2008–09 Houston Rockets season

2008–09 Houston Rockets season
Dikembe Mutombo`s final season
Head coach	Rick Adelman
General manager	Daryl Morey
Owner(s)	Leslie Alexander
Arena	Toyota Center
Results
Record	53–29 (.646)
Place	Division: 2nd (Southwest) Conference: 5th (Western)
Playoff finish	Lost Conference Semifinals
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	My Network TV Houston, FSN Houston
Radio	Sports Radio 610

The 2008–09 Houston Rockets season was the 42nd season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Despite a season-ending knee injury to Tracy McGrady, the Rockets breezed past the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round, but could not defeat the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round. Dikembe Mutombo, who entered his 18th and final season, was injured in Game 2 of the first round and announced his retirement, ending his 18-year NBA career. Besides losing Mutombo, Yao Ming missed most of the second round due to a foot injury that required off-season surgery. Before the season, the team acquired Ron Artest (now Metta World Peace), who was known for his violent temper. Following the season, Artest signed as a free agent with the Lakers. The Rockets would not return to the postseason until 2013.

Key dates

• June 26: The 2008 NBA draft will take place in New York City.
• July 1: The free agency period will start.
• August 14: Ron Artest is acquired by trade from the Sacramento Kings .

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	25	Nicolas Batum	SF	France	Le Mans Sarthe Basket
2	54	Maarty Leunen	SF	United States	Oregon

Roster

Houston Rockets roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From G/F 96 Artest, Ron 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 260 lb (118 kg) St. John's G/F 17 Barry, Brent 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Oregon State F 31 Battier, Shane 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Duke G 0 Brooks, Aaron 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 161 lb (73 kg) Oregon F 43 Cook, Brian 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Illinois F/C 15 Dorsey, Joey 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 268 lb (122 kg) Memphis F 44 Hayes, Chuck 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 238 lb (108 kg) Kentucky F/C 14 Landry, Carl 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 248 lb (112 kg) Purdue G 7 Lowry, Kyle 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Villanova G/F 1 McGrady, Tracy  6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 223 lb (101 kg) Mt. Zion Christian Academy (NC) C 55 Mutombo, Dikembe  7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 260 lb (118 kg) Georgetown F/C 4 Scola, Luis 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Argentina G 13 Wafer, Von 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Florida State G/F 8 White, James 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Cincinnati C 11 Yao Ming  (C) 7 ft 6 in (2.29 m) 310 lb (141 kg) People's Republic of China	Head coach Rick Adelman (Loyola Marymount) Assistant coach(es) Elston Turner (Mississippi) Jack Sikma (Illinois Wesleyan) T. R. Dunn (Alabama) R.J. Adelman (Willamette) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Regular season

Standings

Southwest Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-San Antonio Spurs	54	28	.659	—	28–13	26–15	10–6
x-Houston Rockets	53	29	.646	1	33–8	20–21	9–7
x-Dallas Mavericks	50	32	.610	4	32–9	18–23	7–9
x-New Orleans Hornets	49	33	.598	5	28–13	21–20	9–7
Memphis Grizzlies	24	58	.284	30	16–25	8–33	5–11

#	Western Conference
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	c-Los Angeles Lakers	65	17	.793	—
2	y-Denver Nuggets	54	28	.659	11
3	y-San Antonio Spurs	54	28	.659	11
4	x-Portland Trail Blazers	54	28	.659	11
5	x-Houston Rockets	53	29	.646	12
6	x-Dallas Mavericks	50	32	.610	15
7	x-New Orleans Hornets	49	33	.598	16
8	x-Utah Jazz	48	34	.585	17
9	Phoenix Suns	46	36	.561	19
10	Golden State Warriors	29	53	.354	36
11	Minnesota Timberwolves	24	58	.293	41
12	Memphis Grizzlies	24	58	.293	41
13	Oklahoma City Thunder	23	59	.280	42
14	Los Angeles Clippers	19	63	.232	46
15	Sacramento Kings	17	65	.207	48

Game log

2008–09 game log
October: 2–0 (Home: 1–0; Road: 1–0) Game Date Time Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 October 29 Memphis W 82–71 Yao Ming (21) Luis Scola (13) Tracy McGrady (5) Toyota Center 18,196 1–0 2 October 30 @ Dallas W 112–102 Yao Ming (30) Yao Ming (13) Tracy McGrady (7) American Airlines Center 20,066 2–0
November: 9–7 (Home: 3–3; Road: 6–4) Game Date Time Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 3 November 1 Oklahoma City W 89–77 Tracy McGrady (22) Carl Landry, Yao Ming (11) Tracy McGrady (5) Toyota Center 16,996 3–0 4 November 4 Boston L 99–103 Tracy McGrady (26) Luis Scola (9) Rafer Alston (7) Toyota Center 18,291 3–1 5 November 6 @ Portland L 99–101 (OT) Tracy McGrady (30) Tracy McGrady, Chuck Hayes (7) Tracy McGrady (8) Rose Garden 20,611 3–2 6 November 7 @ L.A. Clippers W 92–83 Ron Artest (23) Carl Landry, Yao Ming (9) Rafer Alston (8) Staples Center 14,670 4–2 7 November 9 @ L.A. Lakers L 82–111 Aaron Brooks (20) Luis Scola (9) Aaron Brooks, Tracy McGrady (4) Staples Center 18,997 4–3 8 November 12 @ Phoenix W 94–82 Tracy McGrady (27) Yao Ming (15) Rafer Alston (4) US Airways Center 18,422 5–3 9 November 14 @ San Antonio L 75–77 Ron Artest (18) Aaron Brooks, Yao Ming (8) Tracy McGrady (5) AT&T Center 18,797 5–4 10 November 15 New Orleans W 91–82 Yao Ming (21) Luis Scola (10) Ron Artest (7) Toyota Center 18,303 6–4 11 November 17 @ Oklahoma City W 100–89 Luis Scola (23) Yao Ming (12) Aaron Brooks (4) Ford Center 18,145 7–4 12 November 19 Dallas L 86–96 Rafer Alston, Tracy McGrady (16) Ron Artest (13) Rafer Alston (8) Toyota Center 18,203 7–5 13 November 21 @ Washington W 103–91 Tracy McGrady (20) Ron Artest (9) Ron Artest (6) Verizon Center 20,173 8–5 14 November 22 @ Orlando W 100–95 Yao Ming (22) Yao Ming (13) Rafer Alston (7) Amway Arena 17,461 9–5 15 November 24 @ Miami W 107–98 Yao Ming (28) Luis Scola (13) Yao Ming, Tracy McGrady (4) American Airlines Arena 18,704 10–5 16 November 26 Indiana L 90–91 Ron Artest, Yao Ming (19) Luis Scola (18) Rafer Alston (7) Toyota Center 18,194 10–6 17 November 29 San Antonio W 103–84 Luther Head (21) Ron Artest (8) Rafer Alston (6) Toyota Center 18,282 11–6 18 November 30 @ Denver L 94–104 Yao Ming (18) Yao Ming (11) Rafer Alston (6) Pepsi Center 17,201 11–7
December: 10–5 (Home: 7–1; Road: 3–4) Game Date Time Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 19 December 3 L.A. Clippers W 103–96 Yao Ming (24) Yao Ming (10) Rafer Alston (7) Toyota Center 15,358 12–7 20 December 5 Golden State W 131–112 Yao Ming (33) Yao Ming (14) Yao Ming, Ron Artest (5) Toyota Center 14,438 13–7 21 December 8 @ Memphis L 97–109 Luis Scola, Rafer Alston (16) Luis Scola (15) Rafer Alston (8) FedExForum 10,691 13–8 22 December 9 Atlanta W 92–84 Yao Ming (24) Yao Ming (19) Rafer Alston (6) Toyota Center 16,439 14–8 23 December 12 @ Golden State W 119–108 Tracy McGrady (24) Yao Ming (14) Tracy McGrady (9) Oracle Arena 19,276 15–8 24 December 13 @ L.A. Clippers L 82–95 Yao Ming (24) Yao Ming (13) Rafer Alston (7) Staples Center 16,203 15–9 25 December 16 Denver W 108–96 Yao Ming (32) Tracy McGrady (14) Tracy McGrady (10) Toyota Center 17,737 16–9 26 December 19 Sacramento W 107–96 Yao Ming (30) Carl Landry (11) Tracy McGrady (8) Toyota Center 18,271 17–9 27 December 20 @ Minnesota W 109–102 Tracy McGrady (23) Aaron Brooks, Chuck Hayes (10) Tracy McGrady, Aaron Brooks (5) Target Center 12,115 18–9 28 December 22 @ New Jersey W 114–91 Yao Ming (24) Yao Ming (16) Aaron Brooks (6) Izod Center 16,303 19–9 29 December 23 @ Cleveland L 90–99 Rafer Alston (20) Luis Scola (8) Tracy McGrady (6) Quicken Loans Arena 20,562 19–10 30 December 26 @ New Orleans L 79–88 Yao Ming (19) Yao Ming (12) Tracy McGrady (4) New Orleans Arena 18,326 19–11 31 December 27 Utah W 120–115 (2OT) Ron Artest (28) Luis Scola (14) Ron Artest, Luis Scola (4) Toyota Center 18,245 20–11 32 December 29 Washington L 87–89 Ron Artest (20) Yao Ming (8) Tracy McGrady (7) Toyota Center 18,278 20–12 33 December 31 Milwaukee W 85–81 Yao Ming (22) Yao Ming, Luis Scola (10) Tracy McGrady (10) Toyota Center 18,228 21–12
January: 8–7 (Home: 5–2; Road: 3–5) Game Date Time Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 34 January 2 @ Toronto L 73–94 Von Wafer (18) Luis Scola (13) Rafer Alston (4) Air Canada Centre 19,800 21–13 35 January 3 @ Atlanta L 100–103 Carl Landry (18) Yao Ming (15) Rafer Alston (9) Philips Arena 16,740 21–14 36 January 6 @ Philadelphia L 96–104 Luis Scola (18) Luis Scola (17) Tracy McGrady (9) Wachovia Center 14,858 21–15 37 January 7 @ Boston W 89–85 Yao Ming (26) Yao Ming, Chuck Hayes (8) Yao Ming, Aaron Brooks, Ron Artest (4) TD Banknorth Garden 18,624 22–15 38 January 9 @ Oklahoma City W 98–96 Tracy McGrady (26) Yao Ming (7) Rafer Alston (6) Ford Center 19,136 23–15 39 January 10 New York W 96–76 Luis Scola (18) Luis Scola (11) Rafer Alston (6) Toyota Center 18,280 24–15 40 January 13 L.A. Lakers L 100–105 Von Wafer (23) Yao Ming (17) Rafer Alston (6) Toyota Center 18,557 24–16 41 January 17 Miami W 93–86 Yao Ming (26) Yao Ming (10) Shane Battier (6) Toyota Center 18,369 25–16 42 January 19 Denver W 115–113 Yao Ming (31) Luis Scola (8) Rafer Alston (11) Toyota Center 18,199 26–16 43 January 21 Utah W 108–99 Rafer Alston (23) Yao Ming (12) Rafer Alston (8) Toyota Center 17,037 27–16 44 January 23 @ Indiana L 102–107 Luis Scola (25) Shane Battier (12) Rafer Alston (8) Conseco Fieldhouse 14,486 27–17 45 January 25 @ Detroit W 108–105 Ron Artest (24) Ron Artest (9) Rafer Alston (10) The Palace of Auburn Hills 22,076 28–17 46 January 26 @ New York L 98–104 Tracy McGrady (20) Luis Scola (14) Tracy McGrady (6) Madison Square Garden 19,155 28–18 47 January 28 Philadelphia L 93–95 Tracy McGrady (24) Luis Scola (10) Rafer Alston (9) Toyota Center 15,544 28–19 48 January 31 Golden State W 110–93 Ron Artest (27) Yao Ming (11) Aaron Brooks (9) Toyota Center 16,702 29–19
February: 8–3 (Home: 8–0; Road: 0–3) Game Date Time Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 49 February 3 Chicago W 107–100 Yao Ming (28) Luis Scola (18) Tracy McGrady, Ron Artest (6) Toyota Center 16,653 30–19 50 February 4 @ Memphis L 93–104 Tracy McGrady (21) Yao Ming (9) Rafer Alston (6) FedExForum 10,109 30–20 51 February 7 Minnesota W 107–90 Yao Ming (30) Luis Scola (10) Rafer Alston, Ron Artest, Shane Battier (6) Toyota Center 16,815 31–20 52 February 9 @ Milwaukee L 112–124 Aaron Brooks (23) Yao Ming (10) Tracy McGrady (5) Bradley Center 13,904 31–21 53 February 11 Sacramento W 94–82 Yao Ming (24) Yao Ming (18) Rafer Alston (13) Toyota Center 15,626 32–21 54 February 17 New Jersey W 114–88 Yao Ming (20) Yao Ming (12) Rafer Alston (11) Toyota Center 14,921 33–21 55 February 20 Dallas W 93–86 Yao Ming (22) Luis Scola (15) Aaron Brooks (8) Toyota Center 18,195 34–21 56 February 22 Charlotte W 99–78 Ron Artest (26) Luis Scola (10) Shane Battier (5) Toyota Center 17,124 35–21 57 February 24 Portland W 98–94 Ron Artest (21) Luis Scola (11) Ron Artest (5) Toyota Center 17,515 36–21 58 February 26 Cleveland W 93–74 Yao Ming (28) Luis Scola (9) Kyle Lowry, Aaron Brooks (7) Toyota Center 18,399 37–21 59 February 28 @ Chicago L 102–105 Ron Artest (32) Luis Scola (12) Aaron Brooks (7) United Center 22,394 37–22
March: 11–4 (Home: 6–2; Road: 5–2) Game Date Time Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 60 March 1 @ Minnesota W 105–94 Ron Artest (23) Yao Ming, Luis Scola (11) Aaron Brooks (10) Target Center 13,716 38–22 61 March 3 Toronto W 107–97 Carl Landry (22) Luis Scola (16) Ron Artest, Aaron Brooks (5) Toyota Center 16,291 39–22 62 March 4 @ Utah L 94–101 Ron Artest (25) Yao Ming (7) Yao Ming (6) EnergySolutions Arena 19,911 39–23 63 March 6 Phoenix W 116–112 Aaron Brooks (30) Yao Ming (13) Yao Ming (6) Toyota Center 18,045 40–23 64 March 8 Memphis W 93–83 Yao Ming (24) Yao Ming (17) Kyle Lowry (9) Toyota Center 16,179 41–23 65 March 9 @ Denver W 97–95 Ron Artest (22) Luis Scola (15) Kyle Lowry (5) Pepsi Center 16,020 42–23 66 March 11 L.A. Lakers L 96–102 Von Wafer (20) Luis Scola (9) Kyle Lowry (5) Toyota Center 18,449 42–24 67 March 13 @ Charlotte W 91–86 Yao Ming (23) Yao Ming (8) Ron Artest, Shane Battier (4) Time Warner Cable Arena 16,809 43–24 68 March 14 San Antonio L 85–88 Ron Artest (21) Yao Ming (11) Shane Battier (4) Toyota Center 18,300 43–25 69 March 16 @ New Orleans W 95–84 Ron Artest (18) Luis Scola (12) Ron Artest, Von Wafer (5) New Orleans Arena 17,723 44–25 70 March 18 Detroit W 106–101 (2OT) Yao Ming (31) Yao Ming (15) Shane Battier (5) Toyota Center 18,275 45–25 71 March 20 Minnesota W 107–88 Ron Artest (20) Luis Scola (9) Ron Artest (6) Toyota Center 17,456 46–25 72 March 22 @ San Antonio W 87–85 Ron Artest (24) Luis Scola (17) Luis Scola (4) AT&T Center 18,797 47–25 73 March 24 @ Utah L 86–99 Aaron Brooks (20) Yao Ming (13) Ron Artest (7) EnergySolutions Arena 19,911 47–26 74 March 28 L.A. Clippers W 110–93 Aaron Brooks, Yao Ming (21) Yao Ming (15) Kyle Lowry, Shane Battier (4) Toyota Center 18,267 48–26
April: 5–3 (Home: 3–0; Road: 2–3) Game Date Time Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 75 April 1 @ Phoenix L 109–114 Ron Artest (28) Yao Ming (14) Aaron Brooks (5) US Airways Center 18,422 48–27 76 April 3 @ L.A. Lakers L 81–93 Ron Artest (21) Yao Ming (10) Aaron Brooks (6) Staples Center 18,997 48–28 77 April 5 Portland W 102–88 Yao Ming (21) Yao Ming (12) Kyle Lowry (6) Toyota Center 18,214 49–28 78 April 7 Orlando W 93–83 Yao Ming (20) Yao Ming (16) Ron Artest (7) Toyota Center 18,389 50–28 79 April 9 @ Sacramento W 115–98 Ron Artest (26) Yao Ming (9) Von Wafer, Aaron Brooks, Ron Artest, Yao Ming (3) ARCO Arena 12,897 51–28 80 April 10 @ Golden State W 113–109 Luis Scola (28) Dikembe Mutombo (15) Ron Artest (6) Oracle Arena 19,596 52–28 81 April 13 New Orleans W 86–66 Yao Ming (22) Luis Scola (15) Ron Artest (5) Toyota Center 18,409 53–28 82 April 15 @ Dallas L 84–95 Yao Ming (23) Yao Ming (9) Kyle Lowry, Ron Artest (5) American Airlines Center 20,350 53–29
2015–16 season schedule

Playoffs

ESPN

April 18

1

Houston Rockets 108, Portland Trail Blazers 81

Rose Garden, Portland

NBATV

April 21

2

Houston Rockets 103, Portland Trail Blazers 107

Rose Garden, Portland

ESPN

April 24

3

Houston Rockets 86, Portland Trail Blazers 83

Toyota Center, Houston

TNT

April 26

4

Houston Rockets 89, Portland Trail Blazers 88

Toyota Center, Houston

NBATV

April 28

5

Houston Rockets 77, Portland Trail Blazers 88

Rose Garden, Portland

TNT

April 30

6

Houston Rockets 92, Portland Trail Blazers 76

Toyota Center, Houston

TNT

May 4

1

Houston Rockets 100, Los Angeles Lakers 92

Staples Center, Los Angeles

TNT

May 6

2

Houston Rockets 98, Los Angeles Lakers 111

Staples Center, Los Angeles

ESPN

May 8

3

Houston Rockets 94, Los Angeles Lakers 108

Toyota Center, Houston

ABC

May 10

4

Houston Rockets 99, Los Angeles Lakers 87

Toyota Center, Houston

TNT

May 12

5

Houston Rockets 78, Los Angeles Lakers 118

Staples Center, Los Angeles

ESPN

May 14

6

Houston Rockets 95, Los Angeles Lakers 80

Toyota Center, Houston

ABC

May 17

7

Houston Rockets 70, Los Angeles Lakers 89

Staples Center, Los Angeles

Player statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Source:	[1]

Season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Rafer Alston	11	11	31.5	.360	.244	.864	2.9	4.5	1.0	0.1	9.3
Ron Artest	13	13	39.1	.354	.371	.679	6.4	2.8	1.9	0.5	14.4
Brent Barry	11	0	19.3	.281	.217	1.000	1.6	1.1	0.4	0.0	2.6
Shane Battier
Aaron Brooks	12	2	23.2	.442	.409	.897	2.5	2.2	0.3	0.1	12.0
Joey Dorsey	1	0	2.0	.000	.000	.000	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Steve Francis
Chuck Hayes	13	1	16.2	.385	.000	.333	4.2	0.5	0.3	0.5	1.7
Luther Head	4	0	14.5	.316	.333	1.000	0.8	1.0	0.0	1.0	4.8
Carl Landry	13	0	19.7	.547	.000	.903	5.2	1.0	0.3	0.1	8.5
Tracy McGrady	13	13	33.3	.408	.395	.806	4.2	4.2	1.3	0.3	16.2
Luis Scola	13	13	26.8	.504	.000	.926	6.8	0.8	1.1	0.1	11.8
Von Wafer	5	0	14.0	.346	.455	.000	2.4	0.4	0.4	0.0	4.6
Yao Ming	12	12	35.3	.514	.000	.831	9.2	1.1	0.3	1.6	17.0

Awards and records

Awards

• Dikembe Mutombo, J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award
• Yao Ming, All-NBA Second Team
• Shane Battier, NBA All-Defensive Second Team
• Ron Artest, NBA All-Defensive Second Team

Transactions

Trades

June 26, 2008	To Houston Rockets The 28th pick in the 2008 NBA draft (Donte Greene) and The 33rd pick in the 2008 NBA draft (Joey Dorsey)	To Portland Trail Blazers The 25th pick in the 2008 NBA draft (Nicolas Batum)	To Memphis Grizzlies The 27th pick in the 2008 NBA draft (Darrell Arthur)

August 6, 2008	To Houston Rockets Option to exchange 2nd round picks with Clippers in 2011	To Los Angeles Clippers Steve Novak
August 14, 2008	To Houston Rockets Ron Artest,[2] Patrick Ewing Jr., Sean Singletary	To Sacramento Kings Bobby Jackson, Donte Greene, 1st round pick for 2009
August 25, 2008	To Houston Rockets D.J. Strawberry	To Phoenix Suns Sean Singletary
August 29, 2008	To Houston Rockets Draft rights to Frédéric Weis	To New York Knicks Patrick Ewing Jr.
December 24, 2008	To Houston Rockets Conditional Draft Pick in 2011	To Memphis Grizzlies Steve Francis, 2009 NBA Draft Pick
December 24, 2008	To Houston Rockets Kyle Lowry, Brian Cook	To Memphis Grizzlies Adonal Foyle, Mike Wilks, NBA 1st Round Pick	To Orlando Magic Rafer Alston,

Free agents

Additions Player Signed Former team Brent Barry July 10 San Antonio Spurs

Subtractions Player Left New team Loren Woods July 16 Žalgiris Kaunas

References

1. "Roster and Statistics". Basketball-Reference.
2. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Basketball/NBA/2008/08/14/6454811-ap.html