2003–04 Houston Rockets season

2003–04 Houston Rockets season
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	West First Round; (Lost to Lakers 1–4)
	Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	KNWS-51, KIAH
< 2002–03	2004–05 >

The 2003–04 NBA 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.

For the season, the team sported new uniforms and a new logo, which currently remains in use.

Offseason

NBA Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club
2	44	Malick Badiane	Forward	Senegal	Langen (Germany)

Roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Height	Weight	DOB
F/C	13	Cato, Kelvin	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	275 lb (125 kg)	Iowa State
G	3	Francis, Steve	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Maryland
G/F	7	Griffin, Adrian	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	217 lb (98 kg)	Seton Hall
F	21	Jackson, Jim	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Ohio State
G	31	Jackson, Mark	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	St. John's
G/F	5	Mobley, Cuttino	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Rhode Island
F	9	Nachbar, Boštjan	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	221 lb (100 kg)	Slovenia
F	35	Padgett, Scott	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	Kentucky
G/F	52	Piatkowski, Eric	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Nebraska
F/C	2	Taylor, Maurice	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	265 lb (120 kg)	Michigan
F	30	Weatherspoon, Clarence	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	Southern Mississippi
G	29	Wilks, Mike	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Rice
C	11	Yao Ming	7 ft 6 in (2.29 m)	310 lb (141 kg)	China

Head coach

Jeff Van Gundy (Nazareth College)

Legend

(DP) Unsigned draft pick
(FA) Free agent
(S) Suspended
Injured

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

Midwest Division v t e	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
Utah Jazz	42	40	.512	16	28–13	14–27	10–14

#	Western Conference v t e
#	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	Utah Jazz	42	40	.512	16
10	Portland Trail Blazers	41	41	.500	17
11	Seattle SuperSonics	37	45	.451	21
12	Golden State Warriors	37	45	.451	21
13	Phoenix Suns	29	53	.354	29
14	Los Angeles Clippers	28	54	.341	30

Record vs. opponents

2003-04 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	CHI	CLE	DAL	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	LAC	LAL	MEM	MIA	MIL	MIN	NJN	NOH	NYK	ORL	PHI	PHO	POR	SAC	SAS	SEA	TOR	UTA	WAS
Atlanta	—	3–1	3–1	1–3	2–0	2–0	1–3	0–2	0–2	0–4	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–3	2–2	1–1	1–3	2–2	0–3	1–3	1–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–3	0–2	2–2
Boston	1–3	—	1–2	3–1	1–1	2–0	0–3	2–0	1–1	1–3	0–2	0–2	1–1	2–2	1–3	1–1	2–2	0–4	1–3	3–1	3–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–1	1–1	3–1
Chicago	1–3	2–1	—	2–2	0–2	0–2	0–4	1–1	0–2	1–3	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–4	1–3	0–2	0–3	2–2	2–2	3–1	0–4	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	4–0	1–1	1–3
Cleveland	3–1	1–3	2–2	—	0–2	0–2	2–2	0–2	0–2	1–3	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–2	2–2	0–2	1–2	3–1	4–0	2–1	3–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–3	1–1	2–2
Dallas	0–2	1–1	2–0	2–0	—	2–2	1–1	3–1	3–1	0–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	1–1	1–1	2–2	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	3–1	3–1	3–1	3–1	3–1	1–1	2–2	1–1
Denver	0–2	0–2	2–0	2–0	2–2	—	0–2	3–1	2–2	0–2	2–2	1–3	2–2	1–1	2–0	1–3	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	4–0	4–0	2–2	1–3	2–2	0–2	3–1	2–0
Detroit	3–1	3–0	4–0	2–2	1–1	2–0	—	1–1	1–1	1–3	2–0	1–1	2–0	4–0	3–1	0–2	2–2	1–3	3–1	3–1	2–2	2–0	2–0	0–2	1–1	1–1	3–1	1–1	3–0
Golden State	2–0	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–3	1–3	1–1	—	2–2	0–2	2–2	1–3	1–3	1–1	1–1	2–2	0–2	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	3–1	1–1	2–2	1–1
Houston	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–3	2–2	1–1	2–2	—	1–1	4–0	2–2	1–3	1–1	2–0	2–2	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–3	3–1	0–4	0–4	1–3	1–1	2–2	2–0
Indiana	4–0	3–1	3–1	3–1	2–0	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	—	2–0	1–1	1–1	3–0	1–3	1–1	3–1	2–2	3–1	3–1	4–0	2–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	4–0	2–0	2–1
L.A. Clippers	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–2	2–2	0–2	2–2	0–4	0–2	—	1–3	0–4	0–2	2–0	0–4	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–2	0–4	1–3	0–4	1–1	1–3	0–2
L.A. Lakers	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–2	3–1	1–1	3–1	2–2	1–1	3–1	—	2–2	2–0	2–0	1–3	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–2	1–3	3–1	3–1	2–0	3–1	2–0
Memphis	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–2	0–2	3–1	3–1	1–1	4–0	2–2	—	1–1	1–1	1–3	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–2	2–2	3–1	1–3	2–0	1–3	2–0
Miami	3–1	2–2	4–0	2–2	1–1	1–1	0–4	1–1	1–1	0–3	2–0	0–2	1–1	—	1–2	0–2	3–2	3–1	1–3	4–0	1–3	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	2–0	2–1	1–1	4–0
Milwaukee	2–2	3–1	3–1	2–2	1–1	0–2	1–3	1–1	0–2	3–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	2–1	—	0–2	3–1	1–3	2–2	3–1	2–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	3–1	1–1	3–1
Minnesota	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–2	3–1	2–0	2–2	2–2	1–1	4–0	3–1	3–1	2–0	2–0	—	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	4–0	1–3	3–1	2–2	3–1	2–0	2–2	2–0
New Jersey	3–1	2–2	3–0	2–1	0–2	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–3	2–0	0–2	0–2	2–3	1–3	1–1	—	2–1	3–1	4–0	3–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	2–0	2–2	1–1	4–0
New Orleans	2–2	4–0	2–2	1–3	0–2	1–1	3–1	2–0	0–2	2–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–3	3–1	0–2	1–2	—	1–2	4–0	2–2	1–1	2–0	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–3	1–1	3–1
New York	3–0	3–1	2–2	0–4	0–2	1–1	1–3	0–2	0–2	1–3	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–1	2–2	1–1	1–3	2–1	—	3–1	3–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–1	0–2	4–0
Orlando	3–1	1–3	1–3	1–2	0–2	1–1	1–3	1–1	0–2	1–3	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–4	1–3	0–2	0–4	0–4	1–3	—	2–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–2	1–1	4–0
Philadelphia	2–1	1–3	4–0	1–3	1–1	0–2	2–2	1–1	0–2	0–4	1–1	1–1	0–2	3–1	1–2	1–1	1–3	2–2	1–3	2–2	—	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–3	0–2	2–2
Phoenix	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–3	0–4	0–2	2–2	3–1	0–2	1–3	1–3	2–2	1–1	1–1	0–4	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	—	2–2	1–3	0–4	2–2	0–2	1–3	1–1
Portland	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–3	0–4	0–2	2–2	1–3	1–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–2	—	3–1	0–4	2–2	1–1	2–2	1–1
Sacramento	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–3	2–2	2–0	2–2	4–0	2–0	4–0	3–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	1–3	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–0	3–1	1–3	—	2–2	3–1	2–0	3–1	1–1
San Antonio	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–3	3–1	1–1	2–2	4–0	1–1	3–1	1–3	1–3	2–0	1–1	2–2	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–0	0–2	4–0	4–0	2–2	—	4–0	2–0	4–0	2–0
Seattle	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	1–3	2–2	1–1	1–3	3–1	0–2	4–0	1–3	3–1	0–2	2–0	1–3	0–2	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–2	2–2	1–3	0–4	—	1–1	1–3	1–1
Toronto	3–1	1–3	0–4	3–1	1–1	2–0	1–3	1–1	1–1	0–4	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–2	1–3	0–2	2–2	3–1	1–3	2–1	3–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	—	1–1	1–3
Utah	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–3	1–1	2–2	2–2	0–2	3–1	1–3	3–1	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–2	1–3	0–4	3–1	1–1	—	1–1
Washington	2–2	1–3	3–1	2–2	1–1	0–2	0–3	1–1	0–2	1–2	2–0	0–2	0–2	0–4	1–3	0–2	0–4	1–3	0–4	0–4	2–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–1	1–1	—

Game log

Playoffs

West First Round

(2) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (7) Houston Rockets: Lakers win series 4–1

Game 1 @ Staples Center, Los Angeles: Los Angeles 72, Houston 71 ESPN 10:30et
Game 2 @ Staples Center, Los Angeles: Los Angeles 98, Houston 84 TNT 10:30et
Game 3 @ Toyota Center, Houston: Houston 102, Los Angeles 91 ESPN 9:30et
Game 4 @ Toyota Center, Houston: Los Angeles 92, Houston 88 (OT) ABC 3:30et
Game 5 @ Staples Center, Los Angeles: Los Angeles 97, Houston 78 TNT 10:30et

Last Playoff Meeting: 1999 Western Conference First Round (Los Angeles won 3-1)

Player statistics

Legend
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

Season

Playoffs

Awards and records

Yao Ming, All-NBA Third Team

Transactions

References

^ 2003-04 Houston Rockets
^ "Exit T-mac, Enter Steve Francis . . .the 7-player Trade With Houston Is Final. Tracy McGrady Didn't Want To Leave Here". Orlando Sentinel. June 30, 2004. Retrieved August 29, 2017.

v t e Houston Rockets
Founded in 1967 Played in San Diego (1967–1971) Based in Houston, Texas
Franchise	History All-time roster Draft history 1967 Records Head coaches Seasons Current season
Arenas	Pechanga Arena Hofheinz Pavilion Astrodome HemisFair Arena The Summit/Compaq Center Toyota Center
Personnel	Owner(s) Tilman Fertitta President Gretchen Sheirr General manager Rafael Stone Head coach Ime Udoka
G League affiliate	Rio Grande Valley Vipers
Retired numbers	11 22 23 24 34 44 45
NBA championships	1994 1995
Rivalries	Dallas Mavericks San Antonio Spurs Utah Jazz
Culture and lore	Red Rowdies ClutchFans Clutch City Clutch the Rockets Bear Dancing Barry The Kiss of Death The Dream Shake 13 points in 35 seconds 22 wins in a row The Year of the Yao June 17th, 1994 27 consecutive 3-pointers missed

Offseason

NBA Draft

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Playoffs

West First Round

Player statistics

Season

Playoffs

Awards and records

Transactions

References

See also