# 2008–09 Houston Rockets season

The 2008–09 Houston Rockets season was the 42nd season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Despite a season-ending knee injury to Tracy McGrady, the Rockets breezed past the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round, but could not defeat the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round. Dikembe Mutombo, who entered his 18th and final season, was injured in Game 2 of the first round and announced his retirement, ending his 18-year NBA career. Besides losing Mutombo, Yao Ming missed most of the second round due to a foot injury that required off-season surgery. Before the season, the team acquired Ron Artest (now Metta World Peace). Following the season, Artest signed as a free agent with the Lakers. The Rockets would not return to the postseason until 2013.

## Key dates

* June 26: The 2008 NBA draft will take place in New York City.
* July 1: The free agency period will start.
* August 14: Ron Artest is acquired by trade from the Sacramento Kings .

## Draft picks

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College |
| 1 | 25 | Nicolas Batum | SF | France | Le Mans Sarthe Basket |
| 2 | 54 | Maarty Leunen | SF | United States | Oregon |

## Regular season
### Standings

| Southwest Divisionvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div |
| y-San Antonio Spurs | 54 | 28 | .659 | — | 28–13 | 26–15 | 10–6 |
| x-Houston Rockets | 53 | 29 | .646 | 1 | 33–8 | 20–21 | 9–7 |
| x-Dallas Mavericks | 50 | 32 | .610 | 4 | 32–9 | 18–23 | 7–9 |
| x-New Orleans Hornets | 49 | 33 | .598 | 5 | 28–13 | 21–20 | 9–7 |
| Memphis Grizzlies | 24 | 58 | .284 | 30 | 16–25 | 8–33 | 5–11 |
| # | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte |
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB |
| 1 | c-Los Angeles Lakers | 65 | 17 | .793 | — |
| 2 | y-Denver Nuggets | 54 | 28 | .659 | 11 |
| 3 | y-San Antonio Spurs | 54 | 28 | .659 | 11 |
| 4 | x-Portland Trail Blazers | 54 | 28 | .659 | 11 |
| 5 | x-Houston Rockets | 53 | 29 | .646 | 12 |
| 6 | x-Dallas Mavericks | 50 | 32 | .610 | 15 |
| 7 | x-New Orleans Hornets | 49 | 33 | .598 | 16 |
| 8 | x-Utah Jazz | 48 | 34 | .585 | 17 |
| 9 | Phoenix Suns | 46 | 36 | .561 | 19 |
| 10 | Golden State Warriors | 29 | 53 | .354 | 36 |
| 11 | Minnesota Timberwolves | 24 | 58 | .293 | 41 |
| 12 | Memphis Grizzlies | 24 | 58 | .293 | 41 |
| 13 | Oklahoma City Thunder | 23 | 59 | .280 | 42 |
| 14 | Los Angeles Clippers | 19 | 63 | .232 | 46 |
| 15 | Sacramento Kings | 17 | 65 | .207 | 48 |

### Game log

2008–09 game log Total: 53–29 (home: 33–8; road: 20–21) :
October: 2–0 (home: 1–0; road: 1–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
October 29
Memphis
W 82–71
Yao Ming (21)
Luis Scola (13)
Tracy McGrady (5)
Toyota Center 18,196
1–0
2
October 30
@ Dallas
W 112–102
Yao Ming (30)
Yao Ming (13)
Tracy McGrady (7)
American Airlines Center 20,066
2–0 :
November: 9–7 (home: 3–3; road: 6–4)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
3
November 1
Oklahoma City
W 89–77
Tracy McGrady (22)
Carl Landry, Yao Ming (11)
Tracy McGrady (5)
Toyota Center 16,996
3–0
4
November 4
Boston
L 99–103
Tracy McGrady (26)
Luis Scola (9)
Rafer Alston (7)
Toyota Center 18,291
3–1
5
November 6
@ Portland
L 99–101 (OT)
Tracy McGrady (30)
Tracy McGrady, Chuck Hayes (7)
Tracy McGrady (8)
Rose Garden 20,611
3–2
6
November 7
@ L.A. Clippers
W 92–83
Ron Artest (23)
Carl Landry, Yao Ming (9)
Rafer Alston (8)
Staples Center 14,670
4–2
7
November 9
@ L.A. Lakers
L 82–111
Aaron Brooks (20)
Luis Scola (9)
Aaron Brooks, Tracy McGrady (4)
Staples Center 18,997
4–3
8
November 12
@ Phoenix
W 94–82
Tracy McGrady (27)
Yao Ming (15)
Rafer Alston (4)
US Airways Center 18,422
5–3
9
November 14
@ San Antonio
L 75–77
Ron Artest (18)
Aaron Brooks, Yao Ming (8)
Tracy McGrady (5)
AT&T Center 18,797
5–4
10
November 15
New Orleans
W 91–82
Yao Ming (21)
Luis Scola (10)
Ron Artest (7)
Toyota Center 18,303
6–4
11
November 17
@ Oklahoma City
W 100–89
Luis Scola (23)
Yao Ming (12)
Aaron Brooks (4)
Ford Center 18,145
7–4
12
November 19
Dallas
L 86–96
Rafer Alston, Tracy McGrady (16)
Ron Artest (13)
Rafer Alston (8)
Toyota Center 18,203
7–5
13
November 21
@ Washington
W 103–91
Tracy McGrady (20)
Ron Artest (9)
Ron Artest (6)
Verizon Center 20,173
8–5
14
November 22
@ Orlando
W 100–95
Yao Ming (22)
Yao Ming (13)
Rafer Alston (7)
Amway Arena 17,461
9–5
15
November 24
@ Miami
W 107–98
Yao Ming (28)
Luis Scola (13)
Yao Ming, Tracy McGrady (4)
American Airlines Arena 18,704
10–5
16
November 26
Indiana
L 90–91
Ron Artest, Yao Ming (19)
Luis Scola (18)
Rafer Alston (7)
Toyota Center 18,194
10–6
17
November 29
San Antonio
W 103–84
Luther Head (21)
Ron Artest (8)
Rafer Alston (6)
Toyota Center 18,282
11–6
18
November 30
@ Denver
L 94–104
Yao Ming (18)
Yao Ming (11)
Rafer Alston (6)
Pepsi Center 17,201
11–7 :
December: 10–5 (home: 7–1; road: 3–4)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
19
December 3
L.A. Clippers
W 103–96
Yao Ming (24)
Yao Ming (10)
Rafer Alston (7)
Toyota Center 15,358
12–7
20
December 5
Golden State
W 131–112
Yao Ming (33)
Yao Ming (14)
Yao Ming, Ron Artest (5)
Toyota Center 14,438
13–7
21
December 8
@ Memphis
L 97–109
Luis Scola, Rafer Alston (16)
Luis Scola (15)
Rafer Alston (8)
FedExForum 10,691
13–8
22
December 9
Atlanta
W 92–84
Yao Ming (24)
Yao Ming (19)
Rafer Alston (6)
Toyota Center 16,439
14–8
23
December 12
@ Golden State
W 119–108
Tracy McGrady (24)
Yao Ming (14)
Tracy McGrady (9)
Oracle Arena 19,276
15–8
24
December 13
@ L.A. Clippers
L 82–95
Yao Ming (24)
Yao Ming (13)
Rafer Alston (7)
Staples Center 16,203
15–9
25
December 16
Denver
W 108–96
Yao Ming (32)
Tracy McGrady (14)
Tracy McGrady (10)
Toyota Center 17,737
16–9
26
December 19
Sacramento
W 107–96
Yao Ming (30)
Carl Landry (11)
Tracy McGrady (8)
Toyota Center 18,271
17–9
27
December 20
@ Minnesota
W 109–102
Tracy McGrady (23)
Aaron Brooks, Chuck Hayes (10)
Tracy McGrady, Aaron Brooks (5)
Target Center 12,115
18–9
28
December 22
@ New Jersey
W 114–91
Yao Ming (24)
Yao Ming (16)
Aaron Brooks (6)
Izod Center 16,303
19–9
29
December 23
@ Cleveland
L 90–99
Rafer Alston (20)
Luis Scola (8)
Tracy McGrady (6)
Quicken Loans Arena 20,562
19–10
30
December 26
@ New Orleans
L 79–88
Yao Ming (19)
Yao Ming (12)
Tracy McGrady (4)
New Orleans Arena 18,326
19–11
31
December 27
Utah
W 120–115 (2OT)
Ron Artest (28)
Luis Scola (14)
Ron Artest, Luis Scola (4)
Toyota Center 18,245
20–11
32
December 29
Washington
L 87–89
Ron Artest (20)
Yao Ming (8)
Tracy McGrady (7)
Toyota Center 18,278
20–12
33
December 31
Milwaukee
W 85–81
Yao Ming (22)
Yao Ming, Luis Scola (10)
Tracy McGrady (10)
Toyota Center 18,228
21–12 :
January: 8–7 (home: 5–2; road: 3–5)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
34
January 2
@ Toronto
L 73–94
Von Wafer (18)
Luis Scola (13)
Rafer Alston (4)
Air Canada Centre 19,800
21–13
35
January 3
@ Atlanta
L 100–103
Carl Landry (18)
Yao Ming (15)
Rafer Alston (9)
Philips Arena 16,740
21–14
36
January 6
@ Philadelphia
L 96–104
Luis Scola (18)
Luis Scola (17)
Tracy McGrady (9)
Wachovia Center 14,858
21–15
37
January 7
@ Boston
W 89–85
Yao Ming (26)
Yao Ming, Chuck Hayes (8)
Yao Ming, Aaron Brooks, Ron Artest (4)
TD Banknorth Garden 18,624
22–15
38
January 9
@ Oklahoma City
W 98–96
Tracy McGrady (26)
Yao Ming (7)
Rafer Alston (6)
Ford Center 19,136
23–15
39
January 10
New York
W 96–76
Luis Scola (18)
Luis Scola (11)
Rafer Alston (6)
Toyota Center 18,280
24–15
40
January 13
L.A. Lakers
L 100–105
Von Wafer (23)
Yao Ming (17)
Rafer Alston (6)
Toyota Center 18,557
24–16
41
January 17
Miami
W 93–86
Yao Ming (26)
Yao Ming (10)
Shane Battier (6)
Toyota Center 18,369
25–16
42
January 19
Denver
W 115–113
Yao Ming (31)
Luis Scola (8)
Rafer Alston (11)
Toyota Center 18,199
26–16
43
January 21
Utah
W 108–99
Rafer Alston (23)
Yao Ming (12)
Rafer Alston (8)
Toyota Center 17,037
27–16
44
January 23
@ Indiana
L 102–107
Luis Scola (25)
Shane Battier (12)
Rafer Alston (8)
Conseco Fieldhouse 14,486
27–17
45
January 25
@ Detroit
W 108–105
Ron Artest (24)
Ron Artest (9)
Rafer Alston (10)
The Palace of Auburn Hills 22,076
28–17
46
January 26
@ New York
L 98–104
Tracy McGrady (20)
Luis Scola (14)
Tracy McGrady (6)
Madison Square Garden 19,155
28–18
47
January 28
Philadelphia
L 93–95
Tracy McGrady (24)
Luis Scola (10)
Rafer Alston (9)
Toyota Center 15,544
28–19
48
January 31
Golden State
W 110–93
Ron Artest (27)
Yao Ming (11)
Aaron Brooks (9)
Toyota Center 16,702
29–19 :
February: 8–3 (home: 8–0; road: 0–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
49
February 3
Chicago
W 107–100
Yao Ming (28)
Luis Scola (18)
Tracy McGrady, Ron Artest (6)
Toyota Center 16,653
30–19
50
February 4
@ Memphis
L 93–104
Tracy McGrady (21)
Yao Ming (9)
Rafer Alston (6)
FedExForum 10,109
30–20
51
February 7
Minnesota
W 107–90
Yao Ming (30)
Luis Scola (10)
Rafer Alston, Ron Artest, Shane Battier (6)
Toyota Center 16,815
31–20
52
February 9
@ Milwaukee
L 112–124
Aaron Brooks (23)
Yao Ming (10)
Tracy McGrady (5)
Bradley Center 13,904
31–21
53
February 11
Sacramento
W 94–82
Yao Ming (24)
Yao Ming (18)
Rafer Alston (13)
Toyota Center 15,626
32–21
54
February 17
New Jersey
W 114–88
Yao Ming (20)
Yao Ming (12)
Rafer Alston (11)
Toyota Center 14,921
33–21
55
February 20
Dallas
W 93–86
Yao Ming (22)
Luis Scola (15)
Aaron Brooks (8)
Toyota Center 18,195
34–21
56
February 22
Charlotte
W 99–78
Ron Artest (26)
Luis Scola (10)
Shane Battier (5)
Toyota Center 17,124
35–21
57
February 24
Portland
W 98–94
Ron Artest (21)
Luis Scola (11)
Ron Artest (5)
Toyota Center 17,515
36–21
58
February 26
Cleveland
W 93–74
Yao Ming (28)
Luis Scola (9)
Kyle Lowry, Aaron Brooks (7)
Toyota Center 18,399
37–21
59
February 28
@ Chicago
L 102–105
Ron Artest (32)
Luis Scola (12)
Aaron Brooks (7)
United Center 22,394
37–22 :
March: 11–4 (home: 6–2; road: 5–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
60
March 1
@ Minnesota
W 105–94
Ron Artest (23)
Yao Ming, Luis Scola (11)
Aaron Brooks (10)
Target Center 13,716
38–22
61
March 3
Toronto
W 107–97
Carl Landry (22)
Luis Scola (16)
Ron Artest, Aaron Brooks (5)
Toyota Center 16,291
39–22
62
March 4
@ Utah
L 94–101
Ron Artest (25)
Yao Ming (7)
Yao Ming (6)
EnergySolutions Arena 19,911
39–23
63
March 6
Phoenix
W 116–112
Aaron Brooks (30)
Yao Ming (13)
Yao Ming (6)
Toyota Center 18,045
40–23
64
March 8
Memphis
W 93–83
Yao Ming (24)
Yao Ming (17)
Kyle Lowry (9)
Toyota Center 16,179
41–23
65
March 9
@ Denver
W 97–95
Ron Artest (22)
Luis Scola (15)
Kyle Lowry (5)
Pepsi Center 16,020
42–23
66
March 11
L.A. Lakers
L 96–102
Von Wafer (20)
Luis Scola (9)
Kyle Lowry (5)
Toyota Center 18,449
42–24
67
March 13
@ Charlotte
W 91–86
Yao Ming (23)
Yao Ming (8)
Ron Artest, Shane Battier (4)
Time Warner Cable Arena 16,809
43–24
68
March 14
San Antonio
L 85–88
Ron Artest (21)
Yao Ming (11)
Shane Battier (4)
Toyota Center 18,300
43–25
69
March 16
@ New Orleans
W 95–84
Ron Artest (18)
Luis Scola (12)
Ron Artest, Von Wafer (5)
New Orleans Arena 17,723
44–25
70
March 18
Detroit
W 106–101 (2OT)
Yao Ming (31)
Yao Ming (15)
Shane Battier (5)
Toyota Center 18,275
45–25
71
March 20
Minnesota
W 107–88
Ron Artest (20)
Luis Scola (9)
Ron Artest (6)
Toyota Center 17,456
46–25
72
March 22
@ San Antonio
W 87–85
Ron Artest (24)
Luis Scola (17)
Luis Scola (4)
AT&T Center 18,797
47–25
73
March 24
@ Utah
L 86–99
Aaron Brooks (20)
Yao Ming (13)
Ron Artest (7)
EnergySolutions Arena 19,911
47–26
74
March 28
L.A. Clippers
W 110–93
Aaron Brooks, Yao Ming (21)
Yao Ming (15)
Kyle Lowry, Shane Battier (4)
Toyota Center 18,267
48–26 :
April: 5–3 (home: 3–0; road: 2–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
75
April 1
@ Phoenix
L 109–114
Ron Artest (28)
Yao Ming (14)
Aaron Brooks (5)
US Airways Center 18,422
48–27
76
April 3
@ L.A. Lakers
L 81–93
Ron Artest (21)
Yao Ming (10)
Aaron Brooks (6)
Staples Center 18,997
48–28
77
April 5
Portland
W 102–88
Yao Ming (21)
Yao Ming (12)
Kyle Lowry (6)
Toyota Center 18,214
49–28
78
April 7
Orlando
W 93–83
Yao Ming (20)
Yao Ming (16)
Ron Artest (7)
Toyota Center 18,389
50–28
79
April 9
@ Sacramento
W 115–98
Ron Artest (26)
Yao Ming (9)
Von Wafer, Aaron Brooks, Ron Artest, Yao Ming (3)
ARCO Arena 12,897
51–28
80
April 10
@ Golden State
W 113–109
Luis Scola (28)
Dikembe Mutombo (15)
Ron Artest (6)
Oracle Arena 19,596
52–28
81
April 13
New Orleans
W 86–66
Yao Ming (22)
Luis Scola (15)
Ron Artest (5)
Toyota Center 18,409
53–28
82
April 15
@ Dallas
L 84–95
Yao Ming (23)
Yao Ming (9)
Kyle Lowry, Ron Artest (5)
American Airlines Center 20,350
53–29 :
2008–09 schedule :

## Playoffs

2009 playoff game log :
First Round: 4–2 (home: 3–0; road: 1–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
April 18
@ Portland
W 108–81
Aaron Brooks (27)
Dikembe Mutombo (9)
Aaron Brooks (7)
Rose Garden Arena 20,329
1–0
2
April 21
@ Portland
L 103–107
Aaron Brooks (23)
Yao Ming (8)
Aaron Brooks (5)
Rose Garden Arena 20,408
1–1
3
April 24
Portland
W 86–83
Luis Scola (19)
Yao Ming (13)
Aaron Brooks (5)
Toyota Center 18,731
2–1
4
April 26
Portland
W 89–88
Yao Ming (21)
Yao Ming (12)
Ron Artest (9)
Toyota Center 18,271
3–1
5
April 28
@ Portland
L 77–88
Luis Scola (19)
Yao Ming (10)
Ron Artest (5)
Rose Garden Arena 20,462
3–2
6
April 30
Portland
W 92–76
Ron Artest (27)
Yao Ming (10)
Kyle Lowry (3)
Toyota Center 18,376
4–2 :
Conference Semifinals: 3–4 (home: 2–1; road: 1–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
May 4
@ L.A. Lakers
W 100–92
Yao Ming (28)
Yao Ming (10)
Ron Artest (7)
Staples Center 18,997
1–0
2
May 6
@ L.A. Lakers
L 98–111
Ron Artest (25)
Yao, Landry (10)
Ron Artest (5)
Staples Center 18,997
1–1
3
May 8
L.A. Lakers
L 94–108
Ron Artest (25)
Yao Ming (14)
Shane Battier (7)
Toyota Center 18,495
1–2
4
May 10
L.A. Lakers
W 99–87
Aaron Brooks (34)
Luis Scola (14)
Ron Artest (6)
Toyota Center 18,313
2–2
5
May 12
@ L.A. Lakers
L 78–118
Aaron Brooks (14)
Luis Scola (13)
Scola, Lowry (4)
Staples Center 18,997
2–3
6
May 14
L.A. Lakers
W 95–80
Aaron Brooks (26)
Luis Scola (12)
three players tied (4)
Toyota Center 18,501
3–3
7
May 17
@ L.A. Lakers
L 70–89
Aaron Brooks (13)
Ron Artest (8)
Ron Artest (5)
Staples Center 18,997
3–4 :
2009 schedule :

## Player statistics
### Regular season

Houston Rockets statistics :
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| Luis Scola | 82 | 82 | 30.3 | .531 | .000 | .760 | 8.8 | 1.5 | .8 | .1 | 12.7 |
| Aaron Brooks | 80 | 35 | 25.0 | .404 | .366 | .866 | 2.0 | 3.0 | .6 | .1 | 11.2 |
| Yao Ming | 77 | 77 | 33.6 | .548 | 1.000 | .866 | 9.9 | 1.8 | .4 | 1.9 | 19.7 |
| Chuck Hayes | 71 | 1 | 12.1 | .372 | .000 | .368 | 3.5 | .6 | .5 | .3 | 1.3 |
| Metta Sandiford-Artest | 69 | 55 | 35.5 | .401 | .399 | .748 | 5.2 | 3.3 | 1.5 | .3 | 17.1 |
| Carl Landry | 69 | 0 | 21.3 | .574 | .333 | .813 | 5.0 | .6 | .4 | .4 | 9.2 |
| Von Wafer | 63 | 11 | 19.4 | .447 | .390 | .752 | 1.8 | 1.1 | .6 | .1 | 9.7 |
| Shane Battier | 60 | 59 | 33.9 | .410 | .384 | .821 | 4.8 | 2.3 | .8 | .9 | 7.3 |
| Brent Barry | 56 | 1 | 15.3 | .407 | .374 | .950 | 1.7 | 1.4 | .4 | .1 | 3.7 |
| Rafer Alston$^†$ | 48 | 48 | 33.1 | .370 | .348 | .789 | 3.0 | 5.4 | 1.2 | .1 | 11.5 |
| Tracy McGrady | 35 | 35 | 33.7 | .388 | .376 | .801 | 4.4 | 5.0 | 1.2 | .4 | 15.6 |
| Kyle Lowry$^†$ | 28 | 0 | 21.7 | .475 | .276 | .800 | 2.8 | 3.5 | .8 | .3 | 7.6 |
| Luther Head$^†$ | 22 | 4 | 14.6 | .386 | .368 | .875 | 1.2 | 1.6 | .3 | .0 | 4.8 |
| Dikembe Mutombo | 9 | 2 | 10.7 | .385 | | .667 | 3.7 | .0 | .0 | 1.2 | 1.8 |
| Brian Cook$^†$ | 9 | 0 | 2.8 | .313 | .400 | | .6 | .1 | .0 | .3 | 1.3 |
| James White | 4 | 0 | 2.8 | .600 | .500 | | .0 | .3 | .3 | .3 | 1.8 |
| Joey Dorsey | 3 | 0 | 2.0 | .500 | | | .3 | .3 | .0 | .0 | .7 |

### Playoffs

Houston Rockets statistics :
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| Shane Battier | 13 | 13 | 38.2 | .407 | .315 | .957 | 4.9 | 2.4 | 1.1 | .7 | 8.1 |
| Metta Sandiford-Artest | 13 | 13 | 37.5 | .394 | .277 | .714 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 1.1 | .2 | 15.6 |
| Aaron Brooks | 13 | 13 | 34.2 | .453 | .422 | .804 | 2.6 | 3.4 | .4 | .2 | 16.8 |
| Luis Scola | 13 | 13 | 32.6 | .494 | | .673 | 8.4 | 1.8 | .5 | .2 | 14.4 |
| Chuck Hayes | 13 | 4 | 13.3 | .476 | .000 | | 3.0 | .8 | 1.0 | .2 | 1.5 |
| Kyle Lowry | 13 | 0 | 19.5 | .333 | .250 | .742 | 2.9 | 2.5 | .9 | .1 | 5.3 |
| Carl Landry | 13 | 0 | 18.5 | .557 | .000 | .576 | 3.9 | .2 | .3 | .4 | 7.5 |
| Von Wafer | 13 | 0 | 13.9 | .424 | .409 | .864 | .9 | .7 | .2 | .1 | 8.2 |
| Yao Ming | 9 | 9 | 35.9 | .545 | | .902 | 10.9 | 1.0 | .4 | 1.2 | 17.1 |
| Brian Cook | 6 | 0 | 5.3 | .267 | .222 | | 2.0 | .5 | .3 | .2 | 1.7 |
| James White | 5 | 0 | 2.4 | .333 | .500 | | .2 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 1.4 |
| Brent Barry | 4 | 0 | 8.8 | .500 | .375 | | 1.0 | .8 | .5 | .0 | 3.3 |
| Dikembe Mutombo | 2 | 0 | 10.0 | | | .000 | 4.5 | .0 | .5 | 1.0 | .0 |
* $^†$ Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Rockets only.

## Awards and records
### Awards

* Dikembe Mutombo, J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award
* Yao Ming, All-NBA Second Team
* Shane Battier, NBA All-Defensive Second Team
* Ron Artest, NBA All-Defensive Second Team

## Transactions
### Trades

| June 26, 2008 | To Houston Rockets The 28th pick in the 2008 NBA draft (Donté Greene) and The 33rd pick in the 2008 NBA draft (Joey Dorsey) | To Portland Trail Blazers The 25th pick in the 2008 NBA draft (Nicolas Batum) | To Memphis Grizzlies The 27th pick in the 2008 NBA draft (Darrell Arthur) |
| August 6, 2008 | To Houston RocketsOption to exchange 2nd round picks with Clippers in 2011 | To Los Angeles ClippersSteve Novak |
| August 14, 2008 | To Houston RocketsRon Artest, Patrick Ewing Jr., Sean Singletary | To Sacramento KingsBobby Jackson, Donté Greene, 1st round pick for 2009 |
| August 25, 2008 | To Houston RocketsD. J. Strawberry | To Phoenix SunsSean Singletary |
| August 29, 2008 | To Houston RocketsDraft rights to Frédéric Weis | To New York KnicksPatrick Ewing Jr. |
| December 24, 2008 | To Houston RocketsConditional Draft Pick in 2011 | To Memphis GrizzliesSteve Francis, 2009 NBA Draft Pick |
| December 24, 2008 | To Houston RocketsKyle Lowry, Brian Cook | To Memphis GrizzliesAdonal Foyle, Mike Wilks, NBA 1st Round Pick | To Orlando MagicRafer Alston, |