2006–07 Houston Rockets season

2006–07 Houston Rockets season
2006–07 Houston Rockets season
Head coach	Jeff Van Gundy
General manager	Carroll Dawson
Owner(s)	Leslie Alexander
Arena	Toyota Center
Results
Record	52–30 (.634)
Place	Division: 3rd (Southwest); Conference: 5th (Western)
Playoff finish	First Round; (lost to Jazz 3–4)
	Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	FSN Houston; KNWS;
Radio	KILT
< 2005–06	2007–08 >

The 2006–07 Houston Rockets season was the 40th season of the Houston Rockets franchise in the NBA. The team ended the regular season with a 52–30 record and a 3rd-place finish in the Southwest.^[1] The Rockets faced the Utah Jazz in the playoffs, losing the series in seven games. The Rockets had the third best team defensive rating in the NBA.^[2]

With the playoff loss, the Rockets made the decision to fire head coach Jeff Van Gundy on May 18, 2007. Five days later, former San Diego Rockets (now the Houston Rockets) player Rick Adelman was hired in Van Gundy's position.^[3]

Like the previous two seasons, Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming once again were selected to play in the 2007 NBA All-Star Game in Las Vegas. However, McGrady was the only team representative as Yao did not play due to an injury. It was Yao's fifth All-Star appearance and the last of seven All-Star appearances for McGrady as later injuries began to slow him down and eventually limit his playing time.

Pre-season

NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club
1	8	Rudy Gay (traded to Memphis)	Forward	United States	Connecticut
2	32	Steve Novak	Forward	United States	Marquette

Roster

2006–07 Houston Rockets roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Name	Height	Weight	DOB	From
PG	12	Alston, Rafer	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	171 lb (78 kg)	1976-07-24	Fresno State
SF	31	Battier, Shane	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	1978-09-09	Duke
PF	44	Hayes, Chuck	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	1983-06-11	Kentucky
SG	2	Head, Luther	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1982-11-26	Illinois
PF	5	Howard, Juwan	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	1973-02-07	Michigan
PG	15	Lucas III, John	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	1982-11-21	Oklahoma State
SG	1	McGrady, Tracy	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	1979-05-24	Mt. Zion HS (NC)
C	11	Yao Ming	7 ft 6 in (2.29 m)	310 lb (141 kg)	1980-09-12	China
C	55	Mutombo, Dikembe	7 ft 2 in (2.18 m)	245 lb (111 kg)	1966-06-25	Georgetown
SF	20	Novak, Steve	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	1983-06-13	Marquette
SF	13	Snyder, Kirk	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	1983-06-05	Nevada
SG	10	Spanoulis, Vassilis	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	1982-08-07	Greece
G	3	Sura, Bob	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	1973-03-25	Florida State
C	25	Tsakalidis, Jake	7 ft 2 in (2.18 m)	285 lb (129 kg)	1979-06-10	Republic of Georgia
SF	6	Wells, Bonzi	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	1976-09-28	Ball State

Head coach

Jeff Van Gundy

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

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

Roster
Last transaction: February 13, 2007

Roster notes

Jake Tsakalidis was born in the Republic of Georgia, but he represented Greece internationally.
Bob Sura missed the entire season with a knee injury.

Regular season

Standings

Southwest Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
z-Dallas Mavericks	67	15	.817	-	36–5	31–10	14–2
x-San Antonio Spurs	58	24	.707	9	31–10	27–14	10–6
x-Houston Rockets	52	30	.634	15	28–13	24–17	8–8
New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets	39	43	.476	28	24–17	15–26	6–10
Memphis Grizzlies	22	60	.268	45	14–27	8–33	2–14

#	Western Conference v t e
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Dallas Mavericks	67	15	.817	-
2	y-Phoenix Suns	61	21	.744	6
3	x-San Antonio Spurs	58	24	.707	9
4	y-Utah Jazz	51	31	.634	16
5	x-Houston Rockets	52	30	.634	15
6	x-Denver Nuggets	45	37	.549	22
7	x-Los Angeles Lakers	42	40	.512	25
8	x-Golden State Warriors	42	40	.512	25

9	Los Angeles Clippers	40	42	.488	27
10	New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets	39	43	.476	28
11	Sacramento Kings	33	49	.402	34
12	Portland Trail Blazers	32	50	.390	35
13	Minnesota Timberwolves	32	50	.390	35
14	Seattle SuperSonics	31	51	.378	36
15	Memphis Grizzlies	22	60	.268	45

Record vs. opponents

2006-07 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	CHA	CHI	CLE	DAL	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	LAC	LAL	MEM	MIA	MIL	MIN	NJN	NOK	NYK	ORL	PHI	PHO	POR	SAC	SAS	SEA	TOR	UTA	WAS
Atlanta	—	3–1	1–3	0–4	1–3	0–2	1–1	1–2	2–0	1–1	1–3	2–0	0–2	2–0	0–4	1–2	2–0	1–2	0–2	1–2	3–1	1–3	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–2	0–2	1–3
Boston	1–3	—	2–2	0–3	1–2	0–2	1–1	0–4	0–2	1–1	1–3	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–2	2–2	1–1	2–2	0–2	3–1	1–3	1–3	0–2	2–0	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–3	0–2	0–3
Charlotte	3–1	2–2	—	1–2	2–2	0–2	1–1	2–2	1–1	0–2	1–2	0–2	2–0	0–2	2–2	2–2	1–1	1–2	1–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–3	1–1	2–2
Chicago	4–0	3–0	2–1	—	2–2	1–1	1–1	3–1	1–1	0–2	3–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	3–1	4–0	0–2	1–3	2–0	3–1	1–2	2–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	1–1	2–0	2–2	0–2	3–1
Cleveland	3–1	2–1	2–2	2–2	—	0–2	0–2	1–3	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–3	4–0	2–0	2–1	1–1	2–2	1–2	3–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	3–1	1–1	2–1
Dallas	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	—	3–1	1–1	0–3	3–1	2–0	2–1	3–1	4–0	2–0	2–0	4–0	2–0	4–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–2	3–0	4–0	3–1	4–0	2–0	1–2	1–1
Denver	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–3	—	0–2	3–1	1–2	2–0	2–1	3–1	2–2	2–0	2–0	2–2	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–2	3–1	2–2	1–2	3–1	1–1	1–3	1–1
Detroit	2–1	4–0	2–2	1–3	3–1	1–1	2–0	—	0–2	1–1	2–2	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–1	3–1	1–1	4–0	1–1	2–1	4–0	3–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–0	2–1	0–2	2–2
Golden State	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	3–0	1–3	2–0	—	2–1	1–1	2–2	0–4	3–1	0–2	0–2	2–1	1–1	3–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–3	2–1	3–1	1–3	3–1	1–1	2–2	1–1
Houston	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–3	2–1	1–1	1–2	—	1–1	3–1	2–2	4–0	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–3	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–3	2–2	3–0	2–2	3–0	1–1	1–3	2–0
Indiana	3–1	3–1	2–1	1–3	1–3	0–2	0–2	2–2	1–1	1–1	—	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	4–0	0–2	0–4	1–1	2–1	2–2	2–2	0–2	2–0	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–2	0–2	0–3
L.A. Clippers	0–2	2–0	2–0	2–0	0–2	1–2	1–2	0–2	2–2	1–3	1–1	—	2–2	3–0	2–0	2–0	1–2	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	3–1	2–2	0–4	2–2	0–2	1–3	1–1
L.A. Lakers	2–0	2–0	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–3	1–3	0–2	4–0	2–2	1–1	2–2	—	2–2	1–1	0–2	3–1	2–0	1–2	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–3	1–2	3–1	2–1	3–1	1–1	2–1	1–1
Memphis	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	0–4	2–2	0–2	1–3	0–4	0–2	0–3	2–2	—	0–2	0–2	2–1	0–2	1–3	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–4	2–2	1–2	1–3	1–2	1–1	1–3	1–1
Miami	4–0	2–1	2–2	1–3	3–1	0–2	0–2	1–2	2–0	0–2	2–2	0–2	1–1	2–0	—	2–1	2–0	3–1	1–1	1–3	0–4	1–3	0–2	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–1	2–0	3–1
Milwaukee	2–1	2–2	2–2	0–4	0–4	0–2	0–2	1–3	2–0	0–2	0–4	0–2	2–0	2–0	1–2	—	2–0	1–2	0–2	1–3	1–3	2–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–3	0–2	1–3
Minnesota	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	0–4	2–2	1–1	1–2	2–2	2–0	2–1	1–3	1–2	0–2	0–2	—	1–1	1–3	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–3	2–2	2–2	1–2	1–3	0–2	1–3	1–1
New Jersey	2–1	2–2	2–1	3–1	1–2	0–2	1–1	0–4	1–1	0–2	4–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–3	2–1	1–1	—	1–1	4–0	2–2	2–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–2	2–0	4–0
New Orleans/Oklahoma City	2–0	2–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–4	2–2	1–1	1–3	3–1	1–1	2–2	2–1	3–1	1–1	2–0	3–1	1–1	—	2–0	1–1	0–2	0–3	1–2	3–1	0–4	2–2	0–2	1–2	1–1
New York	2–1	1–3	2–2	1–3	2–2	0–2	1–1	1–2	1–1	0–2	1–2	1–1	2–0	2–0	3–1	3–1	0–2	0–4	0–2	—	2–1	1–3	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–3	1–1	2–2
Orlando	1–3	3–1	2–2	2–1	2–1	0–2	1–1	0–4	1–1	0–2	2–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	4–0	3–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–2	—	2–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–4	2–0	2–2
Philadelphia	3–1	3–1	2–2	1–2	1–3	0–2	1–1	1–3	0–2	0–2	2–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	3–1	1–2	0–2	2–2	2–0	3–1	1–2	—	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–3	1–1	0–3
Phoenix	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	2–1	1–1	3–1	3–1	2–0	2–2	3–1	4–0	2–0	2–0	3–1	2–0	3–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	—	4–0	3–1	1–2	2–1	2–0	1–3	1–1
Portland	1–1	0–2	2–0	0–2	1–1	0–3	1–3	1–1	1–2	2–2	0–2	1–3	2–1	2–2	0–2	1–1	2–2	2–0	2–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–4	—	2–2	0–4	2–2	1–1	2–2	2–0
Sacramento	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	0–2	0–4	2–2	1–1	1–3	0–3	2–0	2–2	1–3	2–1	0–2	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–3	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–3	2–2	—	0–4	2–1	1–1	2–1	0–2
San Antonio	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–3	2–1	2–0	3–1	2–2	1–1	4–0	1–2	3–1	1–1	0–2	2–1	2–0	4–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–1	4–0	4–0	—	4–0	2–0	2–2	2–0
Seattle	2–0	1–1	2–0	0–2	1–1	0–4	1–3	0–2	1–3	0–3	2–0	2–2	1–3	2–1	0–2	1–1	3–1	2–0	2–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–2	2–2	1–2	0–4	—	1–1	2–2	0–2
Toronto	2–2	3–1	3–0	2–2	1–3	0–2	1–1	1–2	1–1	1–1	2–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–2	3–1	2–0	2–2	2–0	3–1	4–0	3–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	—	0–2	3–1
Utah	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–1	3–1	2–0	2–2	3–1	2–0	3–1	1–2	3–1	0–2	2–0	3–1	0–2	2–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–1	2–2	1–2	2–2	2–2	2–0	—	1–1
Washington	3–1	3–0	2–2	1–3	1–2	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	0–2	3–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–3	3–1	1–1	0–4	1–1	2–2	2–2	3–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	0–2	2–0	1–3	1–1	—

Playoffs

2007 playoff game log

First Round: 3–4 (home: 3–1; road: 0–3)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Series
1	April 21	Utah	W 84–75	Yao Ming (28)	Yao Ming (13)	Rafer Alston (8)	Toyota Center 18,195	1–0
2	April 23	Utah	W 98–90	Tracy McGrady (31)	Chuck Hayes (12)	Alston, McGrady (5)	Toyota Center 18,206	2–0
3	April 26	@ Utah	L 67–81	Yao Ming (26)	Yao Ming (14)	Rafer Alston (5)	EnergySolutions Arena 19,911	2–1
4	April 28	@ Utah	L 85–98	Yao Ming (20)	Alston, Yao (9)	Rafer Alston (6)	EnergySolutions Arena 19,911	2–2
5	April 30	Utah	W 96–82	Tracy McGrady (26)	Yao Ming (15)	Tracy McGrady (16)	Toyota Center 18,314	3–2
6	May 3	@ Utah	L 82–94	Tracy McGrady (26)	Tracy McGrady (10)	Shane Battier (4)	EnergySolutions Arena 19,911	3–3
7	May 5	Utah	L 99–103	McGrady, Yao (29)	Juwan Howard (7)	Tracy McGrady (13)	Toyota Center 18,307	3–4

2007 schedule

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

Regular season

Houston Rockets statistics
Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Rafer Alston	82	82	37.1	.375	.363	.734	3.4	5.4	1.6	.1	13.3
Shane Battier	82	82	36.4	.446	.421	.779	4.1	2.1	1.0	.7	10.1
Chuck Hayes	78	43	22.0	.573	.	.618	6.7	.6	.9	.2	5.6
Luther Head	80	10	27.6	.437	.441	.790	3.2	2.4	1.0	.1	10.9
Juwan Howard	80	38	26.5	.465	.	.824	5.9	1.6	.4	.1	9.7
John Lucas III	47	0	8.1	.397	.254	.789	.8	.7	.4	.0	3.3
Tracy McGrady	71	71	35.8	.431	.331	.707	5.3	6.5	1.3	.5	24.6
Yao Ming	48	48	33.8	.516	.000	.862	9.4	2.0	.4	2.0	25.0
Dikembe Mutombo	75	33	17.2	.556	.	.690	6.5	.2	.3	1.0	3.1
Steve Novak	35	1	5.5	.360	.333	1.000	.7	.2	.1	.0	1.5
Scott Padgett	24	0	8.3	.306	.276	.545	1.9	.3	.2	.1	1.8
Kirk Snyder	39	1	14.4	.452	.250	.653	2.1	1.0	.3	.3	4.9
Vassilis Spanoulis	31	0	8.8	.319	.172	.810	.7	.9	.2	.0	2.7
Jake Tsakalidis	13	0	10.2	.409	.	.800	3.1	.2	.1	.1	2.3
Bonzi Wells	28	1	21.1	.411	.143	.561	4.3	1.1	.9	.5	7.8

Playoffs

Houston Rockets statistics
Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Rafer Alston	7	7	44.1	.338	.320	.769	6.9	5.0	1.9	.4	10.9
Shane Battier	7	7	38.9	.451	.442	.875	2.6	2.1	1.7	1.0	10.3
Chuck Hayes	7	7	28.1	.706	.000	.400	6.4	.4	1.3	.4	3.7
Luther Head	7	0	20.1	.306	.261	.500	2.7	1.1	.4	.3	4.6
Juwan Howard	7	0	22.4	.400	.	.636	4.4	1.0	.7	.0	5.0
John Lucas III	2	0	4.0	.000	.000	.	.0	.0	.5	.0	.0
Tracy McGrady	7	7	40.0	.394	.250	.737	5.9	7.3	.7	.9	25.3
Yao Ming	7	7	37.1	.440	.	.880	10.3	.9	.1	.7	25.1
Dikembe Mutombo	7	0	5.7	1.000	.	1.000	1.6	.1	.0	.4	1.3
Kirk Snyder	3	0	3.0	.333	.000	.	.3	.0	.0	.0	.7
Vassilis Spanoulis	1	0	3.0	.500	.	1.000	1.0	1.0	.0	.0	4.0
Jake Tsakalidis	1	0	3.0	.	.	1.000	4.0	.0	.0	.0	2.0

Awards

References

^ Houston Rockets News, Schedule, etc ESPN.com, accessed June 12, 2008
^ "Teams Defense". NBA.com. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
^ Houston Rockets and Jeff Van Gundy to Part Ways, nba.com, accessed June 12, 2008

External links

Official Rockets website

[1] Houston Rockets News, Schedule, etc ESPN.com, accessed June 12, 2008

[2] "Teams Defense". NBA.com. Retrieved April 17, 2021.

[3] Houston Rockets and Jeff Van Gundy to Part Ways, nba.com, accessed June 12, 2008

[1]

[2]

[3]