Olajuwon

Olajuwon suffered the injury early in the third quarter of Friday's 91-88 overtime loss at Portland and was sent back to Houston for further examination. He underwent an MRI on Monday that initially revealed no tear but confirmed the strain.

"l think almost all his symptoms are coming from this hernia," Lowe said Tuesday. "It's the most typical kind of hernia we see."

Lowe said Olajuwon should be able to begin exercising within a few days of the 45-minute procedure, but his return to basketball will take longer.

"It's one thing to be able to ride an exercise bike and a totally different thing to play night after night in the NBA," Lowe said.

The Rockets (4-11) are halfway through a four-game road trip and visit Phoenix on Wednesday night. They moved one-half game ahead of last-place Vancouver in the Midwest Division after Monday's 118-110 overtime win over the Grizzlies.

Starting in Olajuwon's place was Kelvin Cato, who had 13 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks in 32 minutes.

This is the second time in the last three seasons that Olajuwon, a 16-year veteran, will miss a large chunk of the season with an injury. In the 1997-98 campaign, he missed 35 games due to knee surgery and other ailments.

Olajuwon, 36, is one of the NBA's 50 Greatest Players but his production has diminished this season. He is averaging only 14.8 points and 8.3 rebounds per game, well below his career marks of 23.6 and 11.8.

The long-term absence of Olajuwon may force the Rockets to abandon their inside-outside attack for more of a transition game that would feature the talents of younger players Steve Francis and Shandon Anderson.

The Rockets' roster is at 11 players, although power forward Tony Massenburg is sidelined with a pulled groin.