On Friday, Houston Rockets head coach Stephen Silas said he was hopeful that injured guard Victor Oladipo (right foot strain) would return from a brief absence in time for Monday’s home game versus Chicago.
Yet, for a fourth straight game, Oladipo was ruled out. As it turns out, Silas wasn’t overly optimistic in his earlier assessment. Rather, the plan was for Oladipo to potentially return, but it had to be delayed when he suffered an unfortunate setback at Saturday’s team practice.
Asked if Oladipo had a setback over the weekend, Silas said:
He did. He stepped on Rodi’s [Rodions Kurucs] foot, so he has had a slight setback. He was very limited today in shootaround. Hopefully he’ll be able to come back, sooner than later. But yeah, he stepped on Rodi’s foot. I didn’t think it was that bad, I guess, but obviously it’s bad enough for him not to be able to play tonight.
A two-time All-Star, Oladipo joined the Rockets in January as part of the blockbuster trade sending James Harden to Brooklyn. Now 28 years old, he’s become one of the top scorers and defenders in Houston, with averages of 18.4 points and 4.9 assists in 30.9 minutes per game.
Houston’s next game comes Wednesday night in Cleveland. As of late Monday, it was unclear whether Oladipo would be available. As long as he’s sidelined, usual sixth man Eric Gordon will start in his place.
