USA Today: Francis has Rockets soaring

When he was seven years old, Steve Francis made up his mind to become a basketball player. He had tried football and soccer, but once he picked up that basketball and started chucking it at a basket, it was all over.

Rockets point guard Steve Francis (3) says he's developed a 'brother relationship' with 7-5 center Yao Ming.

"He was always worried about his height, though," says his grandmother, Mabel Wilson. "Every morning he would wake me up to watch him measure himself on a chart he had on the wall in his mother's bedroom. He'd always ask me, 'Grandma, am I going to be tall?' "

Francis grew to be 6-3, not huge by NBA standards. But he has developed a big-time game — averaging more than 20 points, six rebounds and six assists in his career — and has the Houston Rockets in position to make the playoffs for the first time since 1999. Houston was in the eighth playoff spot in the tough Western Conference going into Monday's games.

That has been no small task, given how Francis and his teammates also have had to work 7-5 rookie Yao Ming into the flow of NBA life.

Now in his fourth NBA season, Francis, 25, is the heir apparent to the standard set for point guards recently by Utah's John Stockton, Seattle's Gary Payton and New Jersey's Jason Kidd. Francis is a better scorer than Stockton, who is 40; more explosive than Payton, who is 34, and a better shooter than Kidd, who turns 30 next month.

"He's just playing at another level," Rockets teammate and close friend Moochie Norris says of Francis. "He does whatever he has to do."

Francis will make his second start in an NBA All-Star Game on Sunday, and there is no questioning his selection. He and the Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant, the other starting guard for the Western Conference and the leading vote-getter, are the only players in the league averaging at least 20 points, six rebounds and six assists. And Francis is one of the sport's most exciting players.

"This is my fourth year, I have a new contract (six years, $80 million) and I knew I had to step up," Francis says of his play this season. "I'm still playing my game, and I adjust to how things are going."

That was best illustrated in two games this season. Francis took only four shots but finished with 14 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds in a Jan. 7 win against Minnesota. Against the Lakers 10 days later, he took 21 shots and had a career-high 44 points, 11 assists and six rebounds in the overtime win.

His NBA career got off badly when Francis made it known he didn't want to play for the Grizzlies when Vancouver selected him No. 2 overall in the 1999 draft out of Maryland. But he found a home in Houston after he was traded to the Rockets in an 11-player deal that also included Orlando.

"I think the Vancouver thing put a hitch in people respecting me," Francis says. "But it was the right thing for me."

His impact in Houston was immediate. Francis, averaging 18.0 points, 6.6 assists and 5.3 rebounds, was named co-rookie of the year with Elton Brand (20.1 points, 10.0 rebounds), then with the Chicago Bulls.

"No disrespect to Elton, but I thought I was good enough to win it by myself," Francis says.

He had a solid sophomore year, but last season was in many ways a nightmare for Francis despite averaging 21.6 points, 7.0 rebounds and 6.4 assists in 57 games.

Francis missed the first month with plantar fasciitis, a type of inflammation in the foot, and the Rockets lost 15 games in a row. He later suffered from Meniere's disease, an inner-ear infection that caused debilitating migraines and dizziness and caused him to lose about 60% of the hearing in his right ear.

It is being treated with medication, and Francis, whose hearing has returned, says he feels fine. He also had offseason shoulder surgery.

"I couldn't play for four months," he says. "I couldn't shoot or do anything. I watched the NBA Finals, and I watched the U.S. lose in the world championships. Not being able to play and watching those games gave me a chance to look at the game and see what I was missing and how much I really loved playing basketball."

Francis says he is more mature and more relaxed, two things that put him at peace. "A lot of guys don't realize that until they're in their 30s," he says. "I'm lucky because I'm only 25 and know it."

Big man makes big difference

If ever a nickname fit a player, "Stevie Franchise" is it.

But every NBA franchise needs a big man.

Francis' career wasn't too shabby before the arrival of Yao. But with the rookie from China in the lineup, Francis' job as leader of the Rockets is easier.

"You're not going very far in this league without a big man," Francis says. "And now we have one."

Yao has taken some of the opponents' emphasis off Francis by becoming a demanding presence in the middle. With Yao's development, teams are being forced to double-team him more, giving Francis more room to operate. Yao also is giving the Rockets three things all teams want: energy, hope and attention.

As Francis and Yao learn how to rely on each other even more on the court, the Rockets' improvement is destined to be more dramatic.

With Francis ailing much of last season and Yao playing for the Shanghai Sharks, the Rockets had the fifth-worst record in the NBA at 28-54. They already have won 26 games this season.

This unlikely pair — a street-wise African-American kid from Takoma Park, Md., and a new-to-America marvel from Shanghai still trying to pick up the slang of the English language — have in four short months become much more than just Rockets teammates.

"Yao and Steve are good for each other," coach Rudy Tomjanovich says, "and they should grow together. They both want to get to the same place, and they can get there a lot easier with each other. They already have a special bond. It just happened."

Francis' grandmother — his mother died when he was in high school — says she hasn't met Yao yet, "but Steve talks about him all of the time. I just have another grandson now," says Wilson, who hears from Francis before and after every game.

Yao and Francis lift weights together on the road, and Francis always is the first one to the big man's side when Yao looks frustrated or confused or needs some encouragement.

"There's no fakeyness about how close we all are on this team," Francis says. "I love Yao. We have a brother relationship. We really like the same things," such as to compete, to have fun and to admire Mercedes-Benz cars.

"I can also feel what he's going through, being under a microscope. We both want success and want to win. We're on the same page, and we relate very well. The language isn't a barrier. We feel it."

Says Yao, "I'm learning a lot from him, about a lot of things."

Including how to dress the right way.

Francis is co-owner of a clothing line, We R One. It features loose-fitting casual wear that is popular with the younger generation.

Francis, of course, has outfitted Yao. "I hooked him up," Francis says. "I had some stuff made for him. We had to get it made in China because of his size, but I picked it out and he wears it all the time. I've got to look out for him."

All-Star starts set duo apart

Francis and Yao have a long way to go to be the next Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal. The Los Angeles tandem didn't lead the Lakers to the title until their fourth season together.

How close are the Rockets to becoming a championship team?

"I'm looking for it right now," Francis says. "We have to believe in ourselves and believe we can win."

Francis and Yao already have Houston fans rocking with that goal.

They are the only teammates voted to be starters in Sunday's All-Star Game in Atlanta. Bryant and O'Neal, as teammates, have been voted starters four times but have played together only in 1998 and 2000 because of injuries to O'Neal.

O'Neal conceivably would have been voted the starter over Yao this time had he not missed the first 12 games while recovering from offseason toe surgery and had the Lakers not continued to struggle once O'Neal returned. Yao did show he deserved to be in contention for the starting spot with some big games early, catching the fancy of everyone with his soft shot, his passing and his ability to learn quickly.

Only 15 rookies have started an All-Star Game, and only four were centers: Ray Felix, Wilt Chamberlain, Walt Bellamy and O'Neal.

"Moses to me to Yao. We're used to having great centers in here," says Hakeem Olajuwon, who sat courtside next to another former Houston center, Moses Malone, when Yao blocked five of O'Neal's shots in their first meeting last month.

Malone was a two-time league MVP with Houston (1979 and 1982), and Olajuwon led the Rockets to back-to-back titles in 1994-95.

Francis and Yao have yet to win anything. But despite Francis speaking just a little Mandarin and Yao still using an interpreter, everyone in Houston understands the message they are sending the league.