Last Updated on September 15, 2026 by Mat Diekhake

League Search Page > NBA > Houston Rockets > Roster & Statistics

The Houston Rockets 1977–78 season was led by Calvin Murphy, who carried the scoring load while remaining the team’s primary perimeter threat. John Lucas controlled the offense with outstanding playmaking, and Rudy Tomjanovich provided efficient frontcourt scoring before injuries limited his season. Houston emphasized ball movement and efficient half-court offense, but a lack of rebounding strength and defensive consistency contributed to a disappointing finish.

Roster

NO. PLAYER POS. HT. WT. BIRTH DATE COLLEGE
13 Dwight Jones PF 6-10 210 February 27, 1952 Houston
14 Mike Newlin SG 6-4 200 January 2, 1949 Utah
15 John Lucas PG 6-3 175 October 31, 1953 Maryland
23 Calvin Murphy SG 5-9 165 May 9, 1948 Niagara University
24 Moses Malone C 6-10 215 March 23, 1955  
25 C.J. Kupec SF 6-6 220 January 26, 1953 Michigan
27 Zaid Abdul-Aziz PF 6-9 235 April 7, 1946 Iowa State
27 John Johnson SF 6-7 200 October 18, 1947 Northwest College, Iowa
30 Phil Bond SG 6-2 175 July 27, 1954 Louisville
30 Alonzo Bradley SF 6-6 190 October 16, 1953 Texas Southern
31 Mike Dunleavy PG 6-3 180 March 21, 1954 South Carolina
32 Rudy White SG 6-2 195 June 23, 1953 Arizona State
34 Ron Behagen PF 6-9 185 January 14, 1951 Minnesota
34 Robin Jones C 6-9 225 February 2, 1954 Saint Louis
41 Larry Moffett SF 6-8 210 November 5, 1954 UNLV
42 Ed Ratleff SF 6-6 195 March 29, 1950 Cal State Long Beach
44 Kevin Kunnert C 7-0 230 November 11, 1951 Iowa
45 Rudy Tomjanovich SF 6-8 218 November 24, 1948 Michigan
50 Robert Reid SF 6-8 205 August 30, 1955 St. Mary’s University

Regular Season Per Game

Player Pos Age G GS MPG PPG RPG APG SPG BPG TOV FGA FG% 3PA 3P% FTA FT%
Calvin Murphy SG 29 76 0 38.2 25.6 2.2 3.4 1.5 0.0 2.3 22.9 .491 0.0 — 3.5 .918
Rudy Tomjanovich SF 29 23 0 36.9 21.5 6.0 1.4 0.7 0.2 1.7 19.4 .485 0.0 — 3.5 .753
John Lucas PG 24 82 82 35.8 12.4 3.1 9.4 2.0 0.1 2.6 11.5 .435 0.0 — 3.0 .772
Moses Malone C 22 59 0 35.7 19.4 15.0 0.5 0.8 1.3 3.7 14.0 .499 0.0 — 7.5 .718
Dwight Jones PF 25 82 0 30.2 10.6 7.8 1.3 0.9 0.5 2.0 9.5 .445 0.0 — 2.8 .777
Kevin Kunnert C 26 80 0 26.9 10.4 8.7 1.2 0.6 1.1 1.8 10.5 .437 0.0 — 1.7 .689
Mike Newlin SG 29 45 0 26.2 13.0 2.7 4.5 1.2 0.2 2.7 11.0 .436 0.0 — 3.9 .874
Robert Reid SF 22 80 0 23.1 7.3 4.5 1.5 0.8 0.6 1.0 7.2 .455 0.0 — 1.2 .656
Alonzo Bradley SF 24 43 0 18.6 7.0 2.3 1.3 0.4 0.1 1.3 7.1 .428 0.0 — 1.4 .729
Ed Ratleff SF 27 68 0 17.1 4.4 2.4 2.3 0.9 0.3 1.0 4.6 .419 0.0 — 0.7 .830
C.J. Kupec SF 25 49 0 12.8 4.0 1.9 1.0 0.2 0.1 0.5 4.0 .426 0.0 — 0.7 .818
Ron Behagen PF 27 3 0 11.0 4.7 2.3 0.7 0.0 0.0 1.0 3.7 .636 0.0 — 0.3 .000
John Johnson SF 30 1 0 11.0 4.0 3.0 1.0 0.0 0.0 3.0 4.0 .250 0.0 — 3.0 .667
Rudy White SG 24 21 0 10.4 3.6 1.0 1.0 0.4 0.0 1.0 4.0 .365 0.0 — 0.9 .778
Zaid Abdul-Aziz PF 31 14 0 9.6 3.9 2.5 0.5 0.1 0.1 0.8 3.4 .426 0.0 — 1.4 .750
Mike Dunleavy PG 23 11 0 9.3 4.1 0.8 2.0 0.7 0.1 0.8 3.9 .395 0.0 — 1.5 .688
Larry Moffett SF 23 20 0 5.5 0.8 1.1 0.4 0.1 0.1 0.4 0.9 .294 0.0 — 0.5 .600
Robin Jones C 23 12 0 5.5 2.2 1.2 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.6 1.7 .550 0.0 — 0.8 .400
Phil Bond SG 23 7 0 3.0 0.6 0.6 0.3 0.1 0.0 0.3 0.9 .333 0.0 — 0.0 —
Team Totals — — 82 82 240.6 103.8 45.4 23.7 8.3 3.9 16.8 93.8 .458 — — 23.1 .774

Regular Season Totals

Player Pos Age GP GS MIN PTS REB AST STL BLK TO FGA FGM 3PA 3PM FTA FTM
John Lucas – 24 82 82 2933 1017 255 768 160 9 213 947 412 0 0 250 193
Calvin Murphy – 29 76 0 2900 1949 164 259 112 3 173 1737 852 0 0 267 245
Dwight Jones – 25 82 0 2476 873 641 109 77 39 165 777 346 0 0 233 181
Kevin Kunnert – 26 80 0 2152 829 693 97 44 90 141 842 368 0 0 135 93
Moses Malone – 22 59 0 2107 1144 886 31 48 76 220 828 413 0 0 443 318
Robert Reid – 22 80 0 1849 585 359 121 67 51 81 574 261 0 0 96 63
Mike Newlin – 29 45 0 1181 584 120 203 52 9 120 495 216 0 0 174 152
Ed Ratleff – 27 68 0 1163 299 162 153 60 22 67 310 130 0 0 47 39
Rudy Tomjanovich – 29 23 0 849 495 138 32 15 5 38 447 217 0 0 81 61
Alonzo Bradley – 24 43 0 798 303 99 54 16 6 55 304 130 0 0 59 43
C.J. Kupec – 25 49 0 626 195 91 50 10 3 24 197 84 0 0 33 27
Rudy White – 24 21 0 219 76 21 22 8 0 22 85 31 0 0 18 14
Zaid Abdul-Aziz – 31 14 0 134 55 35 7 2 2 11 47 20 0 0 20 15
Larry Moffett – 23 20 0 110 16 21 7 2 2 8 17 5 0 0 10 6
Mike Dunleavy – 23 11 0 102 45 9 22 8 1 9 43 17 0 0 16 11
Robin Jones – 23 12 0 66 26 14 2 1 1 7 20 11 0 0 10 4
Ron Behagen – 27 3 0 33 14 7 2 0 0 3 11 7 0 0 1 0
Phil Bond – 23 7 0 21 4 4 2 1 0 2 6 2 0 0 0 0
John Johnson – 30 1 0 11 4 3 1 0 0 3 4 1 0 0 3 2
Team Totals – – 82 82 19730 8513 3722 1942 683 319 1362 7691 3523 0 0 1896 1467

HeatingUp Impact Index: Team Impact Spotlight

Player Name Role Tier MPG Usage Tier PPG RPG APG STK (SPG+BPG) Impact Index* Notes
Calvin Murphy Offensive Catalyst / Scoring Engine 38.2 Alpha – Primary Scorer 25.6 2.2 3.4 1.5 16.4 Elite scoring guard in full command of team offense. Efficient volume shooter (.491 FG%, .918 FT%). One of the best undersized scorers of the decade.
Rudy Tomjanovich Veteran Scoring Anchor 36.9 Co-Primary / Secondary Hub 21.5 6.0 1.4 0.9 14.9 Smooth midrange operator and stabilizing veteran presence. Provided offensive balance before injuries limited his season (only 23 GP).
Moses Malone Emerging Franchise Big / Interior Core 35.7 High-Usage Frontline 19.4 15.0 0.5 2.1 18.5 Dominant rebounder and paint finisher. Foundation piece for the team’s identity shift toward inside-out play.
John Lucas Playmaking Engine / Tempo Setter 35.8 High Assist Load 12.4 3.1 9.4 2.1 13.5 Rookie point guard brought pace and vision. Ranked among league leaders in assists. Developing defensive instincts.
Dwight Jones Defensive Workhorse / Frontline Glue 30.2 Medium Usage 10.6 7.8 1.3 1.4 10.6 Reliable mid-tier big; steady rebounding and positional defense. Quietly effective on both ends.
Kevin Kunnert Rotational Big / Board Support 26.9 Moderate Usage 10.4 8.7 1.2 1.7 10.5 Tough interior rebounder; efficient role player. Functioned as complementary big next to Malone or Jones.
Mike Newlin Bench Scorer / Veteran Guard 26.2 Moderate–High Usage 13.0 2.7 4.5 1.4 10.8 Sharpshooting guard who stretched defenses. Solid playmaker off the bench with a .874 FT%.
Robert Reid Emerging Two-Way Wing 23.1 Moderate Usage 7.3 4.5 1.5 1.4 7.4 Young, athletic forward finding defensive rhythm. Promising energy and off-ball movement.
Alonzo Bradley Depth Scorer / Bench Wing 18.6 Low–Moderate Usage 7.0 2.3 1.3 0.5 5.5 Provided scoring depth off the bench; low rebounding numbers for position.
Ed Ratleff Facilitator Wing / Bench Connector 17.1 Low–Moderate Usage 4.4 2.4 2.3 1.2 5.2 Smart passer, efficient ball-mover. Filled gaps in rotation minutes.
C.J. Kupec Stretch Forward / Floor Spacer 12.8 Low Usage 4.0 1.9 1.0 0.3 3.6 Occasional spacing big; efficient but limited minutes.
Rudy White Depth Guard 10.4 Low Usage 3.6 1.0 1.0 0.4 3.0 Brief bench minutes; inconsistent shooting (.365 FG%).
Ron Behagen Short-Term Big 11.0 Low Usage 4.7 2.3 0.7 0.0 3.9 Brief appearance, solid efficiency (.636 FG%). Physical presence in limited run.
Zaid Abdul-Aziz Veteran Depth / Backup PF 9.6 Low Usage 3.9 2.5 0.5 0.2 3.6 Veteran stopgap big; strong FT shooting (.750). Reliable bench insurance.
Mike Dunleavy Rookie Guard / Deep Reserve 9.3 Low Usage 4.1 0.8 2.0 0.8 3.4 Flash of potential as a smart passer. Small sample size (11 games).
Robin Jones Developmental Big 5.5 Minimal Usage 2.2 1.2 0.2 0.2 1.9 End-of-bench contributor; athletic interior defender.
Larry Moffett End-of-Bench Forward 5.5 Minimal Usage 0.8 1.1 0.4 0.2 1.3 Limited impact; brief rotation cameos.
Phil Bond Rookie Guard / Depth 3.0 Minimal Usage 0.6 0.6 0.3 0.1 0.8 Minimal usage, small sample (7 GP).