Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle writes that, much of this ealy season, Rudy Tomjanovich has used to tweak his playbook.  With all the injuries and changing starting lineups, plus the effect legalized zone defenses have had on the game, the Rockets have needed some new wrinkles to improve the offense.  So, they have been looking at ways to employ isolation plays in a zone context, getting Francis and Mobley the ball in an area where it is dangerous to throw a double-team.

Featured prominently, writes Feigen, has been isolation at the elbow, more pick-and-rolls and more weakside movement to open up shooters inside the 3-point line.  But Tomjanovich always tries to leave the lane open for his scorers to slash.

The constant tweaking has cost the Rockets in the short-term, sometimes causing some offensive confusion that eats up time on the shot clock.  But, the players and coaches feel it will be good in the long-term and it gives them some hope for the future.