2003–04 Houston Rockets season
NBA professional basketball team season
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The 2003–04 Houston Rockets season was the Rockets' 37th season in the National Basketball Association, and their 33rd season in the city of Houston.[1] The season saw the Rockets move their home games from Compaq Center to the new Toyota Center. During the offseason, the Rockets hired head coach Jeff Van Gundy, who is best known for his tenure with the New York Knicks, and signed free agent Jim Jackson. Midway through the season, they signed free agent point guard Mark Jackson. The Rockets finished fifth in the Midwest Division with a 45–37 record, and qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 1999 as the number 7 seed in the Western Conference. Second-year star Yao Ming and Steve Francis were both selected for the 2004 NBA All-Star Game. However, the Rockets were eliminated from the first round of the playoffs by the Los Angeles Lakers, who added Karl Malone and Gary Payton to join Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, in five games. This also marked Francis' only playoff appearance in his career. Following the season, he was traded along with Cuttino Mobley and Kelvin Cato to the Orlando Magic,[2] and Mark Jackson retired.
| 2003–04 Houston Rockets season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Jeff Van Gundy |
| Arena | Toyota Center |
| Results | |
| Record | 45–37 (.549) |
| Place | Division: 5th (Midwest) Conference: 7th (Western) |
| Playoff finish | First round (lost to Lakers 1–4) |
Stats at Basketball Reference | |
| Local media | |
| Television | KNWS-51, KIAH |
For the season, the team sported new uniforms and a new logo, they remained in used until 2019.
Offseason
NBA draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | School/Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 44 | Malick Badiane | Forward |  Senegal |
Langen (Germany) |
Roster
| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Head coach
Assistant(s)
Legend
|
Regular season
Season standings
| W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y-Minnesota Timberwolves | 58 | 24 | .707 | – | 31–10 | 27–14 | 14–10 |
| x-San Antonio Spurs | 57 | 25 | .695 | 1 | 33–8 | 24–17 | 15–9 |
| x-Dallas Mavericks | 52 | 30 | .634 | 6 | 36–5 | 16–25 | 14–10 |
| x-Memphis Grizzlies | 50 | 32 | .610 | 8 | 31–10 | 19–22 | 12–12 |
| x-Houston Rockets | 45 | 37 | .549 | 13 | 27–14 | 18–23 | 8–16 |
| x-Denver Nuggets | 43 | 39 | .524 | 15 | 29–12 | 14–27 | 11–13 |
| e-Utah Jazz | 42 | 40 | .512 | 16 | 28–13 | 14–27 | 10–14 |
| # | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | |
| 1 | c-Minnesota Timberwolves | 58 | 24 | .707 | – |
| 2 | y-Los Angeles Lakers | 56 | 26 | .683 | 2 |
| 3 | x-San Antonio Spurs | 57 | 25 | .695 | 1 |
| 4 | x-Sacramento Kings | 55 | 27 | .671 | 3 |
| 5 | x-Dallas Mavericks | 52 | 30 | .634 | 6 |
| 6 | x-Memphis Grizzlies | 50 | 32 | .610 | 8 |
| 7 | x-Houston Rockets | 45 | 37 | .549 | 13 |
| 8 | x-Denver Nuggets | 43 | 39 | .524 | 15 |
| 9 | e-Utah Jazz | 42 | 40 | .512 | 16 |
| 10 | e-Portland Trail Blazers | 41 | 41 | .500 | 17 |
| 11 | e-Seattle SuperSonics | 37 | 45 | .451 | 21 |
| 12 | e-Golden State Warriors | 37 | 45 | .451 | 21 |
| 13 | e-Phoenix Suns | 29 | 53 | .354 | 29 |
| 14 | e-Los Angeles Clippers | 28 | 54 | .341 | 30 |
Game log
Playoffs
| 2004 playoff game log | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
First Round: 1–4 (home: 1–1; road: 0–3)
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| 2004 schedule | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Torraye Braggs† | 11 | 0 | 12.0 | .464 | .667 | 3.1 | .5 | .4 | .2 | 3.1 | |
| Kelvin Cato | 69 | 67 | 25.3 | .447 | .676 | 6.8 | 1.0 | .8 | 1.4 | 6.1 | |
| Alton Ford | 9 | 0 | 4.6 | .545 | .500 | 1.2 | .3 | .0 | .1 | 1.7 | |
| Steve Francis | 79 | 79 | 40.4 | .403 | .292 | .775 | 5.5 | 6.2 | 1.8 | .4 | 16.6 |
| Adrian Griffin | 19 | 1 | 7.0 | .278 | .500 | .000 | 1.0 | .5 | .4 | .1 | .6 |
| Jim Jackson | 80 | 80 | 39.0 | .424 | .400 | .843 | 6.1 | 2.8 | 1.1 | .3 | 12.9 |
| Mark Jackson | 42 | 3 | 13.7 | .340 | .171 | .718 | 1.7 | 2.8 | .4 | .0 | 2.5 |
| Yao Ming | 82 | 82 | 32.8 | .522 | .000 | .809 | 9.0 | 1.5 | .3 | 1.9 | 17.5 |
| Cuttino Mobley | 80 | 80 | 40.4 | .426 | .390 | .811 | 4.5 | 3.2 | 1.3 | .4 | 15.8 |
| Boštjan Nachbar | 45 | 3 | 11.5 | .356 | .365 | .724 | 1.6 | .7 | .3 | .3 | 3.1 |
| Moochie Norris† | 30 | 0 | 13.4 | .310 | .348 | .750 | 1.0 | 1.6 | .5 | .1 | 2.7 |
| Charles Oakley | 7 | 0 | 3.6 | .333 | .833 | .7 | .3 | .0 | .0 | 1.3 | |
| Scott Padgett | 58 | 5 | 9.4 | .443 | .431 | .750 | 2.4 | .4 | .2 | .2 | 3.4 |
| Eric Piatkowski | 49 | 0 | 14.3 | .377 | .352 | .875 | 1.5 | .5 | .3 | .1 | 4.1 |
| Maurice Taylor | 75 | 10 | 27.7 | .480 | .000 | .736 | 5.1 | 1.4 | .6 | .6 | 11.5 |
| Clarence Weatherspoon† | 37 | 0 | 17.6 | .503 | .000 | .660 | 4.2 | .5 | .6 | .4 | 5.6 |
| Mike Wilks | 26 | 0 | 5.6 | .472 | .600 | .833 | .6 | .7 | .1 | .0 | 1.9 |
Playoffs
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kelvin Cato | 5 | 5 | 29.6 | .591 | .429 | 6.8 | .4 | 1.0 | .8 | 5.8 | |
| Steve Francis | 5 | 5 | 44.4 | .429 | .412 | .725 | 8.4 | 7.6 | 1.4 | .2 | 19.2 |
| Jim Jackson | 5 | 5 | 44.2 | .397 | .276 | .667 | 10.4 | 2.0 | 1.0 | .2 | 14.8 |
| Mark Jackson | 5 | 0 | 7.6 | .167 | .000 | .6 | 1.0 | .4 | .0 | .4 | |
| Yao Ming | 5 | 5 | 37.0 | .456 | .765 | 7.4 | 1.8 | .4 | 1.4 | 15.0 | |
| Cuttino Mobley | 5 | 5 | 42.0 | .387 | .286 | .800 | 4.8 | 2.8 | .6 | .6 | 14.4 |
| Boštjan Nachbar | 5 | 0 | 8.2 | .444 | .333 | 1.000 | 1.2 | .4 | .2 | .0 | 2.8 |
| Scott Padgett | 4 | 0 | 3.5 | .400 | .333 | .8 | .0 | .3 | .3 | 1.3 | |
| Eric Piatkowski | 1 | 0 | 4.0 | .000 | 1.0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | ||
| Maurice Taylor | 5 | 0 | 23.0 | .474 | .765 | 3.2 | 1.0 | .0 | .2 | 9.8 | |
| Clarence Weatherspoon | 2 | 0 | 11.0 | .400 | .500 | 2.0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 3.5 | |
| Mike Wilks | 2 | 0 | 2.5 | .0 | .5 | .0 | .0 | .0 |
- † Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Rockets only.