Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green hasn’t played in three weeks since straining his left hamstring on Nov. 24, while third-year guard Kevin Porter Jr. last played in abbreviated minutes on Friday, Dec. 3. Porter has dealt with a nagging left thigh contusion for much of the 2021-22 season.
With Green having over a week’s head start on rest and rehabilitation, it now appears that he will return to the lineup, first. Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle explains from Tuesday’s practice:
When the starting guards return, with Green closer than Porter, Silas said they will still start, with (Garrison) Mathews and Armoni Brooks brought off the bench to provide shooting ideal for (Alperen) Sengun’s passing with the second unit.
When able to play, Green has averaged 14.0 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in 30.8 minutes per game this season. Meanwhile, Porter has tallied 12.8 points, 5.8 assists, and 4.4 rebounds in 30.2 minutes.
Rockets face a 'big' (or will it be double big?) question in Cleveland https://t.co/V0O7J0nlwD) via @houstonchron
— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) December 14, 2021
For Porter, the concerning issue is that the team already gave him a week off to rest his thigh in late November. But that clearly didn’t resolve the injury, which he first suffered in a collision with Draymond Green on Nov. 7. Thus, it makes sense for Porter’s current downtime to be much more than that, since they already have evidence a week was not enough.
With Green and Porter still sidelined and no official return timetables for either, the Rockets (9-18) will resume play with Wednesday’s visit to Cleveland. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. CST.
