The Rockets probably had a pretty good idea what Dikembe Mutombo would decide.

He just did not look ready to retire.

He played well when Yao Ming went out Feb. 26, giving the Rockets a lift of rebounding and defense, and helping the Rockets to extend their winning streak, then 12 games long, for 10 more games.

Mutombo clearly loved all of it as much as ever, from the verbal sparring of the locker room, to his role as a friend of leader, to the platform for his philanthropy. He just was not ready to walk away, and when his family said they were happy to have him extend his career to an 18th season, he said he would instruct his agent, David Falk, to negotiate another deal with the Rockets.

That the Rockets would still want Mutombo, also seemed unexpected, until further inspection made that seem obvious, too.

They might have seemed ready to move on, especially when Mutombo was rarely playing for nearly four months of the season before Yao's injury.

But Mutombo was willing to accept that limited role, and yet he was still able to step in with little notice to a starter's position, and he could do all that at a cut-rate price, playing for the 10-year veteran's minimum with the NBA reimbursing the portion of that contract that exceeds the league minimum.

He could assume greater responsibility when needed and accept a smaller role when not, and do all that for less than his replacement. That makes him as valuable to the Rockets as his position with them is still valued by him.

SEASON HIGHLIGHT
There is little doubt about the highlight of the Rockets' season. Overcoming everything from their inconsistent play in the season's first three months to the injury to Yao Ming, the Rockets won 22 consecutive games, the second-longest winning streak in NBA history and the longest in 37 years. Along the way, they beat the Lakers, Spurs, Nuggets, Warriors, Mavericks and Hornets, the latter two on the road. They won the last 10 of those games with Yao out. And when Yao played (he missed the loss before the streak began) they won 16 consecutive games. With the streak becoming one of the highlights of the season in the NBA, the Rockets had the league's best record in 2008.

TURNING POINT
Though they kept winning for a while, the Rockets never were the same after Yao Ming was lost for the season with a stress fracture in his right foot. They lacked interior scoring and size, the qualities Yao brings like few others. They were left with only one player who could reliably get his own shot. Even when they were winning, and even with Dikembe Mutombo playing well, they looked short-handed the rest of the season.

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