Naturally, many questions pertaining to the upcoming campaign have popped up in the minds of fans. Will the Rockets make the playoffs? Is Maurice Taylor ready to impress? Will Steve Francis blow up or will he face the dreaded sophomore slump?

Azim, The Cat, and Ace from the Clutch BBS take look into what they believe will be an entertaining season with a lot of promise and maybe even a playoff seed for the team.

Building from Last Season

Ace: After a spectacular offseason, in which Carroll Dawson and Rudy Tomjanovich pulled off several stunning moves, the Rockets have refueled and are ready for liftoff for the 2000-2001. Our backcourt will be key to our team's success, which I think puts us in an excellent spot to take the league by storm. Steve Francis has taken over the title of team leader rather quickly, which is actually expected due to the sudden dismembering of the Big Three. Reportedly he is ready and set to become one of the league's top point guards, and might even give Jason Kidd and Gary Payton a few scares. Cuttino Mobley and Shandon Anderson might form the best Shooting Guard duo in the league. On one hand, we have an explosive player who will most certainly contend for the Sixth Man Award, while on the other we have a tenacious defensive specialist who can surprise us with offensive outburst every once in a while.

The frontcourt is the most worrying and weakest aspect of this young team, with a focus on the center position (who thought we would ever say that with Dream still on the team?). There are many questions that, if answered in the negative, can break our Dream for the season. Kelvin Cato seems to have bulked up, but it doesn't seem like he's ready for the starting job just yet. So, Hakeem Olajuwon's shoulders have just received an additional burden which might prove to be an overload for the aging center. Health will be a key issue for Olajuwon, but we have something to base our positivism on. Just recently Hakeem professed health and eagerness to play. Should his assessment be correct, we have nothing to worry about. What do I think? Expect production from Olajuwon, but nothing spectacular. As far as the Power Forward position goes, we have nothing to worry about. Maurice Taylor is a possible All-star, and has shown his rebounding prowess in the preseason. In addition, we have Kenny Thomas as an able backup who performed admirably as a starter last season.

Rudy Tomjanovich will have his hands full, but he should have a great time assembling a playoff team. Great chemistry and an amazing group of guys should make his job a lot easier.

Azim: This year our Rockets look to build on last season's promise, and not only excite fans, but to get some positive results while they're at it. With some key additions, as well as a nucleus whose chemistry is growing every day they play together, the optimism is legitimate.

Houston's biggest margin of improvement will come from within. Not only will the team's chemistry strengthen with playing time together, but with a young team, individual players are due for some breakout seasons. As good as Steve Francis was last season, he is going to get better. In addition to his explosiveness and deadly shooting, he is bound to gradually decrease his turnovers, see the floor better, and become the quarterback Allen Iverson never could be. Kelvin Cato, who last year was suddenly thrust into the spotlight when Dream and Charles got injured, has reportedly bulked up and made an attitude adjustment. Cuttino Mobley, the lovable "spark" off Houston's bench, just re-signed a big deal with the team, and his importance to the team cannot be measured. Ditto for Shandon Anderson and his unheralded efforts. Kenny Thomas, who like Francis is just a sophomore, will be fighting for minutes with the newly arrived Mo Taylor, and is bound to only get better. Of course, last but not least, Hakeem "The Dream" Olajuwon. As the greatest Rocket of all time embarks on his farewell season, all of us are praying he goes out gracefully, leaving a positive impression on our minds. No one can forget all the great memories he brought to us, but it is important he plays well, and I believe he will. With less pressure on the big man from Nigeria to take over for his team, and our expectations lowered, Hakeem should have a solid season and help lead this team of youngsters. Rudy Tomjanovich, the ultimate player's coach and a staple of the Houston Rockets organization for the past three decades, is among the league's best behind the bench and has the fans' confidence to assemble and orchestrate this budding team of youngsters.

The Cat: Last year was a year that any Rocket fan could never have imagined. After the first month, they had lost Charles Barkley for the season, and essentially Hakeem as well. After those injuries, it clearly became the young guys' team, like Steve Francis, Shandon Anderson, Cuttino Mobley, and others. While it took them a while to learn how to lead a team, they really took charge in the second half of the season, and won 10 of their last 15 games. Will the Rockets improve on that this season? In my opinion, they certainly will.

One main reason the Rockets will improve is standing still. Now they did add a very nice power forward in Maurice Taylor for the future, and some solid players in the draft in Jason Collier and Dan Langhi. But the main growth will be in the respective games' of our young players, such as Francis, Mobley, and Anderson. Francis and Mobley worked all summer in the gym, attempting to play better defense, shoot better, and basically improve the weak aspects of their games. Anderson and Cato also worked out this summer- Anderson to improve his offense and Cato to work on post moves with one of the great big man teachers in the league- Carroll Dawson. Also, Moochie Norris and Kenny Thomas went to the Rocky Mountain Revue and participated. The Revue basically is set up to give rookies and players trying to break into the league a chance to perform. Hardly any veterans show up, but Moochie and Kenny took exception to that, and went up to Salt Lake City to work on their games. In addition, the Rockets did many things this summer as a family -- including a road trip to Miami in June, and it should keep together the wonderful chemistry the team had last season. Add to all of that an extremely talented power forward in Maurice Taylor, two solid draft picks in Jason Collier and Dan Langhi, and Hakeem Olajuwon (still one of the top centers in the league when healthy), and this is a very good and dangerous team.

The Newbies: How will they pan out?

Azim: With Mo Taylor, the Rocks get the lethal power forward they have been longing for since Sir Charles retired, and another guy to take the scoring pressure off Stevie and the perimeter players.

Rookie Dan Langhi may be a mere 2nd round draft pick, but here in Houston that means a lot more. With the likes of Othella Harrington and Cuttino Mobley being fellow second rounders, and Sam Cassell being a late pick as well, the sharp-shooting big man from Vanderbilt has higher expectations than some of his other 2nd round colleagues.
Dan Langhi will see little action early on, perhaps being tutored by veteran Matt Bullard. However, as the season wears on, his role should increase and may even supplant Bull and become a key offensive ingredient off the bench at the Small Forward position.

Jason Collier, the Rockets' first rounder (though by the hype you would never know it), is a 7-footer who can shoot from outside. And in a conference dominated by some guy named Shaq, that actually means something. This season, he will see minimal minutes, and probably end up learning and grasping the system on the sidelines in his suit. His presence may be valuable when injuries hit, and may become the backup center the following season if Dream retires.

The Cat: Maurice Taylor is obviously the most noteworthy in this department. He's a very nice power forward who could be a fixture at PF slot for years go come. Aside from his inside threat from which he will keep on scoring like last season, I believe he can be a very decent rebounder as well.

As far as rookies go, Jason Collier and Dan Langhi each have their doubters by the Rockets fans. However, I feel both, especially Collier, can be solid contributors. Collier won't be asked to play much at first, but when/if Dream goes down, he will be called upon to play. I've seen him play at Georgia Tech in college, and he has an NBA game. He has range out to 18 or 20 feet, can crash the boards, and sets a pick like a wall. If you bring him along slowly and give him some time, Collier can definitely contribute for this team. Langhi looked great in the summer leagues, with excellent athleticism, shooting, and an all around game. However, he didn't show this in the preseason, and therefore is on the IR. Nevertheless, what I saw in the summer leagues makes me believe he does indeed have some NBA skills. When someone goes down, I think he might can surprise a few people and contribute.

Ace: First off, I must once again give some major props to Carrol Dawson and Rudy Tomjanovich. They were once again able to provide us with an excellent player using the mid-level exception of $2.25 million. Maurice Taylor will be suiting up every night with a few things to prove. Not only will he have to show that he is worth tons of cash, but he will also have to demonstrate some tough rebounding, something his game sorely lacks. We can be sure that he'll being a strong inside presence who can rack up a ton of points in a hurry. As a Clipper last season, Maurice scored 17.1 points per game. We should expect more of the same, but with some added motivation.

I must say I was disappointed with the draft, and was stunned to learn that our year of suffering brought us Jason Collier. However, the big man does bring in a sweet midrange shot coupled with some smart basketball. He will be a nice complement to a team whose main weapon lies in the hands of the backcourt.
Dan Langhi, our other rookie, was traded for Eduardo Najera. While Najera will start off the season as the starting Small Forward, Langhi will find himself on the injured list with bilateral medial tibial periositis. Say what, right? Hey, at least the Rockets took some time to find an interesting name for his 'condition.'

Random Visions

			The Cat		Azim da Dream		Ace
	Scoring		21 ppg The Rockets are tremendously balanced, and they get scoring from a lot of places. But while other players can at times be injury-prone or hot and cold, Francis is a constant, and overall I think he'll get over 20 a game.		19 ppg Not a huge surprise here, as this is clearly Franchise's team. Although his points will not go up as substantially as indicated, this will be because of his improvement in other areas.		22 ppg Who else? Steve Francis is reliable and explosive at the same time. He'll be our rock this season, and I expect for him to be our first option on the offensive end throughout the season.
	Rebounding		8 rpg I don't think Hakeem will play enough minutes to get enough rebounds to lead the team, and Cato is somewhat soft in that area. Taylor should be playing 35 minutes a night, and this year he is said to be determined to improve on the glass. I think he will.		7.5 rpg Aside from his latest minor injury, all reports indicated Dream is feeling very good. In my mind, Hakeem is going to go out with class, respect, and most importantly, on his own terms.		8.5 rpg Even with limited playing time, Olajuwon will be the key man to pick them off the glass. Maurice Taylor will make a push for the honor, though.
	Blocks		2-2.5 bpg He's worked all summer with CD on becoming a better big men, both offensively and defensively. I think if he gets 25- 30 minutes per game he can certainly 2-2.5 blocks per game and 6-7 rebounds per game, certainly good defensive numbers for a center these days.		2 bpg The immature big man should experience a breakthrough season, and possibly split minutes at center and sneak in some time at the PF slot. His offense will improve only marginally, but he will be smarter at both ends of the court, and his rebounding and shot blocking should increase steadily.		2.5-3 bpg We may not be sure of a lot of things with Kelvin, but one thing is clear. He is a menace when it comes to shot-blocking. He reminds me of a young Olajuwon, going up to swat everything with admirable ferocity. This is not necessarily good, but look for him to lead the team in this category.
	MVP		Steve Francis with 21 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds. He is simply amazing. He can do it all, has a flare for the dramatic, is a clutch player great in about every area of the game and also has all the intangibles such as leadership and solid character that make the good ones great. The sky is the limit.		Steve Francis (19 PPG, 7.5 APG, 4 RPG); he is simply the man and mentioning him in the same sentence as Payton and Kidd will be common.		Steve Francis is the obvious selection here, and I don't think there can be much of an argument about it. He's simply the best on our team, and arguably one of the top 3 point guards in the NBA.
	Sixth Man		His stats might not go up a lot with the new weapons, but his scoring and offense off the bench is vital to this team's success. I think he'll be the best 6th man in the entire league.		Quite possibly the best sixth man in the league.		Again, is there a doubt? Cuttino Mobley should be the best Sixth Man in the league this upcoming season.
	Player Most Likely to Disappoint		Carlos Rogers has shown in the preseason that he still has the energetic spark that can keep this team going. But with Matt Bullard backing up at SF, Kenny Thomas at PF, and Cato at C, there just aren't enough minutes to go around. I don't think he'll see much of an opportunity to prove himself this year unless someone gets hurt, so don't expect the numbers he had last year.		I had to think real hard for this one (which is a good thing), but I feel KT will not be as effective coming off the bench spelling Taylor. He may be hit by the sophomore slump, and with a crowded frontcourt, may not get much of a chance to get himself out of it.		Sure, those who know a bit about basketball will appreciate his contributions, but who else will? Last year fans thought he performed way under expectations, but I thought he was one of the better players on the squad. That's what you get when you do 'the little things that don't show up on the stats sheet.'
	Player Most Likely to Surprise		I rank this a tie between Kenny Thomas and Jason Collier. Thomas I think has improved his game a lot over the summer, as he looks to have added a lot more post moves and possibly range on his jump shot. Collier won't play much at first with Hakeem at center but sooner or later Dream will most likely go down. Considering the fans expectations, I think he will surprise. I do think he will succeed when he gets time.		Not really a surprise to those who know his game, perhaps the bigger surprise will be that 'Los will be healthy for the majority of the season. He can add some enthusiastic spark and valuable versatility off the bench, and has apparently added some muscle to that lean frame.		Walt Williams. He's the type that can kill you if you place too much attention on the so-called 'star players.' His late season play showed us what he is capable of. As long as he's given the same easy shots he got last year, he'll keep on draining them.

Final Prediction- Playoffs, anyone?

The Cat: It's not easy to make the playoffs in the West. The Spurs, Lakers, Blazers, Jazz, Suns, and Sonics are locks to make it in my opinion. The Rockets must also contend with the likes of Minnesota, Sacramento, and possibly even Dallas. But I really like what I have seen of this team. The young core will only continue to get better, and the chemistry should stay at a remarkably high rate from what I've seen in the preseason. In the Western Conference, nothing is a lock. But I would be surprised if the Rockets aren't a playoff team. I expect a 48-34 record this season and a 7th seed in the playoffs, earning a first round date with the Spurs.

Ace: Even though the West is filled with teams capable of winning 50 games or more, I'm confident the Rockets will be able to sneak into the playoffs as the seventh or eight seed. Our talent level calls for something closer to fifth or fourth seed, in my opinion, but as a young team with a lot left to learn we'll settle for a first round exit in the playoffs. 47-35 should be our final record. Does that record ring any bells?

Azim: With the aforementioned in mind, one would think Houston should seriously contend in the playoffs. Unfortunately, the Rockets play in Houston, and are therefore in the tough and vastly improving Western Conference. With the Lakers, Blazers, Spurs, Sonics, Jazz and Suns virtual locks for the play-offs, the Rockets will be fighting for the remaining two spots with the Kings, Timberwolves, Mavericks, and to some extent, the Nuggets and Grizzlies. My prediction; the Rocks will make a late-season push for the play-offs, but narrowly miss it, winning a respectable 41 games, good for ninth seed. Next season, however, is a different matter ...