Table of Content
- Rockets' Tari Eason: Muted performance Wednesday
- Game Recap: Rockets vs. Magic
- Takeways: In fourth straight home loss, Rockets ground to halt by Magic zone
- Magic rally past Rockets 116-110 for 7th win in 8 games
- Photos: Rockets vs. Raptors 11/9/22
- Highlights: Alperen Sengun (22 points)
- Draymond Green says Warriors 'very fragile' after road trip
The modern "R" logo and white double arches on the side were an homage to the 2003–2019 uniforms. James Harden arrived in Houston in 2012, and became a franchise player for the Rockets. Moses Malone, Hakeem Olajuwon, and James Harden have been named the NBA's MVPs while playing for the Rockets, for a total of four MVP awards.
The Rockets also wore a "City" uniform that was similar to their red "Icon" uniforms but with Chinese lettering in place of "Rockets" in front; the design was tweaked the following season with a deeper red and old gold accents. The Rockets were founded in 1967 in San Diego by Robert Breitbard, who paid an entry fee of US$1.75 million to join the NBA as an expansion team for the 1967–68 season. The San Diego International Sports Center, which opened the previous year and was also owned by Bretitbard, would serve as home to the new franchise.
Rockets' Tari Eason: Muted performance Wednesday
Rafael Stone was hired as the general manager after serving in general counsel and as an assistant general manager. In the off-season, Houston saw major changes in the roster as the Rockets acquired Tracy McGrady in a seven-player deal with the Orlando Magic. The scoring champion McGrady and the strong rebounder Yao formed a well-regarded pair that helped the Rockets win 22 consecutive games in the 2007–08 season, which was at the time the 3rd longest winning streak in NBA history.
Chaney had his best season during 1990–91, where he was named the Coach of the Year after leading the Rockets to a 52–30 record despite Olajuwon's absence due to injury for 25 games. Despite Olajuwon's usual strong numbers, the underwhelming roster could not be lifted out of mediocrity. However, the attempts to rebuild the team nucleus incorporated players that would later make an impact in the years to come, such as Kenny Smith, Vernon Maxwell, Robert Horry, Mario Elie, Sam Cassell and Otis Thorpe. In 1979, George Maloof, a businessperson from Albuquerque, New Mexico, bought the Rockets for $9 million. He died the following year, and while the Maloof family expressed interest in selling the team, George's 24-year-old son Gavin took over the Rockets.
Game Recap: Rockets vs. Magic
Still, the duo was plagued with injuries – of the 463 regular season games for which they were teammates, Yao missed 146 and McGrady 160 – and did not win any playoff series, despite gathering leads over the Dallas Mavericks in 2005 and the Jazz in 2007. Despite this, Yao was selected to carry his home country's Five-star Red Flag at the Summer Olympics opening ceremony held at home in 2008. After the 2007 elimination, Van Gundy was fired, and the Rockets hired Rick Adelman to replace him.
The Rockets would also finish ninth in the Western Conference for the following two seasons, with Yao Ming getting a season-ending injury seven games into the 2010–11 season and deciding to retire during the 2011 off-season. Said off-season, which saw the NBA going through a lockout, had Adelman dismissed, and general manager Daryl Morey deciding to start a revamp of the Rockets based on advanced statistical analytics in player acquisitions and style of play. C. Jones called the Rockets "the new monsters on the block" feeling they had a bright future. Early in the 1987–88 season, Sampson, who had signed a new contract, was traded to the Golden State Warriors, bringing the Twin Towers era to an end just 18 months after their Finals appearance.
Takeways: In fourth straight home loss, Rockets ground to halt by Magic zone
For the 2003–04 season, the Rockets moved into their new arena, the Toyota Center, with a seating capacity of 18,500. During the 2007–08 season where the team achieved a 22-game winning streak, the Rockets got their best numbers to date, averaging 17,379 spectators. The Rockets averaged 18,123 spectators during the 2013–14 season, selling out 39 out of the 41 home games.
They would lose in six games to the 62–20 Boston Celtics, led by Larry Bird, Robert Parish, and future Rockets head coach Kevin McHale. As of 2021, the 1980–81 Rockets are the last team since the 1954–55 Minneapolis Lakers to make it all the way to the NBA Finals with a losing record. Following the bitter Game 7 loss in Seattle in overtime, Olajuwon gathered the team and famously stated "we go from here". The next season, in Tomjanovich's second full year as head coach, the Rockets began the 1993–94 season by tying an NBA record with a start of 15–0.
With minor modifications in the number font, this version was used in all four of their NBA Finals appearances, including their 1994 and 1995 championships. Texas Sports Investments bought the franchise for $5.6 million and moved the team to Houston before the start of the 1971–72 season. The franchise became the first NBA team in Texas, and the nickname "Rockets" took on even greater relevance after the move, given Houston's long connection to the space industry.
"I think the biggest thing he gives us is first the leadership and stuff in the locker room but he also gives us some multi-dimensional defender," Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. "The versatility that he brings us with that experience and I think probably could play a factor ." Matthews has missed three consecutive games due to illness but will have a chance to suit up Friday after being listed as questionable. Jets wide receivers coach Miles Austin did not coach on Thursday night against the Jaguars.
The 2003–04 season marked the Rockets' arrival to a new arena, the Toyota Center, a redesign of their uniforms and logo, and their first season without Rudy Tomjanovich, who resigned as head coach after being diagnosed with bladder cancer. Led by former Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy, the Rockets finished the regular season with a record of 45–37, earning their first playoff berth since 1999, again losing to the Lakers in the first round. In the next five seasons, the Rockets either failed to qualify for the playoffs or were eliminated in the first round. The first elimination in 1988 led to Fitch's dismissal, with Don Chaney replacing him as head coach. Chaney, like Olajuwon, also played for the Houston Cougars under Guy Lewis, having played along Elvin Hayes in the late 1960s.
To make matters worse, the American professional sports economy had begun to plummet in the late 1960s, and professional basketball was being hit particularly hard with nearly all franchises in the NBA and ABA operating at a financial loss at this time. As I mentioned earlier, when teams start to brick shots one after another, other areas of the game seem to not be as important, and ball movement is one of them, something that was on full display in the third quarter in the latest Spurs loss. The lack of shooting starts to affect every part of a team’s game, from rebounding to getting back on defense, and that showed in the second half for the Rockets. The Spurs started to pull away as it seemed they had zero fear of the Rockets beating them from deep, which led to them playing loose on the offensive end. Jonathan Feigen has been the Rockets beat writer since 1998 and a basketball nut since before Willis Reed limped out for Game 7.
The NBA hurriedly approved the sale, believing the franchise was on the verge of folding. News of the sale broke before the coaches, players, and team employees and executives could even be notified. The Rockets’ backcourt of Jalen Green and Kevin Porter Jr. are shooting 19.3 and 25 percent respectively over the last 10 games from three-point range.
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