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2019–20 Houston Rockets season
NBA professional basketball team season From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The 2019–20 Houston Rockets season was the 53rd season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA), and their 49th in the Houston area.[1]
After what was an uneventful off-season for the Rockets, failing to land Houston native Jimmy Butler, the Rockets acquired star point guard Russell Westbrook from the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for Chris Paul and a trove of future draft considerations, reuniting Westbrook with former Thunder teammate James Harden, who had played his first three seasons with the Thunder and was part of the 2011–12 Thunder team that appeared in the 2012 NBA Finals.
With the San Antonio Spurs missing the playoffs for the first time since the 1996–97 season, the Rockets would hold the longest active playoff streak in the NBA qualifying every year since the 2012–13 season.
In February, Westbrook and Harden became the first teammates in NBA history to average 30+ points and 5+ assists per game.[2]
The February trade deadline deal sending away long-time center Clint Capela represented a unique shift in philosophy by both general manager Daryl Morey and coach Mike D'Antoni. Their "microball" strategy entailed no player over 6-foot-8 starting for the remainder of the season, while relying on the strength of players such as P.J. Tucker (6-foot-5 and 245 pounds), Harden (6-foot-5 and 220 pounds), and Eric Gordon (6-foot-3 and 215 pounds) to withstand taller matchups inside. It required a switch-everything defensive scheme and sacrificed Capela's contribution to rebounding in favor of consistent spacing by employing 3-point shooters such as acquisition Robert Covington in his place.[3][4][5][6]
This marked the team's third straight divisional championship, as well as James Harden's 8th straight All-Star selection as a Rocket.
In the playoffs, the Rockets defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder, Westbrook and Harden's former team, in Game 7 of the first round. However, in the Western Conference semifinals, they would lose in five games to the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers. This was Houston's last playoff berth until 2025.
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COVID-19 impact
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The season was suspended by the league officials following the games of March 11[7] after it was reported that Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19.[8] On June 26 the NBA and National Basketball Players Association finalized a comprehensive plan, and it was announced that the 2019–20 season would resume in the NBA Bubble on July 30, with health and safety precautions and rules enforceable by warning, fine, suspension, or campus ban, including establishing a hotline for players to report violations of COVID-19 restrictions, a single-site campus at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida and an intentional goal to take "collective action to combat systemic racism and promote social justice."[9][10] Fourteen-year NBA veteran player Thabo Sefolosha opted out of continuing on with the team in the wake of the pandemic.[11] Westbrook also tested positive for the virus and the diagnosis was formally announced in July prior to the team heading to Orlando.[12] He flew to Orlando to join the team on July 20 following NBA mandated quarantine requirements and two negative COVID-19 test results.[13] The league's July 20 COVID-19 testing update stated that no players of the 346 at the "NBA bubble" complex had tested positive within the week prior.[14] A July 16 news report stated that the Rockets were the first NBA team publicly known to file a lawsuit to recover COVID-19-related losses by suing Affiliated FM Insurance for denying its business-interruption claim.[15]
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Draft picks
The Rockets did not hold any picks for the 2019 NBA draft.[16] This was the third time in franchise history that they did not hold any picks in the draft; the last time was in 1989.
Roster
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Standings
Division
Conference
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Game log
Preseason
Regular season
Playoffs
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Player statistics
| 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 |
Regular season
Playoffs
- † Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Rockets only.
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Transactions
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Trades
| July 16, 2019[17] | To Houston Rockets Russell Westbrook |
To Oklahoma City Thunder Chris Paul 2024 and 2026 protected first round picks First-round pick swaps in 2021 and 2025 |
| February 5, 2020[18] | To Denver Nuggets Keita Bates-Diop (from Minnesota) Shabazz Napier (from Minnesota) Noah Vonleh (from Minnesota) Gerald Green (from Houston) 2020 HOU first-round pick |
To Atlanta Hawks Clint Capela (from Houston) Nene (from Houston) |
| To Houston Rockets Robert Covington (from Minnesota) Jordan Bell (from Minnesota) 2024 ATL second-round pick |
To Minnesota Timberwolves Malik Beasley (from Denver) Juan Hernangómez (from Denver) Jarred Vanderbilt (from Denver) Evan Turner (from Atlanta) 2020 ATL first-round pick | |
| February 6, 2020[19] | To Houston Rockets Bruno Caboclo |
To Memphis Grizzlies Jordan Bell Second-round pick swap in 2023 |
Free agency
Re-signed
Additions
Subtractions
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References
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