2023-24_Houston_Rockets_season
2023–24 Houston Rockets season
NBA professional basketball team season
The 2023–24 Houston Rockets season was the 57th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA), and 53rd season in the city of Houston.[1]
Quick Facts Houston Rockets season, Head coach ...
| 2023–24 Houston Rockets season | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Head coach | Ime Udoka | ||
| General manager | Rafael Stone | ||
| President | Gretchen Sheirr | ||
| Owner(s) | Tilman Fertitta | ||
| Arena | Toyota Center | ||
| Results | |||
| Record | 41–41 (.500) | ||
| Place | Division: 3rd (Southwest) Conference: 11th (Western) | ||
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify | ||
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |||
| Local media | |||
| Television | Space City Home Network | ||
| Radio | Sportstalk 790 | ||
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On April 10, 2023, the Houston Rockets fired head coach Stephen Silas after three rebuilding seasons with the team.[2] Two weeks later, the Rockets hired Ime Udoka as their new head coach, looking to contend for the playoffs.[3][4] After starting out 0–3 in October, the Rockets had a six-game winning streak to start out November.
The Rockets entered the month of March with a 27–34 record and stood at 11th place in the Western Conference. Despite losing breakout player Alperen Şengün to injury, the Rockets won 13 of their next 14 games, including an 11-game winning streak buoyed by career-best performances from star Jalen Green alongside one-time all-star Fred VanVleet and rookie Amen Thompson, which allowed them to rise to contention for the play-in tournament. Their improved 38–35 record had them trail the Golden State Warriors by one game back from the #10-seed, but afterwards the Rockets fell into a five-game losing streak as the Warriors went on a winning streak of their own, resulting in their elimination from playoff contention for the fourth consecutive season following an overtime loss to the Dallas Mavericks on April 7. The Rockets would finish the season with a 41–41 record, finishing with a non-losing season for the first time in four years.
Main article: 2023 NBA draft
More information Round, Pick ...
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College / Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Amen Thompson | Point guard |  United States |
City Reapers (Overtime Elite) |
| 1 | 20 | Cam Whitmore | Small forward | United States |
Villanova (Fr.) |
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The Rockets entered the draft with two first round picks and no second round selections.[5] For their first pick at four, the Rockets selected point guard Amen Thompson from Overtime Elite's City Reapers team, being the organization's first ever draft pick entering the NBA. With their pick at 20, Houston selected small forward Cam Whitmore, who won the Big East Conference's Freshman of the Year Award for his only season at Villanova University. Before the draft, Whitmore was widely regarded to be a lottery pick with some projections placing him as high as fourth overall.[6][7][8][9]
More information Players, Coaches ...
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Division
More information Southwest Division, W ...
| Southwest Division | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y – Dallas Mavericks | 50 | 32 | .610 | – | 25–16 | 25–16 | 11–5 | 82 |
| x – New Orleans Pelicans | 49 | 33 | .598 | 1.0 | 21–19 | 28–14 | 9–7 | 82 |
| Houston Rockets | 41 | 41 | .500 | 9.0 | 27–14 | 14–27 | 9–7 | 82 |
| Memphis Grizzlies | 27 | 55 | .329 | 23.0 | 9–32 | 18–23 | 8–8 | 82 |
| San Antonio Spurs | 22 | 60 | .268 | 28.0 | 12–29 | 10–31 | 3–13 | 82 |
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Conference
More information Western Conference, # ...
| Western Conference | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | GP |
| 1 | c – Oklahoma City Thunder * | 57 | 25 | .695 | – | 82 |
| 2 | x – Denver Nuggets | 57 | 25 | .695 | – | 82 |
| 3 | x – Minnesota Timberwolves | 56 | 26 | .683 | 1.0 | 82 |
| 4 | y – Los Angeles Clippers * | 51 | 31 | .622 | 6.0 | 82 |
| 5 | y – Dallas Mavericks * | 50 | 32 | .610 | 7.0 | 82 |
| 6 | x – Phoenix Suns | 49 | 33 | .598 | 8.0 | 82 |
| 7 | x – New Orleans Pelicans | 49 | 33 | .598 | 8.0 | 82 |
| 8 | x – Los Angeles Lakers | 47 | 35 | .573 | 10.0 | 82 |
| 9 | pi – Sacramento Kings | 46 | 36 | .561 | 11.0 | 82 |
| 10 | pi – Golden State Warriors | 46 | 36 | .561 | 11.0 | 82 |
| 11 | Houston Rockets | 41 | 41 | .500 | 16.0 | 82 |
| 12 | Utah Jazz | 31 | 51 | .378 | 26.0 | 82 |
| 13 | Memphis Grizzlies | 27 | 55 | .329 | 30.0 | 82 |
| 14 | San Antonio Spurs | 22 | 60 | .268 | 35.0 | 82 |
| 15 | Portland Trail Blazers | 21 | 61 | .256 | 36.0 | 82 |
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Preseason
More information 2023 preseason game log Total: 4–1 (Home: 2–0; Road: 2–1), Game ...
| 2023 preseason game log Total: 4–1 (Home: 2–0; Road: 2–1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Preseason: 4–1 (home: 2–0; road: 2–1)
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| 2023–24 preseason schedule | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Regular season
More information 2023–24 game log Total: 41–41 (Home: 27–14; Road: 14–27), Game ...
| 2023–24 game log Total: 41–41 (Home: 27–14; Road: 14–27) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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October: 0–3 (home: 0–1; road: 0–2)
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November: 8–5 (home: 8–0; road: 0–5)
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December
: 7–7 (home: 4–4; road: 3–3)
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January
: 7–10 (home: 5–4; road: 2–6)
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February
: 3–9 (home: 3–1; road: 0–8)
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March
: 13–2 (home: 6–2; road: 7–0)
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April: 3–5 (home: 1–2; road: 2–3)
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| 2023–24 season schedule | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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In-Season Tournament
Main article: 2023 NBA In-Season Tournament
This will be the first regular season where all the NBA teams will compete in a mid-season tournament setting due to the implementation of the 2023 NBA In-Season Tournament.[10][11] During the in-season tournament period, the Rockets will compete in Group B of the Western Conference, which will include the defending champion Denver Nuggets, the Los Angeles Clippers, the New Orleans Pelicans, and the Dallas Mavericks.
West group B
More information Pos, Pld ...
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Qualification | NOP | HOU | DAL | DEN | LAC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Orleans Pelicans | 4 | 3 | 1 | 463 | 430 | +33 | Advance to knockout stage | — | 101–104 | 131–110 | 115–110 | 116–106 | |
| 2 | Houston Rockets | 4 | 2[lower-alpha 1] | 2 | 424 | 414 | +10 | 104–101 | — | 115–121 | 105–86 | 100–106 | ||
| 3 | Dallas Mavericks | 4 | 2[lower-alpha 1] | 2 | 489 | 497 | −8 | 110–131 | 121–115 | — | 114–125 | 144–126 | ||
| 4 | Denver Nuggets | 4 | 2[lower-alpha 1] | 2 | 432 | 442 | −10 | 110–115 | 86–105 | 125–114 | — | 111–108 | ||
| 5 | Los Angeles Clippers | 4 | 1 | 3 | 446 | 471 | −25 | 106–116 | 106–100 | 126–144 | 108–111 | — |
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Main article: List of 2023–24 NBA season transactions
Overview
Trades
Free agency
Re-signed
More information Player, Signed ...
| Player | Signed | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
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Additions
More information Date, Player ...
| Date | Player | Former team | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 6 | Jock Landale | Phoenix Suns | [12] |
| July 7 | Fred VanVleet | Toronto Raptors | [13] |
| Jeff Green | Denver Nuggets | [14] | |
| July 10 | Aaron Holiday | Atlanta Hawks | [15] |
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Subtractions
More information Date, Player ...
| Date | Player | Reason left | New team | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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- "Houston Rockets Historical Statistics and All-Time Top Leaders". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
- "Rockets decide not to pick up coach Stephen Silas' option". NBA.com. April 10, 2023. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
- "Rockets Name Ime Udoka Head Coach". NBA.com. April 25, 2023. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
- "The Rockets are ready to move past their rebuild". ESPN.com. April 9, 2023. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
- "2023 NBA mock drafts: Potential Houston Rockets picks after March Madness". Rockets Wire. April 4, 2023. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
- "NBA Draft Scouting Report: Villanova's Cam Whitmore". NBA Draft Digest - Latest Draft News and Prospect Rankings. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
- "NBA mock draft: Wembanyama easy No. 1; AP has Miller second, Henderson third". AP News. June 1, 2023. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
- "Villanova's Cam Whitmore falls to No. 20 pick in NBA draft after lottery projection". AP News. June 23, 2023. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
- Hryn, Derek (June 22, 2023). "2023 NBA Draft scouting report for Villanova F Cam Whitmore". DraftKings Network. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
- "NBA officially unveils format, groups for new in-season tournament". ESPN. July 8, 2023. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
- "In-Season Tournament 101: Rules, format and how it works". National Basketball Association. July 8, 2023. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
- "Rockets Sign Free Agent Jock Landale". www.nba.com. July 6, 2023. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
- "Rockets pry Fred VanVleet away from Raptors". www.nba.com. July 7, 2023. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
- "Rockets Sign Free Agent Jeff Green". www.nba.com. July 7, 2023. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
- "Rockets Sign Free Agent Aaron Holiday". www.nba.com. July 10, 2023. Retrieved July 17, 2023.