The Grizzlies must be licking their chops.  Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reports that Cuttino Mobley again will not play due to a sprained ankle.  He did not travel to Memphis.  This will be the second consecutive game that the Rockets top three offensive options -- Steve Francis, Mobley, and Mo Taylor -- are simultaneously out with injuries.

Cuttino Mobley reluctantly missed Tuesday's game against the Kings with a sprained ankle.  Steve Francis also began his stint on the IR that same game.  According to the Houston Chronicle's Jonathan Feigen, Mobley's ankle is improving and he should be ready for their next game Friday.

Feigen lists the host of calamities to befall the Rockets from the offseason departure of Hakeem Olajuwon to Francis' recent injury.  "If I let it get to me, I'm defeated," Tomjanovich said. "This is an opportunity to do some other stuff. It's that simple. That's my job right now."

Blinebury: For the next four to six weeks, as Steve Francis makes his only appearances in the midcourt tunnel while waiting for the plantar fascia in his left foot to mend, the Rockets are Moochie's team.

And Oscar Torres' team. And Tierre Brown's team.

Rockets Lite. Less filling and, well, less filling.

Put Cuttino Mobley over there on the sidelines with a pair of bad ankles, and what happens is what you expect to happen. Kings 89-84.

For one night, Norris made sure the Rockets were not even that different. But their familiar pattern left them with an 89-84 (Box score) loss to the Sacramento Kings at Compaq Center and an even greater sense of letting an opportunity get away.

"I think this is the best we ever played Sac," Rockets forward Kenny Thomas said. "Of course, we could have used our one-two guys (Francis and Cuttino Mobley).

"But we came out focused and knew the odds were people didn't think we would even have a chance to win this game."

Rudy Tomajanovich announced that Steve Francis will be out for four to six weeks to rest and rehab his foot, according to W.H. Stickney of the Houston Chronicle.  Francis had been suffering from plantar fasciitis and the condition worsened with a "pop" in the third quarter of a game against the Clippers.  Cuttino Mobley will also miss tonight's game against the Kings to rest two sprained ankles, but will hopefully be healthy enough for their next game Friday.

"We've got to go out here and compete," Tomjanovich said. "It's going to give other guys an opportunity, win or lose. Just like any stumbling block, we'll use it like a steppingstone. Every situation, there's a positive to it. If we can get stronger through this adversity, when we get through it, we're on our way."

W.H. Stickney of the Houston Chronicle reports that Steve Francis will not play tonight against the visiting Kings.  Initial tests on Francis' foot found damage to the fascia.  More tests will be conducted today.  Francis has not been put on the injured list, but Rudy Tomjanovich doesn't sound confident he will return soon: "I doubt it.  I've had that situation myself, and it takes a long time. It's painful, and the wear and tear on his body, to live in that much pain as active as he is, it's a losing proposition."

Cuttino Mobley is also hobbled, playing on two sprained ankles.  He is listed as probable for tonight's game, however.

After missing the game against Seattle with plantar fasciaitis and returning for the game against the Clippers, Steve Francis may again be out for the Rockets' game against the visiting Kings, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.  Francis came out of the Clippers game at the end of the third period and did not return.

"I popped something in my foot, and it got really hot," Francis said. "I just ran off the court. I'll go to the doctor (today)."

The banged-up Rockets are a team in trouble.
Trailing by as many as 21 points, the Rockets used a three-point barrage to come flying back and get within 2 points, but as has become the norm, they couldn't complete the comeback and fell to the Clippers 90-83 in the Staples Center.

After starting off the season 5-1, the Rockets, who have lost 6 of their last 8, have now slipped to .500 at 7-7.

Two head gaskets were blown Friday.

Both turned out to be good for the Seattle SuperSonics.

So good that Rashard Lewis had a little advice for teammate Desmond Mason after the Seattle SuperSonics' 99-81 victory over the Houston Rockets on Friday night in Key-Arena.

"Blow a head gasket every game,'' Lewis said.

Whether he was joking is debatable, given the way Mason played after getting stranded in his new Land Rover on Interstate 405 near Renton before the Friday morning team shootaround.

Mason scored 21 points, including a double-pump reverse layup with less than two minutes remaining, to lead the Sonics

(6-8) over the undermanned Rockets.

Houston (7-6) was playing without All-Star guard Steve Francis, who has a foot injury (plantar faciatis) and is day-to-day. Starting forward Kenny Thomas also missed the game because of tendinitis in his right Achilles' tendon, and guard Cuttino Mobley played despite being a game-time decision with a cold.

The Rockets are rudderless, lacking a leader on the court and in the locker room.

That leader has to be Steve Francis.

Francis is without a doubt the Rockets' best player, which means he already has the respect of his teammates. But Francis needs to take that next step and become the leader that the Rockets have been lacking the last couple of years. Francis has to become the guy who makes his teammates accountable for their poor play, and the guy who strokes them on their good nights.