The Rockets would like to think that staying healthy was their only problem. It wasn't.

It was the biggest problem. Though they kept winning for a while after Yao Ming was lost for the season, stretching their winning streak from 12 to 22 games, they were never the same and usually missed him desperately.

Though Tracy McGrady did not miss a game with the back problems that plagued his first three seasons in Houston, he did miss 16 games with a knee condition that flared up in the playoffs. Rafer Alston, remarkably durable in his first two seasons with the Rockets, had three injuries in the last month of the season. He began the playoff series on the bench with a pulled hamstring and ended it on the bench with a sprained ankle.

As Rockets officials evaluate their team and the moves needed, they will envision their team with Yao and McGrady healthy, if only because they have little choice.

General manager Daryl Morey has made it clear the intention is to continue to build around the Yao-McGrady tandem. Shane Battier's value is considered as great as ever, with the qualities -- determination, professionalism, resilience, fortitude -- they consider their best.

But the Rockets also seem to have enormous holes at several positions.

They tried to replace Rafer Alston last offseason, trading for Mike James, drafting Aaron Brooks and signing Steve Francis. Alston beat them all out and became indispensable. But the Rockets still needed another point guard and traded for Bobby Jackson, and they then were badly outplayed at the position by Deron Williams in the Utah series.

They had little at the backup two-three spot, where undersized Luther Head was unable to develop a game around his long-range shooting and coach Rick Adelman was unwilling to play sharpshooter Steve Novak in most defensive matchups.

At center, Dikembe Mutombo is 41 and considering retirement.

All of that would look much better if Yao and McGrady could stay healthy. But as much as the Rockets think of themselves as the team with their stars, they also know their stars were not enough.

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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