2008 Outlook

The Houston Rockets brought themselves into contention after a lackluster early season performance with a 22-game winning streak. The Rockets even managed to win 10 of those after center Yao Ming went down with a season-ending injury. The team rallied around star Tracy McGrady, provided hustle play and a stingy defense. Point guard Rafer Alston provided three-point shooting when necessary, power forwards Luis Scola and Carl Landry cleaned up the boards, and Shane Battier proved to be a terrific defender who had a knack for hitting the big three in the corner. The Rockets were one of the few teams to avoid making big roster changes after the Lakers traded for Pau Gasol, figuring that there was no reason to mess with the chemistry of a team that won 22 straight games.

Team History

The Houston Rockets began their history in 1967 as an NBA expansion team out of San Diego. The franchise used its first draft pick to pick Pat Riley and had a dismal season, going in 15-67. The club used the next few years to load up on talent, acquiring Elvin Hayes, Calvin Murphy, and Rudy Tomjanovich, who would later go on to coach the team. The team had little success in its four years in San Diego, making the playoffs once.

A change in ownership brought the team to Houston in the 70s, where they would struggle until the arrival of Moses Malone in 1977. The Rockets consistently made playoff runs with the trio of Malone, Murphy, and Tomjanovich. The group took the club to the finals in 1981, but lost to the Celtics in six games. Shortly after, the Rockets traded Malone and fell to the bottom of the league. The disastrous season ended in the first pick in the 1983 draft, with which they took 7-foot-4 Ralph Sampson. The club would again have the first pick in the draft, this time they took Hakeem Olajuwon. The twin towers took the franchise to the 1986 NBA Finals, where they lost to the Celtics again in six.

The Rockets would bow out in the second round of the playoffs for the next few years, but would build a roster that took the team to the conference championship in 1993. Though the team would lose, it set the tone for the next two seasons, in which they repeated as NBA champions. The team featured Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler, and Vernon Maxwell.

The next few seasons saw a team with Olajuwon, Drexler, and newly acquired Barkley in championship contention, but never resulted in a title. The 21st century has seen the Rockets build a team around 7-foot-6 Yao Ming, the leagues first Chinese player, and Tracy McGrady. The franchise appears to have a great deal of promise with the slashing guard and talented center, and is just waiting for a season without injuries to make a title run. Watch the team live with Houston Rockets tickets from TheSeats.com.