The Houston Rockets entered the NBA in 1967 as the ‘San Diego Rockets’ playing their home games in the San Diego Sports Arena. The franchise made little noise in Southern California though they did become the answer to a basketball trivia question by making Pat Riley with their first draft pick. Riley did little as a player but went on to become one of the greatest coaches/general managers in NBA history. After four years, they relocated to Houston and became the first NBA franchise in the state of Texas.
The newly minted Houston Rockets had a serious problem upon their arrival in Texas–they didn’t have a home court venue. The result was a brutal first two seasons where they became an itinerant basketball team playing in a variety of arenas. In Houston, the team played in the Astrodome, Sam Houston Coliseum, AstroHall and the Hofheinz Pavillion at the University of Houston. At times they were forced to ‘take to the road’ to play ‘home games’ in far-flung cities including San Diego, Albuquerque, San Antonio and Waco. History has proven that the ‘traveling home team’ concept is a bad idea, and the Rockets were no exception. Both ‘transient’ years produced losses on the court and meager attendance numbers of less than 5,000 per game. The nadir was a game at Waco, Texas with a paid attendance of 759 fans. After two seasons ‘on the road’, the Rockets moved into the Hofheinz Pavillion for the next four seasons.
Things started to come together for the Rockets in the mid-1970’s. They moved into their first ‘permanent home’ in 1975 and would play in The Summit Arena (also known as the Compaq Center) for the next twenty-eight years. They introduced their iconic red and yellow uniforms around this time and acquired some very talented players including Moses Malone and Calvin Murphy. In 1983 and 1984, the Rockets ended up with the #1 pick in the NBA draft and selected Ralph Sampson and Hakeem Olajuwon. The ‘Twin Towers’ brought the Rockets their first major success and the team played the Boston Celtics in a surprisingly competitive six game NBA Finals series. Sampson would be dealt to Golden State in 1983 but had his career cut short by chronic knee injuries. Olajuwon became one the best centers in NBA history and led the Rockets to the NBA Championship in 1994 and 1995.
Houston is once again a ‘hot’ NBA team with James Harden and Dwight Howard leading the way. They’re also becoming a very popular team nationally. The Rockets might be more popular outside of the United States as they attracted a big Asian fanbase during Yao Ming’s tenure with the team. Fans looking to watch Houston Rockets game live will find them on national television 25 times this season. The local broadcast affiliate is Comcast SportsNet Houston, and you’ll find the radio stream for tonight’s game on SportsTalk 790. If you’re looking for a Houston Rockets live stream you’ll find the TV broadcast stations to be ‘hit or miss’. ESPN provides good streaming coverage; TNT provides coverage of ‘selected games’ while ABC and Comcast SportsNet offer no streaming. Another option is the NBA League Pass subscription which shows most games live on TV and via streaming but it is very expensive and subject to availability on your local cable system.
The best resource is to do what fans around the world did during the Yao Ming era and watched Houston Rockets online for free. You’ll find Wiziwigtv, Stream2U, FrontRowSports and others. New sites come online frequently, so a Google search is necessary to track down the most current information.
Finding a streaming Rockets basketball game online is a very simple process. The directory websites will give you the option of selecting a stream speed to match your Internet connection, and you’re all set. You can watch the game on your computer, smartphone or tablet. The best choice might be streaming the Houston Rockets live stream to your television set using a set top box (Roku, Google Chromecast, etc.). No matter what device you use to watch Houston Rockets game live you’ll never miss a moment of the action!