goodwill Games is in the upper echelon of international competition. This is the first time we've sent NBA players to the Goodwill Games. I think the NBA knew this, and didn't want to risk injuries to the upper echelon players. If they were going to send Francis, they might as well send over Kobe, Webber, and Duncan and blow out those scrubs by 50 ppg instead of 40 ppg. Personally, I don't think he's losing any sleep over it, and neither should anybody else... Don't worry...2004: Athens, Greece Stevie Franchise, <i>worldwide!!</i>
I could be wrong, but I think the Goodwill Games only takes college seniors, NBA rookies and NBA sophmores. They took Andre Miller and Shawn Marion, so they're not all scrubs. Bottomline is Steve was snubbed.
Well, Jermaine O'Neal has four years of NBA experience, although he doesn't turn 21 until next month. If Stevie was snubbed, then were Elton Brand and Lamar Odom snubbed also? The fact is that the Goodwill games is second rate international competition. The top Europeon clubs like Lithuania and Germany didn't even send teams over there, because they are competiting in the European championships. Just look at the scores...132-58 over Mexico? 97-67 over Argentina? 111-70 over Cuba? It's not even funny. If Dirk Novitski and Peja Stoyjakovic (sp?) were playing over there, then we might be seeing Stevie over there. For most of the guys on that team, this is the only hint of international basketball they will get to see. The NBA is saving Steve and co. for the Olympics in three years. To me, Francis not playing at the Goodwill Games is a compliment. The NBA is basically saying, "Steve, you are a top notch player".
Francis had made comments publicly towards the end of last season expressing his desire to represent at the Goodwill Games. Baron Davis was chosen over Francis seemingly b/c the league feels he is more of a good guy who won't showboat/taunt the opposing teams. Francis was apparently very unhappy with this situation. I apologize I cannot remember the source/article I read all of this in, but it was reported the week the roster was announced by the league.
The NBA is worried that Francis might embarrass them? That's laughable considering Shawn Kemp, Larry Johnson, and Derrick Coleman's behavior on what I think was Dream Team II! Maybe after that debacle, Stern decided only "good" guys could represent the league against International competition.
Here's the story pippen might be referring to... <a href="http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/sports/bk/bkn/915881">Francis Snubbed</a> The stipulations for being on the team are 22 or younger OR selected in the '99 or '2000 draft Hmmm...I might stand corrected...
personally, i'm glad that francis wasn't picked because of certain effects that some player encounter when playing in the olympics/goodwill games. such as hit the wall in the middle of the season with dead legs and exhaustion. look at last year after the olympics when steve smith lost his starting job in portland because of exhaustion. dunleavy had to rest him for a few games and that allowed bonzi weels to start and keep that spot. before last season, jason kidd nor ray allen attended training camp because they were tired. so that's why i'm glad that steve didn't make it because it would've been a heavy burden for him to carry since i already have him penciled in for the allstar game this year and a deep push into the playoffs also. besides, just think, in about three more years when they play again in the olympics, just imagine their backcourt of francis, iverson, kobe, marbury, and allen.....wow
I read that the reason Francis didnt get the call was because they thought he was to much of a high risk. Meaning he would damage the reputation of the U.S. team. And for that reason I hope China wins. Just kidding , but the commity can kiss my ass...
Imagine that team with Tracy McGrady (21/22) and Kobe (22?) on it. It'd be nothing short of domination.
