| 2008–09 Houston Rockets season | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Head coach | Rick Adelman | ||
| General manager | Daryl Morey | ||
| Owners | Leslie Alexander | ||
| Arena | Toyota Center | ||
| Results | |||
| Record | 53–29 (.646) | ||
| Place | Division: 2nd (Southwest) Conference: 5th (Western) | ||
| Playoff finish | Conference Semifinals (lost toLakers 3–4) | ||
Stats atBasketball Reference | |||
| Local media | |||
| Television | My Network TV Houston,FSN Houston | ||
| Radio | Sports Radio 610 | ||
| |||
The2008–09 Houston Rockets season was the 42nd season of the franchise in theNational Basketball Association (NBA). Despite a season-ending knee injury toTracy McGrady, the Rockets breezed past thePortland Trail Blazers in the first round, but could not defeat theLos 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 acquiredRon Artest (now Metta World Peace). Following the season, Artest signed as a free agent with theLakers. The Rockets would not return to the postseason until2013.
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 25 | Nicolas Batum | SF |  France | Le Mans Sarthe Basket |
| 2 | 54 | Maarty Leunen | SF |  United States | Oregon |
| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Head coach Assistant(s)
Legend
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| 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 |
| # | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | Memphis Grizzlies | 24 | 58 | .293 | 41 |
| 12 | Minnesota Timberwolves | 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 |
| 2009 playoff game log | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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First Round: 4–2 (home: 3–0; road: 1–2)
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Conference Semifinals: 3–4 (home: 2–1; road: 1–3)
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| 2009 schedule | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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 |
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luis Scola | 82 | 82 | 30.3 | .531 | .000 | .760 | 8.8 | 1.5 | .8 | .1 | 12.7 |
| Aaron Brooks | 80 | 35 | 25.0 | .404 | .366 | .866 | 2.0 | 3.0 | .6 | .1 | 11.2 |
| Yao Ming | 77 | 77 | 33.6 | .548 | 1.000 | .866 | 9.9 | 1.8 | .4 | 1.9 | 19.7 |
| Chuck Hayes | 71 | 1 | 12.1 | .372 | .000 | .368 | 3.5 | .6 | .5 | .3 | 1.3 |
| Metta Sandiford-Artest | 69 | 55 | 35.5 | .401 | .399 | .748 | 5.2 | 3.3 | 1.5 | .3 | 17.1 |
| Carl Landry | 69 | 0 | 21.3 | .574 | .333 | .813 | 5.0 | .6 | .4 | .4 | 9.2 |
| Von Wafer | 63 | 11 | 19.4 | .447 | .390 | .752 | 1.8 | 1.1 | .6 | .1 | 9.7 |
| Shane Battier | 60 | 59 | 33.9 | .410 | .384 | .821 | 4.8 | 2.3 | .8 | .9 | 7.3 |
| Brent Barry | 56 | 1 | 15.3 | .407 | .374 | .950 | 1.7 | 1.4 | .4 | .1 | 3.7 |
| Rafer Alston† | 48 | 48 | 33.1 | .370 | .348 | .789 | 3.0 | 5.4 | 1.2 | .1 | 11.5 |
| Tracy McGrady | 35 | 35 | 33.7 | .388 | .376 | .801 | 4.4 | 5.0 | 1.2 | .4 | 15.6 |
| Kyle Lowry† | 28 | 0 | 21.7 | .475 | .276 | .800 | 2.8 | 3.5 | .8 | .3 | 7.6 |
| Luther Head† | 22 | 4 | 14.6 | .386 | .368 | .875 | 1.2 | 1.6 | .3 | .0 | 4.8 |
| Dikembe Mutombo | 9 | 2 | 10.7 | .385 | .667 | 3.7 | .0 | .0 | 1.2 | 1.8 | |
| Brian Cook† | 9 | 0 | 2.8 | .313 | .400 | .6 | .1 | .0 | .3 | 1.3 | |
| James White | 4 | 0 | 2.8 | .600 | .500 | .0 | .3 | .3 | .3 | 1.8 | |
| Joey Dorsey | 3 | 0 | 2.0 | .500 | .3 | .3 | .0 | .0 | .7 |
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shane Battier | 13 | 13 | 38.2 | .407 | .315 | .957 | 4.9 | 2.4 | 1.1 | .7 | 8.1 |
| Metta Sandiford-Artest | 13 | 13 | 37.5 | .394 | .277 | .714 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 1.1 | .2 | 15.6 |
| Aaron Brooks | 13 | 13 | 34.2 | .453 | .422 | .804 | 2.6 | 3.4 | .4 | .2 | 16.8 |
| Luis Scola | 13 | 13 | 32.6 | .494 | .673 | 8.4 | 1.8 | .5 | .2 | 14.4 | |
| Chuck Hayes | 13 | 4 | 13.3 | .476 | .000 | 3.0 | .8 | 1.0 | .2 | 1.5 | |
| Kyle Lowry | 13 | 0 | 19.5 | .333 | .250 | .742 | 2.9 | 2.5 | .9 | .1 | 5.3 |
| Carl Landry | 13 | 0 | 18.5 | .557 | .000 | .576 | 3.9 | .2 | .3 | .4 | 7.5 |
| Von Wafer | 13 | 0 | 13.9 | .424 | .409 | .864 | .9 | .7 | .2 | .1 | 8.2 |
| Yao Ming | 9 | 9 | 35.9 | .545 | .902 | 10.9 | 1.0 | .4 | 1.2 | 17.1 | |
| Brian Cook | 6 | 0 | 5.3 | .267 | .222 | 2.0 | .5 | .3 | .2 | 1.7 | |
| James White | 5 | 0 | 2.4 | .333 | .500 | .2 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 1.4 | |
| Brent Barry | 4 | 0 | 8.8 | .500 | .375 | 1.0 | .8 | .5 | .0 | 3.3 | |
| Dikembe Mutombo | 2 | 0 | 10.0 | .000 | 4.5 | .0 | .5 | 1.0 | .0 |
| June 26,2008 | ToHouston Rockets The28th pick in the 2008 NBA draft (Donté Greene) and The33rd pick in the 2008 NBA draft (Joey Dorsey) | ToPortland Trail Blazers The25th pick in the 2008 NBA draft (Nicolas Batum) | ToMemphis Grizzlies The27th pick in the 2008 NBA draft (Darrell Arthur) |
| August 6,2008 | ToHouston Rockets Option to exchange 2nd round picks withClippers in 2011 | ToLos Angeles Clippers Steve Novak | |
| August 14,2008 | ToHouston Rockets Ron Artest,[citation needed]Patrick Ewing Jr.,Sean Singletary | ToSacramento Kings Bobby Jackson,Donté Greene, 1st round pick for2009 | |
| August 25,2008 | ToHouston Rockets D. J. Strawberry | ToPhoenix Suns Sean Singletary | |
| August 29,2008 | ToHouston Rockets Draft rights toFrédéric Weis | ToNew York Knicks Patrick Ewing Jr. | |
| December 24,2008 | ToHouston Rockets Conditional Draft Pick in 2011 | ToMemphis Grizzlies Steve Francis, 2009 NBA Draft Pick | |
| December 24,2008 | ToHouston Rockets Kyle Lowry,Brian Cook | ToMemphis Grizzlies Adonal Foyle,Mike Wilks, NBA 1st Round Pick | ToOrlando Magic Rafer Alston, |
Additions[edit]
| Subtractions[edit]
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