Three weeks and three starting power forwards later, the most pressing question the Rockets brought to training camp has no answer.

That might have been too much to expect so quickly, particularly with eight days of travel and nearly a week of post-travel daze dropped into the middle of the preseason. But as the Rockets head into their final week of tuneups, the search for someone to grab the position has no end in sight.

Last season's rookies - Terrence Jones and Donatas Motiejunas - continue to show promise offensively, but neither appears ready on the other end to be trusted with the job.

The Rockets remain hopeful about both. They plan to pick up their contract options for the third season of their rookie deals this month, a person with knowledge of the team's plans said. But the Rockets don't appear ready to put either in the position, trying Omri Casspi as the starter against Orlando on Wednesday in an indication the starting spot is up for grabs.

"Eventually somebody will (take it)," coach Kevin McHale said. "We have a lot of guys who have a lot of different skills. They'll determine that. It may not be determined until the regular season starts and we start getting in some games. Still, eventually, someone will settle in to that."

A wide-ranging option

More Information Rockets update Wednesday: Rockets 108, Magic 104. Preseason record: 3-1. Monday: Dallas at Toyota Center, 7 p.m. TV/radio: CSNH; 790 AM.

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Casspi has played well, giving the Rockets the shooting range at the position they got from Carlos Delfino last season. Through four preseason games, he is averaging 14 points on 61.1 percent shooting and 6.8 rebounds. There are questions about Casspi's ability to defend inside, particularly against low-post muscle, but Casspi said that in those matchups he can front in the low post with the knowledge Dwight Howard or Omer Asik will be behind him.

"It's my first two, three weeks playing power forward, and I'm loving every second of it," Casspi said. "I'm still adjusting defensively. We have so many good help-side defenders like Dwight and Omer. They're going to help me. It makes everything a lot easier."

McHale has said he wants to see if Casspi could step into Delfino's role as a range-shooting power forward, but Delfino's role was never to be the starter.

Saturday's practice moved the Rockets back to the experiment of playing Howard and Asik together, an option that appears to have become an idea McHale seems to embrace despite potential spacing issues that could threaten the dribble penetration of James Harden and Jeremy Lin and the low-post options of Howard.

"Last year Greg (Smith) and Omer did a nice job working together," McHale said. "It didn't bog down the offense not having a stretch four. I'm hoping Omer and Dwight can do the same thing. One of the two is going to have to get out and guard those hard guys to guard on the perimeter."

Defensive drawback

Even if the Rockets, the top-scoring team in the preseason, work things out offensively, there could be questions defensively, the purported strength of a Howard-Asik pairing.

With Asik and Howard on the floor, the Rockets should own the lane defensively, and that could strengthen a potent fast break. But the Rockets' revised pick-and-roll defensive schemes keep defenders in the corners, usually requiring the power forward to help from the 3-point shooter to the free-throw line.

They did not sign Howard to have him 24 feet from the basket or closing out on pick-and-pop shooters, but that likely will become a large part of the job if he and Asik start together.

"It's something I've got to get used to again," Howard said despite a long-held preference to protect the lane. "I did it for a while back in Orlando. It's nothing too hard."

Barring nights off, the remaining three dress rehearsals before the season opener pit the Rockets against Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki, San Antonio's Tim Duncan and Memphis' Zach Randolph.

That schedule should offer good tests, but McHale said he would not mind if he goes into the season with different lineups for different opponents and was not concerned that no one has claimed the job.

That might have been too much to expect of either second-year power forward, given how little each played last season and how much of a rush the preseason has been.

But with just 10 days until the opener, a coach who was one of the NBA's great power forwards is trying to find one who will suffice.