1997–98 Houston Rockets season

1997–98 Houston Rockets season
Clyde Drexler's final season
Head coach	Rudy Tomjanovich
Arena	Compaq Center
Results
Record	41–41 (.500)
Place	Division: 4th (Midwest) Conference: 8th (Western)
Playoff finish	West First Round (eliminated 2-3)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	Fox Sports Southwest, KTXH

The 1997-98 NBA season was the Rockets' 31st season in the NBA, and 27th season in Houston. The Rockets began to show their age and the wear and tear of long playoff runs as they played mediorce basketball all season on their way finishing fourth in the Midwest Division with a 41-41 record. In the first round of the playoffs, the Rockets took a 2-1 lead over the top seeded Utah Jazz. However, they would lose the series in five games. Following the season, Clyde Drexler retired to take over the head coaching job at the University of Houston.

Offseason

Draft picks

Main article: 1997 NBA Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	24	Rodrick Rhodes	SG	United States	USC
2	29	Serge Zwikker	C	Netherlands	North Carolina

Roster

Houston Rockets roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From PF 4 Barkley, Charles 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 252 lb (114 kg) Auburn SF 50 Bullard, Matt 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Iowa PG 15 Davis, Emanual 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Delaware State SG 22 Drexler, Clyde 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Houston SF 17 Elie, Mario 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) American International PF 32 Harrington, Othella 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Georgetown SF 8 Johnson, Eddie 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Illinois PF 27 Jones, Charles 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Albany State PG 12 Maloney, Matt 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 192 lb (87 kg) Pennsylvania C 34 Olajuwon, Hakeem 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 255 lb (116 kg) Houston PG 20 Price, Brent 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Oklahoma SG 1 Rhodes, Rodrick 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Southern California SF 41 Stephens, Joe 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Arkansas-Little Rock PF 42 Willis, Kevin 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Michigan State	Head coach Rudy Tomjanovich Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster • Transactions

Regular season

Season standings

Midwest Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
z-Utah Jazz	62	20	.756	–	36–5	26–15	22–2
x-San Antonio Spurs	56	26	.683	6	31–10	25–16	18–6
x-Minnesota Timberwolves	45	37	.549	17	26–15	19–22	14–10
x-Houston Rockets	41	41	.500	21	24–17	17–24	14–10
Dallas Mavericks	20	62	.244	42	13–28	7–34	9–15
Vancouver Grizzlies	19	63	.232	43	14–27	5–36	4–20
Denver Nuggets	11	71	.134	51	9–32	2–39	3–21

#	Western Conference
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Utah Jazz	62	20	.756	–
2	y-Seattle SuperSonics	61	21	.744	1
3	x-Los Angeles Lakers	61	21	.744	1
4	x-Phoenix Suns	56	26	.683	6
5	x-San Antonio Spurs	56	26	.683	6
6	x-Portland Trail Blazers	46	36	.561	16
7	x-Minnesota Timberwolves	45	37	.549	17
8	x-Houston Rockets	41	41	.500	21
9	Sacramento Kings	27	55	.329	35
10	Dallas Mavericks	20	62	.244	42
11	Vancouver Grizzlies	19	63	.232	43
11	Golden State Warriors	19	63	.232	43
13	Los Angeles Clippers	17	65	.207	45
14	Denver Nuggets	11	71	.134	51

z - clinched division title

y - clinched division title

x - clinched playoff spot

Playoffs

West First Round

(1) Utah Jazz vs. (8) Houston Rockets Last Playoff Meeting: 1997 Western Conference Finals (Utah won 4-2)

Game	Date	Home	Score	Visitor	Score	Record (UTA-HOU)	Venue	Box score	Television
1	April 23	Utah	90	Houston	103	0-1	Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah	1	TBS 9:30et
2	April 25	Utah	105	Houston	90	1-1	Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah	2	TNT 10:30et
3	April 29	Houston	89	Utah	85	1-2	Compaq Center, Houston, Texas	3	TBS 9:30et
4	May 1	Houston	71	Utah	93	2-2	Compaq Center, Houston, Texas	4	TNT 9:30et
5	May 3	Utah	84	Houston	70	3-2	Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah	5	NBC 3:00et
Utah wins series 3–2

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

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG

See also

• 1997-98 NBA season