3 For The Show

Sporting News, The, March 1, 1999 by Jeff Ryan

The aging Rockets survived THREE games in THREE nights and proved they still are a team to be reckoned with

Taking into account the obstacles they it's a bit surprising the Rockets blasted off to a 4-1 start. Consider this: Free-flowing newcomer Scottie Pippen was still searching for his rhythm in the halfcourt offense. And a schedule-maker with a warped sense of humor had saddled them with two sets of back-to-back games in their first five outings.

Now, though, would come the real test. Three games in three nights, two of them on the road. Roughly 2,400 miles of air travel within 27 hours. All of it without Charles Barkley, who was averaging a league-high 17 rebounds when he underwent arthroscopic knee surgery on Valentine's Day.

The good news: These would be Houston's only back-to-back-to-back games this season. The bad news: It would be facing three of last year's playoff teams (Suns, Timberwolves, Nets), three gifted power forwards (Tom Gugliotta, Joe Smith, Jayson Williams) and a trio of the NBA's best point guards (Jason Kidd, Stephon Marbury, Sam Cassell).

Last week; The Sporting News followed the Rockets on their three-night odyssey to get an idea how a team copes with the scheduling quirks posed by a strike-shortened season. We chose to put the Rockets under our microscope because they are one of the older teams in the league, a factor that would make their three-night challenge even more taxing.

TUESDAY, February 16, Houston

Nothing could be better at getting the Rockets' offense in tune than a game against high-powered, defensively limited Phoenix, which is playing on its second of three consecutive nights. A shootout is expected, and that means plenty of opportunities for Pippen and rookie off-guard Michael Dickerson to score in transition.

Houston coach Rudy Tomjanovich's plans call for frequent substitutions to help save his starters' legs, giving workhorse Othella Harrington a shot at replacing Barkley at power forward, and praying for a blowout. Well, the gods of energy conservation must be smiling down on Compaq Center because, except for backup center Stanley Roberts straining his right hamstring in the first quarter, everything goes perfectly.

Hakeem Olajuwon appears to have regained his footwork and soft touch, utilizing a drop-step and spin moves that leave Suns centers Luc Longley and Joe Kleine looking for their jocks and socks in the club seats.

For weeks, Barkley had been dreading this stretch of games, but Harrington craves the opportunity to fill in and responds with a Barkleyesque 17 points and 13 rebounds while holding Googs to 14 points.

Dickerson contributes 18 points, and Pippen plays as if it's the NBA Finals (19 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists). The Rockets are ahead by four points at halftime, but they stretch the lead to 17 by the end of the third quarter and cruise to a 109-92 win.

"Too many weapons," says Olajuwon, who has 19 points. "We never come at you from just one angle."

Pippen, who has played his best game as a Rocket, adds, "I'm much more comfortable when I'm controlling the offense, bringing the ban down and making decisions--like tonight."

Tomjanovich is raving to everyone about Harrington, whose play has overshadowed the minor yet somewhat upsetting news that Barkley's knee had to be drained of fluid today. And the coach is calling the '99 Rockets' club a better shooting squad than the one that won NBA titles in '94 and '95.

Someone tells Tomjanovich he looks particularly relaxed for a man who will have only one day off in the next six and is about to catch a plane to Minnesota, where the temperature is 14 degrees.

"Hey," the coach says with a smile as wide as Pippen's wingspan, "I got a good team."

WEDNESDAY, February 17, Minneapolis

Ninety minutes before game time, the atmosphere in the team's dressing room in Target Center is upbeat. The Rockets didn't arrive at their hotel until 3 a.m., so Tomjanovich scrapped the shoot-around. As Olajuwon gets his ankles taped and the coach diagrams strategy on a message board, point guard Matt Maloney talks about the job of trying to neutralize three tough floor leaders in a row. He says back-to-back games have left him with little time to study videotape.

"As good as they are, they're all different," he says. "You want to make Cassell work hard for his pick-and-rolls, make Kidd shoot the outside jumper and keep Marbury outside and hope he misses."

Tomjanovich is finished writing. In big letters atop the board are the words, "Key to win: Must get back (and be) ready to help on Marbury drives."

A few hours later, the final score is Timberwolves 116, Rockets 102. Key to loss: Didn't get back and weren't ready to help on Marbury drives.

Houston displays all the intensity and battle-readiness of a Grateful Dead crowd. Kevin Garnett stifles Pippen, holding him to 12 points. Maloney proves too slow and rookie backup Cuttino Mobley too inexperienced to guard Marbury, whose path to the hoop is all but illuminated with runway lights. Marbury finishes with a career-high 40 points--not to mention 12 assists and no turnovers.