2018–19 Houston Rockets season

Houston Rockets
2018–19 Houston Rockets season
	Division champions
Head coach	Mike D'Antoni
General manager	Daryl Morey
Owners	Tilman Fertitta
Arena	Toyota Center
Results
Record	53–29 (.646)
Place	Division: 1st (Southwest); Conference: 4th (Western)
Playoff finish	Conference Semifinals; (Lost to Warriors 2–4)
	Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	AT&T SportsNet Southwest
Radio	Sportstalk 790

The 2018–19 Houston Rockets season was the 52nd season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA), and their 48th in the Houston area.[1]

Despite early struggles in the season including an on-court altercation between rival guards Chris Paul and Rajon Rondo, injuries among its core players, and losing core players including Trevor Ariza, the team made a dramatic improvement and finished as the 4th seed in the West. Most notable within the surge would be Harden's impressive play. It included his 30-point streak which started on December 11, all the way to a surprising 32 games until ending on February 25. This streak had left him 2nd for continuous 30+ points in a game, leaving Wilt Chamberlain as 1st. On March 24, against the Pelicans, they had clinched another playoff spot for the 7th straight year.

In the playoffs, the Rockets defeated the Utah Jazz in the First Round in five games. However, the Rockets would lose in six games against the two-time defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Semifinals, their fourth playoff exit against the Warriors in the last five postseasons. They previously lost to the Warriors in 2015 (conference finals), 2016 (first round), and 2018 (conference finals).

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
2	46	De'Anthony Melton	Guard	United States	USC (So.)

Entering the night of the draft, the Rockets had only one selection at hand, with it being the pick they acquired from the Miami Heat via a previous trade involving the Memphis Grizzlies and Charlotte Hornets, being the lowest second round pick of those teams. On the night of the draft, the Rockets selected former University of Southern California guard De'Anthony Melton as their sole selection that year. Melton only played one season at USC, playing that previous season as a starter in 25 out of 36 games played there, recording averages of 8.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.0 blocks, and 1.9 steals per game that season. He was originally planned to play in his sophomore season, but was suspended and later left in relation to the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball corruption scandal. Prior to the start of the season, Melton was traded alongside veteran power forward Ryan Anderson to the Phoenix Suns on August 31, 2018, in exchange for veteran point guard Brandon Knight and power forward Marquese Chriss.

Roster

Roster listing

2018–19 Houston Rockets roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Name	Height	Weight	DOB (YYYY-MM-DD)	From
C	15	Capela, Clint	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	1994–05–18	Switzerland
G	2	Chiozza, Chris	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	1995–11–21	Florida
F	6	Clark, Gary	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	1994–11–16	Cincinnati
G	0	Duval, Trevon (TW)	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	189 lb (86 kg)	1998–08–03	Duke
F	12	Edwards, Vincent (TW)	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	1996–04–05	Purdue
F/C	35	Faried, Kenneth	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	1989–11–19	Morehead State
G	21	Frazier, Michael	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	1994–03–08	Florida
G	10	Gordon, Eric	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	1988–12–25	Indiana
G/F	14	Green, Gerald	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	1986–01–26	Gulf Shores Academy (TX)
G	13	Harden, James	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	1989–08–26	Arizona State
F/C	55	Hartenstein, Isaiah	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	249 lb (113 kg)	1998–05–05	Germany
G/F	4	House, Danuel	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	207 lb (94 kg)	1993–06–07	Texas A&M
F/C	42	Nenê	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	250 lb (113 kg)	1982–09–13	Brazil
G	3	Paul, Chris	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	1985–05–06	Wake Forest
G	25	Rivers, Austin	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	1992–08–01	Duke
G	1	Shumpert, Iman	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	1990–06–26	Georgia Tech
F	17	Tucker, P. J.	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	245 lb (111 kg)	1985–05–05	Texas

Head coach

Mike D'Antoni

Assistant coach(es)

Matt Brase
Jeff Bzdelik
Brett Gunning
Roy Rogers
John Lucas (player development)
Alvin Williams (player development)
Irving Roland (player development)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(DP) Unsigned draft pick
(FA) Free agent
(S) Suspended
(GL) On assignment to G League affiliate
(TW) Two-way affiliate player
Injured

Roster
Last transaction: 2019–03–17

Standings

Division

Southwest Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div	GP
y – Houston Rockets	53	29	.646	0.0	31–10	22–19	10–6	82
x – San Antonio Spurs	48	34	.585	5.0	32–9	16–25	10–6	82
Memphis Grizzlies	33	49	.402	20.0	21–20	12–29	8–8	82
New Orleans Pelicans	33	49	.402	20.0	19–22	14–27	8–8	82
Dallas Mavericks	33	49	.402	20.0	24–17	9–32	4–12	82

Conference

Western Conference
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB	GP
1	c – Golden State Warriors *	57	25	.695	–	82
2	y – Denver Nuggets *	54	28	.659	3.0	82
3	x – Portland Trail Blazers	53	29	.646	4.0	82
4	y – Houston Rockets *	53	29	.646	4.0	82
5	x – Utah Jazz	50	32	.610	7.0	82
6	x – Oklahoma City Thunder	49	33	.598	8.0	82
7	x – San Antonio Spurs	48	34	.585	9.0	82
8	x – Los Angeles Clippers	48	34	.585	9.0	82

9	Sacramento Kings	39	43	.476	18.0	82
10	Los Angeles Lakers	37	45	.451	20.0	82
11	Minnesota Timberwolves	36	46	.439	21.0	82
12	Memphis Grizzlies	33	49	.402	24.0	82
13	New Orleans Pelicans	33	49	.402	24.0	82
14	Dallas Mavericks	33	49	.402	24.0	82
15	Phoenix Suns	19	63	.232	38.0	82

Game log

Preseason

2018 preseason game log
Total: 4–1 (Home: 1–1; Road: 3–0)

Preseason: 4–1 (Home: 1–1; Road: 3–0)

2018–19 season schedule

Regular season

2018–19 game log
Total: 53–29 (Home: 31–10; Road: 22–19)

October: 1–5 (Home: 0–4; Road: 1–1)

November : 9–6 (Home: 4–1; Road: 5–5)

December : 11–4 (Home: 9–0; Road: 2–4)

January : 8–6 (Home: 6–3; Road: 2–3)

February : 8–4 (Home: 3–1; Road: 5–3)

March : 12–3 (Home: 7–1; Road: 5–2)

April : 4–1 (Home: 2–0; Road: 2–1)

2018–19 season schedule

Playoffs

2019 playoff game log
Total: 6–5 (Home: 5–1; Road: 1–4)

First Round: 4–1 (Home: 3–0; Road: 1–1)

Conference Semifinals: 2–4 (Home: 2–1; Road: 0–3)

2019 playoff schedule

Player statistics

Regular season

Player	Pos.	GP	GS	MP	Reb.	Ast.	Stl.	Blk.	Pts.
Carmelo Anthony^†	PF	10	2	294	54	5	4	7	134
Clint Capela	C	67	67	2,249	848	96	44	102	1,114
Michael Carter-Williams^†	PG	16	1	145	13	21	9	6	69
Chris Chiozza^≠	PG	7	0	33	4	4	1	1	6
Marquese Chriss^†	PF	16	0	104	28	6	2	4	29
Gary Clark	PF	51	2	641	116	18	20	26	148
Vincent Edwards	SF	2	0	16	2	0	0	0	3
James Ennis^†	SF	40	25	949	117	27	38	16	294
Kenneth Faried^≠	C	25	13	610	206	18	15	19	323
Eric Gordon	SG	68	53	2,158	148	129	41	27	1,103
Gerald Green	SG	73	0	1,473	182	40	33	27	675
James Harden	PG	78	78	2,867	518	586	158	58	2,818
Isaiah Hartenstein	PF	28	0	221	47	15	7	12	53
Danuel House^‡	SF	39	13	979	140	40	21	11	366
Terrence Jones^≠	PF	2	0	5	4	0	0	0	2
Brandon Knight^†	PG	12	0	118	9	9	2	0	36
Nenê	C	42	2	546	123	26	18	15	151
James Nunnally^≠	SF	2	0	38	1	2	0	0	9
Chris Paul	PG	58	58	1,857	265	473	114	18	906
Austin Rivers^≠	SG	47	13	1,345	91	109	29	13	408
Iman Shumpert^≠	SG	20	1	382	54	21	12	4	91
P. J. Tucker	PF	82	82	2,802	479	96	132	39	601
Zhou Qi^‡	PF	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	2

After all games.[2]
^‡Waived during the season
^†Traded during the season
^≠Acquired during the season

Playoffs

Player	Pos.	GP	GS	MP	Reb.	Ast.	Stl.	Blk.	Pts.
Clint Capela	C	11	11	331	113	16	3	12	107
Gary Clark	PF	2	0	4	1	0	0	0	0
Kenneth Faried	C	6	0	56	21	2	2	0	24
Eric Gordon	SG	11	11	410	27	14	7	11	196
Gerald Green	SG	11	0	97	12	1	3	3	39
James Harden	PG	11	11	424	76	73	24	10	348
Isaiah Hartenstein	PF	2	0	2	1	0	0	0	4
Danuel House	SF	7	0	53	14	3	3	2	27
Nenê	C	7	0	141	22	1	3	2	34
Chris Paul	PG	11	11	397	70	60	24	7	187
Austin Rivers	SG	10	0	215	21	10	5	1	74
Iman Shumpert	SG	8	0	109	12	2	1	0	29
P. J. Tucker	PF	11	11	426	82	19	19	8	125

Transactions

Trades

August 2, 2018[3]	To Houston Rockets Draft rights to Maarty Leunen	To Dallas Mavericks Chinanu Onuaku Cash considerations Option to swap 2020 second-round draft picks
August 31, 2018[4]	To Houston Rockets Brandon Knight Marquese Chriss	To Phoenix Suns Ryan Anderson De'Anthony Melton
January 7, 2019[5]	To Houston Rockets Conditional 2020 second-round draft pick (Memphis)	To Chicago Bulls Michael Carter-Williams Cash considerations
January 22, 2019[6]	To Houston Rockets Draft rights to Tadija Dragićević	To Chicago Bulls Carmelo Anthony Draft rights to Jon Diebler Cash considerations
February 7, 2019[7][8][9]	To Houston Rockets Option to swap 2021 second-round draft picks	To Philadelphia 76ers James Ennis III
	To Houston Rockets Iman Shumpert (from Sacramento) Wade Baldwin IV Nik Stauskas 2021 second-round draft pick (Milwaukee) Option to swap 2020 second-round draft picks	To Cleveland Cavaliers Brandon Knight Marquese Chriss Conditional 2019 first-round draft pick 2022 second-round draft pick
	To Houston Rockets Cash considerations	To Indiana Pacers Wade Baldwin IV Nik Stauskas Draft rights to Maarty Leunen 2021 second-round draft pick (Milwaukee)

Free agency

Re-signed

Player	Signed
Chris Paul[10]	4-year contract worth $160 million
Gerald Green[11]	1-year contract worth $2.4 million
Clint Capela[12]	5-year contract worth $90 million

Additions

Player	Signed	Former team
Gary Clark	Two-way contract	Cincinnati Bearcats
Vincent Edwards	Two-way contract	Purdue Boilermakers
Michael Carter-Williams[13]	1-year contract worth $1.9 million	Charlotte Hornets
James Ennis III	2-year contract worth $3.4 million	Detroit Pistons
Carmelo Anthony[14]	1-year contract worth $2.4 million	Oklahoma City Thunder
Danuel House	Two-way contract	Rio Grande Valley Vipers
Austin Rivers	1-year, veteran's minimum contract	Phoenix Suns
James Nunnally	10-day contract	Minnesota Timberwolves
Kenneth Faried	1-year, veteran's prorated minimum contract	Brooklyn Nets
Terrence Jones	10-day contract	Erie BayHawks
Chris Chiozza	10-day contract	Capital City Go-Go
Trevon Duval	Two-way contract	Milwaukee Bucks
Michael Frazier II	Prorated minimum contract	Rio Grande Valley Vipers

Subtractions

Player	Reason left	New team
Trevor Ariza[15]	1-year contract worth $15 million	Phoenix Suns
Aaron Jackson	Waived	Beijing Ducks
Luc Mbah a Moute[16]	1-year contract worth $4.3 million	Los Angeles Clippers
Markel Brown	1-year contract	Darüşşafaka
R. J. Hunter	Waived	Atlanta Hawks
Zhou Qi	Waived	n/a
James Nunnally	Waived	AX Armani Exchange Olimpia Milan
Terrence Jones	Waived	n/a

Awards

Player	Award	Date awarded	Ref.
James Harden	Western Conference Player of the Week	December 17, 2018	[17]
James Harden	Western Conference Player of the Week	December 31, 2018	[18]
Mike D'Antoni	Western Conference Coach of the Month (December)	January 2, 2019	[19]
James Harden	Western Conference Player of the Month (December)	January 3, 2019	[20]
James Harden	Western Conference Player of the Week	January 21, 2019	[21]
James Harden	NBA All-Star	January 24, 2019	[22]
James Harden	Western Conference Player of the Month (January)	February 2, 2019	[23]
James Harden	Western Conference Player of the Week	March 25, 2019	[24]
James Harden	Western Conference Player of the Month (March/April)	April 11, 2019	[25]

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gollark: And more people being right is generally good.

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References

"Houston Rockets Franchise Index | Basketball-Reference.com". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved 2017-05-27.
"2018-19 Houston Rockets Roster and Regular season Stats". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 21, 2019.
"Mavericks get center Chinanu Onuaku in trade with Rockets". NBA.com. August 2, 2018. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
"Rockets Complete Four Player Trade with Suns". NBA.com. August 31, 2018. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
"Rockets Trade Michael Carter-Williams to Chicago". NBA.com/rockets. January 7, 2019. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
"Reports: Rockets agree to trade Carmelo Anthony to Bulls". NBA.com. January 22, 2019. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
"Rockets to trade James Ennis III to 76ers to get under luxury tax". houstonchronicle.com. Houston Chronicle. February 8, 2019. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
"Cavs Acquire Brandon Knight, Marquese Chriss Plus Picks in Three-Team Trade". NBA.com/cavaliers. February 7, 2019. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
"Rockets trade Nik Stauskas, Wade Baldwin to Pacers; Indiana to waive pair". ESPN.com. February 7, 2019. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
"Rockets Re-sign Chris Paul". NBA.com/rockets. July 8, 2018. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
"Rockets Re-sign Gerald Green". NBA.com/rockets. July 10, 2018. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
"Rockets Re-sign Clint Capela". NBA.com/rockets. July 27, 2018. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
"Rockets Sign Free-Agent Michael Carter-Williams". NBA.com/rockets. July 7, 2018. Retrieved July 7, 2018.
"Rockets Sign Carmelo Anthony". NBA.com/rockets. August 13, 2018. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
"Suns Sign Trevor Ariza, 14-year veteran and NBA Champion". NBA.com/suns. July 6, 2018. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
"Press Release: L.A. Clippers signed forward Luc Mbah a Moute". NBA.com/clippers. July 19, 2018. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
"James Harden Named Western Conference Player of the Week". NBA.com. December 17, 2018. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
"James Harden Named Western Conference Player of the Week". NBA.com. January 2, 2019. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
"D'Antoni Western Conference Coach of the Month". NBA.com. January 2, 2019. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
"Harden Named Western Conference Player of the Month". NBA.com. January 3, 2019. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
"James Harden Named Western Conference Player of the Week". NBA.com. January 21, 2019. Retrieved January 21, 2019.
"NBA All-Star 2019 starters, captains revealed". NBA.com. January 24, 2019. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
"Harden Named Western Conference Player of the Month". NBA.com. February 2, 2019. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
"James Harden Named Western Conference Player of the Week". NBA.com/rockets. March 25, 2019. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
"James Harden Named NBA Western Conference Player of the Month for March/April". NBA.com/rockets. April 11, 2019. Retrieved April 11, 2019.

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[basketball-reference-1] "Houston Rockets Franchise Index | Basketball-Reference.com". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved 2017-05-27.

[2] "2018-19 Houston Rockets Roster and Regular season Stats". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 21, 2019.

[3] "Mavericks get center Chinanu Onuaku in trade with Rockets". NBA.com. August 2, 2018. Retrieved August 2, 2018.

[4] "Rockets Complete Four Player Trade with Suns". NBA.com. August 31, 2018. Retrieved August 31, 2018.

[5] "Rockets Trade Michael Carter-Williams to Chicago". NBA.com/rockets. January 7, 2019. Retrieved March 20, 2019.

[6] "Reports: Rockets agree to trade Carmelo Anthony to Bulls". NBA.com. January 22, 2019. Retrieved March 20, 2019.

[7] "Rockets to trade James Ennis III to 76ers to get under luxury tax". houstonchronicle.com. Houston Chronicle. February 8, 2019. Retrieved March 20, 2019.

[8] "Cavs Acquire Brandon Knight, Marquese Chriss Plus Picks in Three-Team Trade". NBA.com/cavaliers. February 7, 2019. Retrieved March 20, 2019.

[9] "Rockets trade Nik Stauskas, Wade Baldwin to Pacers; Indiana to waive pair". ESPN.com. February 7, 2019. Retrieved March 20, 2019.

[10] "Rockets Re-sign Chris Paul". NBA.com/rockets. July 8, 2018. Retrieved July 8, 2018.

[11] "Rockets Re-sign Gerald Green". NBA.com/rockets. July 10, 2018. Retrieved July 10, 2018.

[12] "Rockets Re-sign Clint Capela". NBA.com/rockets. July 27, 2018. Retrieved July 27, 2018.

[13] "Rockets Sign Free-Agent Michael Carter-Williams". NBA.com/rockets. July 7, 2018. Retrieved July 7, 2018.

[14] "Rockets Sign Carmelo Anthony". NBA.com/rockets. August 13, 2018. Retrieved August 13, 2018.

[15] "Suns Sign Trevor Ariza, 14-year veteran and NBA Champion". NBA.com/suns. July 6, 2018. Retrieved July 6, 2018.

[16] "Press Release: L.A. Clippers signed forward Luc Mbah a Moute". NBA.com/clippers. July 19, 2018. Retrieved July 19, 2018.

[17] "James Harden Named Western Conference Player of the Week". NBA.com. December 17, 2018. Retrieved December 18, 2018.

[18] "James Harden Named Western Conference Player of the Week". NBA.com. January 2, 2019. Retrieved December 31, 2018.

[19] "D'Antoni Western Conference Coach of the Month". NBA.com. January 2, 2019. Retrieved January 2, 2019.

[20] "Harden Named Western Conference Player of the Month". NBA.com. January 3, 2019. Retrieved January 3, 2019.

[21] "James Harden Named Western Conference Player of the Week". NBA.com. January 21, 2019. Retrieved January 21, 2019.

[22] "NBA All-Star 2019 starters, captains revealed". NBA.com. January 24, 2019. Retrieved March 20, 2019.

[23] "Harden Named Western Conference Player of the Month". NBA.com. February 2, 2019. Retrieved February 2, 2019.

[24] "James Harden Named Western Conference Player of the Week". NBA.com/rockets. March 25, 2019. Retrieved March 26, 2019.

[25] "James Harden Named NBA Western Conference Player of the Month for March/April". NBA.com/rockets. April 11, 2019. Retrieved April 11, 2019.