TSN: Players preparing for next season

Francis spends playoffs studying abroad
MAY 12, 2001

The good news for the Rockets is that after their 45-win regular season, the core of the team is already in the gym working on their game.

Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley and Moochie Norris -- even Shandon Anderson -- are working out together, playing pickup ball and lifting weights in an effort to get a headstart on next season, which they hope will include a playoff berth.

There are a lot of personnel questions to be answered between now and then -- What's going to happen to Hakeem Olajuwon? What are the chances of getting Chris Webber? What about Anderson and Maurice Taylor? -- but that's for another day. These days are for hoops, Houston-style.

Quite a few NBA stars congregate at the Westside Tennis Club, where the Rockets' practice facility is housed, but things won't really pick up until the playoffs end. That's when guys like San Antonio's Avery Johnson and Derek Anderson, the Mavericks' Mark Bryant, the Bucks' Sam Cassell and Darvin Ham (and sometimes Ray Allen), Charlotte's David Wesley, the Lakers' Robert Horry and -- on occasion, anyway -- the Lakers' Shaquille O'Neal start to show up.

As of right now, though, it's all about basketball.

Francis, who is ready to assume control of the team after the last of the Rockets' 50 Greatest Players alumni (Olajuwon) rides off into the sunset, further showed dedication to his craft by actually put together his own playoff road trip.

He and Cuttino Mobley went to watch Philadelphia beat Indiana in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, and he then went to the opposite coast to watch the Lakers dismantle Sacramento in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs.

"It's incredible, amazing, unbelievable,'' said Francis of his playoff-by-proxy experience. "The whole atmosphere is so much more intense than in any regular-season game I've ever played in. Iverson keeps on going and going and going. Shaq goes out there and just dominates. Everybody comes to play. Nobody ever seems to get tired. They keep fighting on. Nobody quits.''

And he claims the Rockets will be there next season. He guarantees Houston won't endure another season like this one.

"Won't happen next year,'' Francis said. "Nope, it won't. I won't let it.''

And what if they don't make it?

"The people in Houston will be ready to run me right out of town,'' he said. "I understand that. It's OK. You'll see a different Steve Francis next year. I'm going to get it done.''

As evidenced by his comments, Francis didn't make his playoff pilgrimage so he could have some camera time on TNT or NBC. He was there to take mental notes on how to improve his game, and how to improve his team.

He's already proved what he can do on the court, whether it's scoring, rebounding or dishing the ball off. But Francis said he learned a few valuable lessons about how to be a better leader, which is something the Rockets needed this season.

With the "retirement'' of Charles Barkley, whose tongue was the Rockets' rudder, the Rockets foundered at times, both on the court and in the locker room. Francis, who sat with Tracy McGrady in Los Angeles, said he studied how Shaquille O'Neal controlled the huddle during timeouts, keeping everyone on the same page both offensively and defensively.

"That's got to be me,'' he said. "No more feeling guys out, learning how to fit in. I'm pushing everybody.''

Nice to see the players, including Anderson, preparing to hit the ground running for 2001-2002.