2007–08 Houston Rockets season
Encyclopedia
The 2007-08
Houston Rockets
season was their 41st season in the National Basketball Association and 37th in Houston. The Rockets won at least 50 games for the second straight season and made the playoffs also on the back of a 22 game winning streak, the second longest in the history of the NBA. The Houston Rockets came into the 2007-2008 playoffs without Yao Ming, who was still injured. This injury contributed to the Rockets' elimination by the Utah Jazz in the first round (2-4).
Key dates prior to the start of the season:
in New York, New York
.
In addition, Carl Landry
was drafted as the 31st overall pick by the Seattle SuperSonics
with the first pick in the 2nd round. He was traded to the Rockets for a future second round pick.
* Total for entire season including previous team(s)
, the Rockets have won 22 consecutive games. The streak came to an end against the Boston
Celtics. The streak is the second longest winning streak in NBA history.
Houston will begin the 2007-08 season with recently hired Rick Adelman
as the team's 11th head coach.
Less than a week later, Scola signed with the Rockets.
On July 20 guard Steve Francis
signed a 2 year deal with the Rockets, after he accepted a buyout of the last two seasons of his contract, worth roughly $30 million from the Portland Trail Blazers
. He is expected to compete for a starting job with Mike James
and Rafer Alston
On June 14, the Rockets traded Juwan Howard
to the Minnesota Timberwolves
for Mike James
and Justin Reed
.
On July 12 guard Vassilis Spanoulis
was traded to the San Antonio Spurs
along with the rights for the 2009 second-round draft pick, for center Jackie Butler
and the rights to Luis Scola
a 2002 second-round draft pick, yet to play in the NBA. 24 Hours after this deal was made, Scola came to a "Basic Agreement" which could see him playing for the Rockets next season.
, while the rest are dark varnished wood. The color red
will remain on the Rockets logo, and the script. This court design is similar to the Cleveland Cavaliers
, New Orleans Hornets, Phoenix Suns
, and Portland Trail Blazers
in which most of the hardwood is exposed.
2007-08 NBA season
The 2007–08 NBA season was the 62nd season of the National Basketball Association. The 1,230-game regular season began on Tuesday, October 30, 2007, and ended on Wednesday, April 16, 2008...
Houston Rockets
Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston, Texas. The team plays in the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was established in 1967, and played in San Diego, California for four years, before being...
season was their 41st season in the National Basketball Association and 37th in Houston. The Rockets won at least 50 games for the second straight season and made the playoffs also on the back of a 22 game winning streak, the second longest in the history of the NBA. The Houston Rockets came into the 2007-2008 playoffs without Yao Ming, who was still injured. This injury contributed to the Rockets' elimination by the Utah Jazz in the first round (2-4).
Key dates prior to the start of the season:
- The 2007 NBA Draft2007 NBA DraftThe 2007 NBA Draft was held on June 28, 2007 at the WaMu Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. It was broadcast on television in 115 countries. In this draft, National Basketball Association teams took turns selecting amateur U.S...
took place in New York City, New York on June 28. - The free agencyFree agentIn professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
period began in July.
Draft picks
Houston's selections from the 2007 NBA Draft2007 NBA Draft
The 2007 NBA Draft was held on June 28, 2007 at the WaMu Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. It was broadcast on television in 115 countries. In this draft, National Basketball Association teams took turns selecting amateur U.S...
in New York, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | School/Club Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 26 | Aaron Brooks Aaron Brooks (basketball) Aaron Jamal Brooks is an American basketball player who is currently a point guard for the Guangdong Southern Tigers. He was selected 26th overall in the 2007 NBA Draft... |
Point Guard | Oregon Oregon Ducks The Oregon Ducks refers to the sports teams of the University of Oregon, located in Eugene, Oregon. The Oregon Ducks are part of the Pacific-12 Conference in the Division 1 of the NCAA. With seventeen varsity teams, the Oregon Ducks are best known for their football team and Track and Field... |
|
| 2 | 54 | Brad Newley Brad Newley Brad Newley is an Australian professional basketball player. He is a 6 ft 7 in tall small forward that can also play at the shooting guard position... |
Shooting Guard | Panionios BC Panionios Forthnet Panionios B.C. is the Greek professional basketball club that plays its home games in Nea Smyrni, Athens, Greece. The club is also widely known as Πανιώνιος Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Σμύρνης, or Panionios Gymnastikos Syllogos Smyrnis, which is the Pan-Ionian Gymnastic Association of Smyrna. This is... (Greek League A1 Ethniki The Greek Basket League , commonly referred to as the Greek Basketball League or Greek Basketball Championship, is the highest professional basketball league in Greece. It is run by HEBA... ) |
|
In addition, Carl Landry
Carl Landry
Carl Christopher Landry is an American professional basketball player who last played for the NBA's New Orleans Hornets. He played collegiate basketball for the Purdue Boilermakers from 2004 to 2007. The 6'9", 248 lb power forward is the older brother of Marcus Landry...
was drafted as the 31st overall pick by the Seattle SuperSonics
Seattle SuperSonics
The Seattle SuperSonics were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle, Washington that played in the Pacific and Northwest Divisions of the National Basketball Association from 1967 until 2008. Following the 2007–08 season, the team relocated to Oklahoma City, and now plays as...
with the first pick in the 2nd round. He was traded to the Rockets for a future second round pick.
Roster
Standings
Regular season
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 74 | 74 | 34.1 | .394 | .351 | .715 | 3.5 | 5.3 | 1.32 | .24 | 13.1 | |
| 80 | 78 | 36.3 | .428 | .377 | .743 | 5.1 | 1.9 | .96 | 1.13 | 9.3 | |
| 51 | 0 | 11.9 | .413 | .330 | .857 | 1.1 | 1.7 | .25 | .10 | 5.2 | |
| 10 | 3 | 19.9 | .333 | .235 | .565 | 2.3 | 3.0 | .90 | .50 | 5.5 | |
| 30 | 0 | 12.0 | .344 | .385 | .829 | 2.1 | 1.0 | .27 | .13 | 5.1 | |
| 17 | 0 | 9.4 | .500 | .000 | .615 | 3.2 | .2 | .35 | .18 | 3.6 | |
| 79 | 44 | 19.9 | .511 | .000 | .458 | 5.4 | 1.2 | 1.08 | .54 | 3.0 | |
| 73 | 17 | 18.9 | .432 | .351 | .815 | 1.8 | 1.9 | .60 | .12 | 7.6 | |
| 72 | 5 | 19.3 | .403 | .358 | .790 | 2.5 | 1.9 | .63 | .07 | 7.7 | |
| 42 | 0 | 16.9 | .616 | .000 | .661 | 4.9 | .5 | .40 | .17 | 8.1 | |
| 66 | 62 | 37.0 | .419 | .292 | .684 | 5.1 | 5.9 | 1.03 | .45 | 21.6 | |
| 55 | 55 | 37.2 | .507 | .000 | .850 | 10.8 | 2.3 | .45 | 2.02 | 22.0 | |
| 39 | 25 | 15.9 | .538 | .000 | .711 | 5.1 | .1 | .28 | 1.23 | 3.0 | |
| 35 | 0 | 7.5 | .480 | .479 | .750 | 1.0 | .2 | .06 | .09 | 3.9 | |
| 82 | 39 | 24.7 | .515 | .000 | .668 | 6.4 | 1.3 | .73 | .23 | 10.3 | |
| 23 | 0 | 5.3 | .448 | .000 | .308 | 2.1 | .0 | .22 | .22 | 1.5 | |
| 7 | 0 | 2.4 | .600 | .000 | .000 | .1 | .3 | .00 | .00 | .9 |
Playoffs
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 4 | 31.5 | .438 | .440 | .800 | 1.5 | 4.5 | 1.00 | .00 | 14.3 | |
| 6 | 6 | 41.0 | .444 | .480 | .727 | 3.8 | .5 | 1.00 | .83 | 10.0 | |
| 6 | 0 | 8.3 | .320 | .000 | .818 | 1.0 | .5 | .00 | .00 | 4.2 | |
| 3 | 0 | 3.0 | .500 | .000 | .500 | .7 | .0 | .00 | .00 | 1.0 | |
| 6 | 0 | 18.0 | .636 | .000 | .000 | 4.7 | .8 | .50 | 1.00 | 2.3 | |
| 5 | 0 | 8.8 | .071 | .000 | 1.000 | .4 | .8 | .40 | .20 | .8 | |
| 6 | 2 | 23.0 | .286 | .208 | .636 | 1.7 | 1.5 | .83 | .00 | 8.7 | |
| 6 | 0 | 17.7 | .423 | .000 | .750 | 4.7 | .0 | 1.17 | .50 | 5.7 | |
| 6 | 6 | 41.2 | .425 | .208 | .623 | 8.2 | 6.8 | 1.50 | .83 | 27.0 | |
| 6 | 6 | 20.5 | .615 | .000 | .636 | 6.5 | .3 | .17 | 1.83 | 3.8 | |
| 3 | 0 | 7.0 | .750 | .667 | .000 | .7 | .0 | .00 | .33 | 2.7 | |
| 6 | 6 | 36.7 | .448 | .000 | .686 | 9.3 | 1.3 | .67 | .17 | 14.0 | |
| 1 | 0 | 1.0 | 1.000 | .000 | .000 | 1.0 | .0 | .00 | .00 | 2.0 |
Records
Starting with the January 29, 2008 win versus the Golden State WarriorsGolden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in Oakland, California. They are part of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
, the Rockets have won 22 consecutive games. The streak came to an end against the Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
Celtics. The streak is the second longest winning streak in NBA history.
Transactions
The Rockets have been involved in the following transactions during the 2007-08 season.Houston will begin the 2007-08 season with recently hired Rick Adelman
Rick Adelman
Richard Leonard "Rick" Adelman is an American former basketball professional player and current basketball coach. He is the head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves of the NBA. Confirmation of the hiring came from the Timberwolves on September 13, 2011...
as the team's 11th head coach.
Less than a week later, Scola signed with the Rockets.
On July 20 guard Steve Francis
Steve Francis
Steven D'Shawn Francis is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Beijing Ducks of the Chinese Basketball Association. He had also played for the Houston Rockets, Orlando Magic, and New York Knicks...
signed a 2 year deal with the Rockets, after he accepted a buyout of the last two seasons of his contract, worth roughly $30 million from the Portland Trail Blazers
Portland Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers, commonly known as the Blazers, are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . The Trail Blazers originally played their home games in the...
. He is expected to compete for a starting job with Mike James
Mike James
Michael Lamont James is an American professional basketball player.-Early years:The youngest of seven siblings, James's childhood was not without challenges. Crime, drugs, and violence troubled his neighborhood streets. Lack of social and economic opportunity made urban living grueling and...
and Rafer Alston
Rafer Alston
Rafer Jamel Alston is an American former professional basketball player who last played with Zhejiang Guangsha of the Chinese Basketball Association. He previously played for six NBA teams...
Trades
On June 14, the Rockets traded Juwan Howard
Juwan Howard
Juwan Antonio Howard is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association . The Heat were his eighth different NBA team. He was drafted fifth overall in the 1994 NBA Draft by the Washington Bullets...
to the Minnesota Timberwolves
Minnesota Timberwolves
The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . Founded in 1989, the team is currently owned by Glen Taylor...
for Mike James
Mike James
Michael Lamont James is an American professional basketball player.-Early years:The youngest of seven siblings, James's childhood was not without challenges. Crime, drugs, and violence troubled his neighborhood streets. Lack of social and economic opportunity made urban living grueling and...
and Justin Reed
Justin Reed
Justin Michael Reed is an American professional basketball player, in the small forward position.Reed has been a free agent since the end of the 2009 season.-College career:...
.
On July 12 guard Vassilis Spanoulis
Vassilis Spanoulis
Vassilis Spanoulis is a Greek professional basketball player who plays for the Greek League and Euroleague club Olympiacos Piraeus. A 6 ft 4 in tall guard, Spanoulis first played for GS Larissa and enjoyed a highly successful career start, winning the Greek League's award for Best Young...
was traded to the San Antonio Spurs
San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio, Texas. They are part of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association ....
along with the rights for the 2009 second-round draft pick, for center Jackie Butler
Jackie Butler
Jackie Butler is an American professional basketball player formerly in the NBA. Butler is 6'10" and weighs 260 pounds....
and the rights to Luis Scola
Luis Scola
Luis Alberto Scola Balvoa is an Argentine professional basketball player. The power forward-center for the Argentine national team is currently signed with the NBA's Houston Rockets. He formerly was a Euroleague star with the ACB's Saski Baskonia...
a 2002 second-round draft pick, yet to play in the NBA. 24 Hours after this deal was made, Scola came to a "Basic Agreement" which could see him playing for the Rockets next season.
Free Agents
|
|
Court Redesign
On September 7, it was announced that the Rockets will debut a new court design for the 2007-08 season. The court design includes a lighter varnished wood inside the three point area, similar to the Seattle SupersonicsSeattle SuperSonics
The Seattle SuperSonics were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle, Washington that played in the Pacific and Northwest Divisions of the National Basketball Association from 1967 until 2008. Following the 2007–08 season, the team relocated to Oklahoma City, and now plays as...
, while the rest are dark varnished wood. The color red
Red
Red is any of a number of similar colors evoked by light consisting predominantly of the longest wavelengths of light discernible by the human eye, in the wavelength range of roughly 630–740 nm. Longer wavelengths than this are called infrared , and cannot be seen by the naked eye...
will remain on the Rockets logo, and the script. This court design is similar to the Cleveland Cavaliers
Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers are a professional basketball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They began playing in the National Basketball Association in 1970 as an expansion team...
, New Orleans Hornets, Phoenix Suns
Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns are a professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association and the only team in their division not to be based in California. Their home arena since 1992 has been the US...
, and Portland Trail Blazers
Portland Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers, commonly known as the Blazers, are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . The Trail Blazers originally played their home games in the...
in which most of the hardwood is exposed.