2019–20 Houston Rockets season

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]

2019–20 Houston Rockets season
Division champions
Head coachMike D'Antoni
General managerDaryl Morey
OwnersTilman Fertitta
ArenaToyota Center
Results
Record44–28 (.611)
PlaceDivision: 1st (Southwest)
Conference: 4th (Western)
Playoff finishConference Semifinals
(Lost to Lakers 1–4)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionAT&T SportsNet Southwest
RadioSportstalk 790

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 3 seasons with the Thunder and was part of the 2011–12 Thunder team that appeared in the 2012 NBA Finals.

In February, Westbrook and Harden became the first teammates in NBA history to average 30+ points and 5+ assists per game.[2]

COVID-19 Impact

The season was suspended by the league officials following the games of March 11[3] after it was reported that Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19.[4] 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."[5][6] Fourteen-year NBA veteran player Thabo Sefolosha opted out of continuing on with the team in the wake of coronavirus.[7] Westbrook also tested positive for the virus and the diagnosis was formally announced in July prior to the team heading to Orlando.[8] He flew to Orlando to join the team on July 20 following NBA mandated quarantine requirements and two negative COVID-19 test results.[9] 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.[10] A July 16th 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.[11]

Draft picks
Main article: 2019 NBA draft

The Rockets did not hold any picks for the 2019 NBA Draft.[12] 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
Roster listing
2019–20 Houston Rockets roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
F 5 Caboclo, Bruno 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 218 lb (99 kg) 1995–09–21 Brazil
F 9 Carroll, DeMarre 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1986–07–27 Missouri
C 19 Chandler, Tyson 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1982–10–02 Dominguez HS (CA)
G 3 Clemons, Chris 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1997–07–23 Campbell
F 33 Covington, Robert 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1990–12–14 Tennessee State
G 21 Frazier, Michael (TW) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1994–03–08 Florida
G 10 Gordon, Eric  6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1988–12–25 Indiana
F 32 Green, Jeff 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1986–08–28 Georgetown
G 13 Harden, James 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1989–08–26 Arizona State
G/F 4 House, Danuel 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1993–06–07 Texas A&M
F 12 Mbah a Moute, Luc 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1986–09–09 UCLA
G 16 McLemore, Ben 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1993–02–11 Kansas
G/F – Nwaba, David 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 219 lb (99 kg) 1993–01–14 Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
G 25 Rivers, Austin 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1992–08–01 Duke
G/F 18 Sefolosha, Thabo 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1984–05–02 Switzerland
F 17 Tucker, P. J. 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1985–05–05 Texas
G 0 Westbrook, Russell 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1988–11–12 UCLA
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
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: 2020–07–08

Standings

Division
Southwest Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div GP
y – Houston Rockets 44 28 .611 0.0 24–12 20–16 8–5 72
x – Dallas Mavericks 43 32 .573 2.5 20–18 23–14 10–4 75
Memphis Grizzlies 34 39 .466 10.5 20–17 14–22 4–9 73
San Antonio Spurs 32 39 .451 11.5 19–15 13–24 7–6 71
New Orleans Pelicans 30 42 .417 14.0 15–21 15–21 4–9 72

Conference
Western Conference
# Team W L PCT GB GP
1 c – Los Angeles Lakers * 52 19 .732 – 71
2 x – Los Angeles Clippers 49 23 .681 3.5 72
3 y – Denver Nuggets * 46 27 .630 7.0 73
4 y – Houston Rockets * 44 28 .611 8.5 72
5 x – Oklahoma City Thunder 44 28 .611 8.5 72
6 x – Utah Jazz 44 28 .611 8.5 72
7 x – Dallas Mavericks 43 32 .573 11.0 75
8 x – Portland Trail Blazers 35 39 .473 18.5 74
9 Memphis Grizzlies 34 39 .466 19.0 73
10 Phoenix Suns 34 39 .466 19.0 73
11 San Antonio Spurs 32 39 .451 20.0 71
12 Sacramento Kings 31 41 .431 21.5 72
13 New Orleans Pelicans 30 42 .417 22.5 72
14 Minnesota Timberwolves 19 45 .297 29.5 64
15 Golden State Warriors 15 50 .231 34.0 65

Game log

Preseason
2019 preseason game log
Total: 4–2 (Home: 2–1; Road: 2–1)
Preseason: 4–2 (Home: 2–1; Road: 2–1)
2019–20 season schedule

Regular season
2019–20 game log
Total: 44–28 (Home: 24–12; Road: 20–16)
October: 3–1 (Home: 2–1; Road: 1–0)
November: 10–5 (Home: 6–1; Road: 4–4)
December: 10–5 (Home: 4–2; Road: 6–3)
January: 7–7 (Home: 4–3; Road: 3–4)
February: 9–2 (Home: 5–1; Road: 4–1)
March: 1–4 (Home: 1–2; Road: 0–2)
Seeding games: 4–4 (Home: 2–2; Road: 2–2)
2019–20 season schedule

Playoffs
See also: 2020 NBA playoffs
2020 playoff game log
Total: 5–7 (Home: 4–2; Road: 1–5)
First Round: 4–3 (Home: 4–0; Road: 0–3)
Conference Semifinals: 1–4 (Home: 0–2; Road: 1–2)
2020 playoff schedule

Transactions
Main article: List of 2019–20 NBA season transactions

Trades
July 16, 2019[13] 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[14] 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[15] To Houston Rockets
Bruno Caboclo		 To Memphis Grizzlies
Jordan Bell
Second-round pick swap in 2023

Re-signed
Player Signed Contract
Danuel House July 16, 2019 3-yr, $11.15M s
Austin Rivers July 16, 2019 2-yr minimum salary ($4,543,981)

2020–1 player option

Gerald Green July 22, 2019 1-yr minimum salary ($2,594,753)
Eric Gordon September 4, 2019 4-yr/$75.6M extension

2023–4 not guaranteed

Additions
Player Signed Former team
William McDowell-White July 3, 2019 Brose Bamberg
Shamorie Ponds July 3, 2019 St. John's Red Storm
Chris Clemons July 5, 2019 Campbell Fighting Camels
Tyson Chandler July 18, 2019 Los Angeles Lakers
Ben McLemore July 23, 2019 Sacramento Kings
Anthony Bennett July 25, 2019 Agua Caliente Clippers
Thabo Sefolosha September 23, 2019 Utah Jazz
Ryan Anderson September 27, 2019 Miami Heat
Jeff Green February 18, 2020 Utah Jazz
DeMarre Carroll February 20, 2020 San Antonio Spurs
Luc Mbah A Moute July 7, 2020 Los Angeles Clippers

Subtractions
Player Reason left New team
Kenneth Faried Free agency Zhenjiang Lions
Deyonta Davis Waived Santa Cruz Warriors
Chris Chiozza Waived Washington Wizards
William McDowell-White Waived Rio Grande Valley Vipers
Anthony Bennett Waived —
Shamorie Ponds Waived Toronto Raptors / Raptors 905
Ray Spalding Waived Rio Grande Valley Vipers
Jaron Blossomgame Waived Rio Grande Valley Vipers

References
  1. "Houston Rockets Franchise Index | Basketball-Reference.com". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved 2017-05-27.
  2. "Russell Westbrook, James Harden finish historic month in style". usatoday.com. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  3. "NBA to suspend season following Wednesday's games". NBA.com. March 11, 2020. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  4. Reynolds, Tim (March 11, 2020). "NBA suspends season until further notice, over coronavirus". NBA.com. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  5. "Fans React After Report That NBA Players Are Using Bubble 'Snitch Hotline'". Complex. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  6. Staff, From NBA com. "Everything you need to know about the 2019-20 NBA season restart". NBA.com. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  7. https://rocketswire.usatoday.com/2020/07/01/rockets-have-open-roster-spot-after-thabo-sefolosha-opts-out/
  8. https://abc13.com/russell-westbrook-covid-19-houston-rockets-nba/6315187/
  9. https://abc13.com/sports/westbrook-arrives-in-orlando-week-after-revealing-covid-19-case/6325802/
  10. "P.J. Tucker, Russell Westbrook explain strong support for masks". Rockets Wire. 2020-07-23. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  11. Young, Jabari (2020-07-16). "Houston Rockets sue insurance company for denying its coronavirus business-interruption claim". CNBC. Retrieved 2020-07-24.
  12. "Full 2019 NBA Draft Order". tankathon.com. Archived from the original on 2019-05-15. Retrieved 2019-05-14.
  13. "Rockets Acquire Eight-Time All-Star Russell Westbrook". Houston Rockets. Retrieved 2019-09-30.
  14. "Rockets Complete Four-Team Trade". NBA.com. February 5, 2020. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  15. "Memphis Grizzlies acquire Jordan Bell from Houston Rockets". NBA.com. February 6, 2020. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
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