The Houston Rockets are going to look a whole lot different this season. We're not saying worse -- not at all -- but different, and that's because a certain dreamy center has moved on. The funny thing is, the Rockets are good. If Hakeem Olajuwon really did skip town so he could go to a better team, he might've made a mistake. But more about that later.

	The high-flying Francis is a budding star.

So as we continue our 2001 Summer Spotlight Series, here's the deal with the Rockets.

The good: Thank the former Vancouver Grizzlies for this one. Steve Francis did make it quite clear he didn't want to perform in Canada, but the Grizzlies drafted him anyway, then got held hostage in dealing him off. Francis is a superstar, ready to be an annual All-Star and capable, with a bit of talent around him, of doing what Allen Iverson did for Philadelphia: elevating his team to major heights.

Don't laugh. This Rockets team finished only two games behind Minnesota for the No. 8 playoff berth, mainly because it couldn't win out West and because the home record wasn't very good (a pedestrian 24-17). The Rockets fattened up on East teams, especially the Central, where they didn't lose even once, the first time that ever happened. Put the Rockets in the East, sure, you have a playoff team. But the team isn't in the East, although its signature player the last two decades is.

On the record, the Rockets have been saying all the right things about the departure of Olajuwon, dealt for a pair of draft picks. But the Rockets were ambivalent for the last year about paying big bucks for a guy who was supposed to retire after last season. He had asthma problems, knee problems (and before that the irregular heartbeat, blood clots, etc.), and made it into only 58 games last season. Maybe his departure, as tear jerking as it is, was a good thing. He got a whopping $33 million the last two years and other than a few spurts, wasn't overly productive. If the Raptors get the Dream who gave Houston 15 and 8 the last two months, it's a good deal. But that's no guarantee. Kelvin Cato, please pick up the red phone and report to duty.

Francis and Cuttino Mobley are a dynamite combo in the backcourt, the clear strength of the team. The other main strength is coach Rudy Tomjanovich, who gets a big man to groom in Eddie Griffin, stolen from New Jersey on draft night for three later picks. Griffin is a major shot blocker, but he needs to mature. Who better than RudyT to handle that?

	THE FACTS
	2000-01 record: 45-37, 5th in Midwest, 9th in West Playoffs: none Team leaders: Francis, 19.9 ppg; 6.9 rpg; 6.5 apg Team stats (NBA rank): Points, 97.2 (9th); Rebs, 42 (18th); FG %, .453 (9th) Current rotation: Cato C; Taylor PF; Griffin SF; Mobley SG; Francis PG; Shandon Anderson 6th man Spot in Summer Power Rankings: No. 10

The bad: On some nights, the shooting and driving of Francis and Mobley just doesn't work, and it would be nice to fall back on a big man to score and rebound. Hakeem wasn't really that guy last year, and Maurice Taylor most definitely was not. Taylor signed a one-year deal for the mid-level exception last year, either because he was promised a major deal when the Rockets got cap room (hint, hint) or because no other team wanted him. At the time we weren't sure. Taylor doesn't exactly have superstar written on him. And he pretty much showed that his underachieving Clipper days were no fluke with his ever-so-average play last year. Now the Rockets have rewarded those 13 points and 5 rebounds with $48 mil over 6 years. We don't mind being proven wrong, but Mo doesn't appear worth it. Would any other team have done that? Uh oh, might this be Joe Smith all over again?

Every team has guys stealing money, but Taylor will also steal minutes. Can he be a 20-10 guy? Can he be a 15-7 guy? If he can, and Griffin can guard the lane, which is key because Taylor pays little attention to defense, the Rockets will be better off than last year, when non-rebounding forwards like Shandon Anderson, Matt Bullard, Walt Williams and to some degree Kenny Thomas took up minutes. If Griffin can play 30 minutes, stay out of foul trouble and avoid hitting his teammates, those other forwards can be used properly as bench players.

Cato has been a riddle for some time now. He had some monster games two seasons ago and has mainly teased Rockets fans since coming over from Portland in the Scottie Pippen deal. He'll need to stay healthy and bang with the big boys in the West, because, frankly he's vital to this team. He and Griffin are the great unknown.

The ugly: Houston was No. 18 in the league in rebounding, and luring Taylor to stay doesn't appear to make sense in helping that stat. Griffin, Cato and Jason Collier need to change that. How ugly was it? Olajuwon made a late push and eventually led the team in rebounding at 7.4 a game, passing the team's point guard, Francis, who ended at 6.9.

What will the aftermath of the Hakeem era be? Well, if Cato doesn't cut it and the Rockets don't earn a playoff berth, someone might lose their job. Carroll Dawson has done nice work as GM, and he's a Rockets lifer who was on all four coaching staffs of Houston teams that went to the Finals (1981, '86, '94, '95), but some people won't forgive him if Olajuwon has a big season in Toronto.

The future: The transition from Hakeem's team to Stevie's happened before last season in reality, but now it really begins. Everything's different. Now Francis isn't going to have a free ride if the team falls just short of the postseason. Sweeping the Central but getting smoked in the Pacific isn't enough anymore.

But with a young backcourt and Griffin ready to emerge, all signs are there for the Rockets to be good for years. We ranked the Rockets No. 10 in our summer Power Rankings based on the fact they're young and getting better, but we also assumed Hakeem would still be around. Are the Rockets better than some of the teams we put behind them, like Toronto, Minnesota and Phoenix. Stevie, prove us wrong.

So we asked you this question about the Rockets: Can Francis do what Allen Iverson did for the Sixers and carry the Rockets into the playoffs and beyond in future years?

Check on the file to the right to view selected responses.

Eric Karabell is ESPN.com's NBA editor.