1980–81 Houston Rockets season - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The 1980–81 Houston Rockets season saw the Rockets lose the NBA Finals.

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
2	27	John Stroud			Mississippi

Depth chart

Pos.	Starter	Bench	Reserve
C Center (basketball) The center, colloquially known as the five or the post, is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. The center is normally the tallest player on the team, and often has a great deal of strength and body mass as well...	Moses Malone Moses Malone Moses Eugene Malone is a retired American Hall of Fame basketball player who starred in both the American Basketball Association and the National Basketball Association...	Bill Willoughby Bill Willoughby William 'Poodle' Wesley Willoughby is a retired American professional basketball player. After graduating from Dwight Morrow High School in Englewood, he was selected by the Atlanta Hawks in the 1975 NBA Draft as the first pick in the second round , bypassing college for a chance to play...
PF Power forward (basketball) Power forward is a position in the sport of basketball. The position is referred to in playbook terms as the four position and is commonly abbreviated "PF". It has also been referred to as the "post" position. Power forwards play a role similar to that of center in what is called the "post" or "low...	Billy Paultz Billy Paultz William Edward "Bill" Paultz is a retired American professional basketball player.Paultz played college basketball at Saint John's University and was selected in the seventh round of the 1970 NBA Draft by the San Diego Rockets and by the Virginia Squires in the 1970 ABA Draft. Paultz opted to...	Major Jones Major Jones Major James Brooks Jones is a retired American professional basketball player in the NBA. He attended and played collegiately at Albany State University....
SF Small forward The small forward, or colloquially known as three, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically somewhat shorter, quicker, and leaner than power forwards and centers, but on occasion are just as tall...	Robert Reid Robert Reid (basketball) Robert Keith Reid is an American former professional basketball player.A 6'8" forward from St. Mary's University, Texas, Reid played thirteen seasons in the National Basketball Association as a member of the Houston Rockets, Charlotte Hornets, Portland Trail Blazers, and Philadelphia 76ers...	Calvin Garrett Calvin Garrett Calvin Eugene Garrett is an American retired National Basketball Association basketball player. He played 3 seasons with the Houston Rockets and one with the Los Angeles Lakers . He played in college at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, OK.-External links:...	Rudy Tomjanovich Rudy Tomjanovich Rudolph Tomjanovich, Jr. , nicknamed Rudy T., is an American retired basketball player and coach who coached the Houston Rockets to two consecutive NBA championships. He is currently a scout for the Los Angeles Lakers.-Early life:... John Stroud John Stroud John Stroud is a retired American basketball player who played four years at the University of Mississippi, before being drafted by the Houston Rockets in the 1980 NBA Draft. However, he played only one season in the NBA, appearing in 9 games total with the Rockets.-References:*...
SG Shooting guard The shooting guard , also known as the two or off guard, is one of five traditional positions on a basketball team. Players of the position are often shorter, leaner, and quicker than forwards. A shooting guard's main objective is to score points for his team...	Mike Dunleavy Mike Dunleavy, Sr. Michael Joseph Dunleavy is a retired American professional basketball player, former head coach, and former general manager of the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers. He is the father of Indiana Pacers player Mike Dunleavy, Jr.-Early life:...	Allen Leavell Allen Leavell Allen Frazier 'Chuck' Leavell is a retired American professional basketball player.A 6'1" , 170 lb point guard from Oklahoma City University, Leavell was selected in the fifth round of the 1979 NBA Draft by the Houston Rockets, going on to play ten seasons in the National Basketball...
PG Point guard Point guard , also called the play maker or "the ball-handler", is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position – essentially, he is expected to run the team's offense by controlling the ball and making sure that...	Tom Henderson Tom Henderson Thomas Edward "Tom" Henderson is an American former professional basketball player.A tough-minded 6'4" guard from the University of Hawaii, Henderson was selected by the Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the 1974 National Basketball Association Draft...	Calvin Murphy

Regular season

In the 1980-81 season

1980-81 NBA season

-Statistics leaders:-NBA awards:*Most Valuable Player: Julius Erving, Philadelphia 76ers*Rookie of the Year: Darrell Griffith, Utah Jazz*Coach of the Year: Jack McKinney, Indiana Pacers*All-NBA First Team:**Larry Bird, Boston Celtics...

, after the newly-established Dallas Mavericks

Dallas Mavericks

The Dallas Mavericks are a professional basketball team based in Dallas, Texas. They are members of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association , and the reigning NBA champions, having defeated the Miami Heat in the 2011 NBA Finals.According to a 2011...

became the third NBA team in Texas, the NBA restructured the conferences and sent the Rockets, who had previously played in the Eastern Conference, to the Midwest Division

Midwest Division (NBA)

The Midwest Division was a division in the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association . The division was created at the start of the 1970–71 season, when the league expanded from 14 to 17 teams with the addition of the Buffalo Braves, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Portland Trail...

of the Western Conference

Western Conference (NBA)

Below is a list of current Western Conference NBA team rosters.-Western Conference:There are a total of 15 teams in the Western Conference. The current leading team of the Western conference are the Dallas Mavericks....

. In Harris's second season, Houston tied with Kansas City for second place in the Midwest Division behind San Antonio with a 40-42 record, and qualified for the playoffs

1981 NBA Playoffs

The 1981 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament which followed National Basketball Association's 1980–81 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics winning their 14th overall championship by defeating the Western Conference champion Houston Rockets in...

with just one game left. During the season, Murphy set two NBA records, by sinking 78 consecutive free throws to break Rick Barry's mark of 60 set in 1976, and achieving a free-throw percentage of .958, breaking Barry's record set with the Rockets in 1979.

Playoffs

Won NBA Western Conference Finals: vs. Kansas City Kings (4-1)
Won NBA Western Conference Semifinals: vs. San Antonio Spurs (4-3)
Won NBA Western Conference First Round: vs. Los Angeles Lakers (2-1)

NBA Finals

Game	Date	Home Team	Away Team	Score
1	May 5	Boston Celtics Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics are a National Basketball Association team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1946, the team is currently owned by Boston Basketball Partners LLC. The Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which...	Houston Rockets Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston, Texas. The team plays in the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was established in 1967, and played in San Diego, California for four years, before being...	98-95
2	May 7	Boston Celtics	Houston Rockets	90-92
3	May 9	Houston Rockets	Boston Celtics	71-94
4	May 10	Houston Rockets	Boston Celtics	91-86
5	May 12	Boston Celtics	Houston Rockets	109-80
6	May 14	Houston Rockets	Boston Celtics	91-102

Boston Celtics win series in 6 games (4-2)

Season

Player	GP	MPG	BPG	PPG
Moses Malone	80	40.6	1.9	27.8
Calvin Murphy	76	26.5	0.1	16.7
Robert Reid	82	36.1	0.8	15.9
Rudy Tomjanovich	52	24.3	0.1	11.6
Mike Dunleavy	74	21.7	0.0	10.5
Allen Leavell	79	21.3	0.2	8.1

Additions

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Subtractions

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| style="width:140px"|Player || style="width:70px"|Left || style="width:210px"|New team
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