--F Shane Battier was never sure that he would be playing in the Olympics this summer, and with his first child due next month, was ambivalent about leaving the country anyway.

Still, he was part of the USA Basketball program, with a chance to play for an Olympic medal if he was selected to the national team roster. With his ankle surgery, however, the decision was taken from his and USA Basketball's hands. He was told that he will be not permitted to even begin running until after July 4. He does not expect to be ready to compete for a roster spot until it would be too late.

"There is a (USA Basketball) mini-camp the last weekend in June," Battier said. "If you can't play in the mini-camp, you probably can't make the team, so that probably means the decision has been made.

"It's disappointing. At the same time, I was honored to be considered. I feel good about what USA Basketball has done. I think they'll be a great team and win the gold medal. That's what I wanted to do and I'm honored to have been a part of it."

Battier, 29, said he does not plan to play internationally in other events.

"I think I will move on," Battier said. "It was a great experience for me. But with my family and my off-court commitment growing, they will get my undivided attention."

--The Rockets have sounded determined to treat their greatest issue -- their ability to stay healthy -- and will address their roster with that in mind, rather than to pursue widespread changes.

"I just feel we have a really strong nucleus," Rockets coach Rick Adelman said. "You get Yao (Ming) back, with Tracy (McGrady) and the young players we have, our core group is really good.

"I like our team. I like our chances with the stars we have and the guys around them. You add a couple pieces, and we'll be right there."

--Neither Rockets coach Rick Adelman nor general manager Daryl Morey is concerned about C Yao Ming coming back to play in the Olympics. Yao plans to return to China in early June, once cleared by Rockets' team doctors for practices.

"We're going to be looking at him before he goes," Adelman said. "Hopefully, he'll be on the floor actually playing basketball during that time frame before he goes. I think by the time he goes there, he should be ready to go."

QUOTE TO NOTE
"If you look at the roster right now, we have to find somebody -- one or two people -- that can play behind Tracy (McGrady) and Shane (Battier) and with some size. That's really what we need, because we were really pretty undersized after those two guys." -- Coach Rick Adelman.

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