{"id":166871,"date":"2025-11-15T18:08:59","date_gmt":"2025-11-15T23:08:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=166871"},"modified":"2025-11-15T18:08:59","modified_gmt":"2025-11-15T23:08:59","slug":"rambunctious-rockets-forward-to-miss-4-6-weeks-with-injury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/11\/15\/rambunctious-rockets-forward-to-miss-4-6-weeks-with-injury\/","title":{"rendered":"Rambunctious Rockets Forward To Miss 4-6 Weeks With Injury"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Houston Rockets fans have been over the moon with the team so far in 2025-26. They just secured a win over the Portland Trailblazers to <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/11\/14\/rockets-face-must-win-nba-cup-bout\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">stay alive in the NBA Cup<\/a> on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/game\/por-vs-hou-0022500042\/box-score?watch=&amp;utm_campaign=unknown&amp;utm_source=rockets&amp;utm_medium=web&amp;period=Q2\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Friday night<\/a>. Unfortunately, the victory was not without cost. It&#8217;s been reported that key reserve <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/e\/easonta01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tari Eason<\/a> will be out 4-6 weeks with an injury. How will the team respond?<\/p>\n<h2>Rambunctious Rockets Forward To Miss 4-6 Weeks<\/h2>\n<p>Reports say that Eason will miss 4-6 weeks with a strained oblique. Some good news for Houston is that it seemed like a fluke injury, as he appeared to pick it up on a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/stats\/events?CFID=&amp;CFPARAMS=&amp;GameEventID=235&amp;GameID=0022500042&amp;Season=2025-26&amp;flag=1&amp;title=MISS%20Murray%2026%27%203PT%20Jump%20Shot\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">closeout<\/a> on the Portland Trail Blazers&#8217; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/murrakr01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kris Murray<\/a>.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Tari Eason has a strained oblique and will be out 4-6 weeks, Rockets coach Ime Udoka just told us after practice.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Danielle Lerner (@danielle_lerner) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/danielle_lerner\/status\/1989768087931949372?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">November 15, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The bad news for Houston is obvious. Eason has played an extremely valuable role for them this season. Indeed, he&#8217;s been playing a valuable role for them since he was drafted. Only this season, he&#8217;s seemingly levelled up one key aspect of his game.<\/p>\n<p>Eason has been phenomenal in 2025-26. He&#8217;s averaging 11.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.6 assists. However, the most impressive thing has been his three-point shooting. Eason is averaging a whopping 50.9% from three-point range.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Tari Eason (20 points) Highlights vs. Washington Wizards\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/f1x76AvUbBI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Against the Blazers, Eason was already having something of an off night, finishing 0-5 from the field. Normally, Eason&#8217;s relentlessness would make him a good bet to turn it around. However, he wouldn&#8217;t get the chance. He played only 10 minutes, 39 seconds. After a turnover forced by the savvy defense of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/h\/holidjr01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jrue Holiday<\/a>, Eason exited the floor at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/game\/por-vs-hou-0022500042\/play-by-play?watch=&amp;utm_campaign=unknown&amp;utm_source=rockets&amp;utm_medium=web&amp;period=Q2\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">06:50 mark<\/a> of the second quarter. He came up <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/stats\/events?CFID=&amp;CFPARAMS=&amp;GameEventID=237&amp;GameID=0022500042&amp;Season=2025-26&amp;flag=1&amp;title=Holiday%2029%27%203PT%20Step%20Back%20Jump%20Shot%20(13%20PTS)\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">hobbling<\/a> after an awkwardly landed closeout in the resulting fast break. In typical Eason fashion, he forced the miss.<\/p>\n<h3>Who Will Step Up For Rockets?<\/h3>\n<p>Eason isn&#8217;t the Rockets&#8217; only member of the injury list. For one thing, the team will be without its starting point guard, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/v\/vanvlfr01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Fred VanVleet<\/a>, for the entire season. However, the Rockets are also still <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/10\/26\/dorian-finney-smith-debut-bolster-rockets\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">awaiting the debut<\/a> of injured offseason acquisition <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/f\/finnedo01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dorian Finney-Smith<\/a>. The team is probably just being ultra cautious with the 32-year-old veteran, but the Eason injury is unlikely to alter that approach.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_148113\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-148113\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-148113\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/06\/USATSI_25692692_168415934_lowres-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"The Rockets have built on a stellar Kevin Durant by signing Dorian Finney-Smith to a four-year deal\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/06\/USATSI_25692692_168415934_lowres-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/06\/USATSI_25692692_168415934_lowres-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/06\/USATSI_25692692_168415934_lowres-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/06\/USATSI_25692692_168415934_lowres-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/06\/USATSI_25692692_168415934_lowres-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/06\/USATSI_25692692_168415934_lowres-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/06\/USATSI_25692692_168415934_lowres-1200x800.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-148113\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mar 16, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (35) dribbles the ball against Los Angeles Lakers forward Dorian Finney-Smith (17) in the second half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Short of Finney-Smith&#8217;s return, the Rockets can certainly make up Eason&#8217;s minutes with more run for <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/10\/31\/did-rockets-hokey-okogie-adjustment-turn-things-around\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">surprise starter<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/o\/okogijo01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Josh Okogie<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/11\/09\/rockets-sheppard-finding-his-groove\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">newly levelled-up sharpshooter<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/s\/sheppre01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Reed Sheppard<\/a>. Okogie is averaging just 22.6 minutes per game, and Sheppard only 22.4. Furthermore, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/t\/tateja01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jae&#8217;Sean Tate<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/h\/holidaa01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Aaron Holiday<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/g\/greenje02.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jeff Green<\/a> are veterans waiting in the wings should spot minutes become available. Even so, there&#8217;s no question the team will miss Eason&#8217;s combination of size, hustle, and unexpected marksmanship.<\/p>\n<p>Hopefully, the injury won&#8217;t have any impact on Eason&#8217;s contract situation. Supposedly, Eason turned down a <a href=\"https:\/\/bleacherreport.com\/articles\/25263646-tari-eason-reportedly-received-100m-contract-offer-rockets-amid-rumors\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">$100 million extension<\/a> from the Rockets. Instead, he chose to become a restricted free agent in the 2026 offseason. Assuming he returns as scheduled without complication, and picks up where he left off, his gamble should pay off nicely. Frankly, even with the limited sample size of the season so far, more than a few teams might take a risk on him.<\/p>\n<h3>The Last Word<\/h3>\n<p>The Rockets&#8217; next game will be a brawl at home versus the Orlando Magic on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/rockets\/schedule\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sunday night<\/a>. Undoubtedly, that will begin the trials for any newly available rotation spots. Even as Houston&#8217;s depth continues to be challenged, expect the All-Star duo of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/s\/sengual01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Alperen Sengun<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/duranke01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kevin Durant<\/a> to continue powering the team onwards. The Rockets will certainly miss Eason, but they won&#8217;t tarry in the win column too badly without him.<\/p>\n<p>Featured Image: Tory Taormina-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Houston Rockets fans have been over the moon with the team so far in 2025-26. They just secured a win over the Portland Trailblazers to stay alive in the NBA Cup on Friday night. Unfortunately, the victory was not without cost. It&#8217;s been reported that key reserve Tari Eason will be out 4-6 weeks with [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5223,"featured_media":166899,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,31,62],"tags":[49134,4475],"class_list":["post-166871","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-rockets","category-nba","tag-reed-sheppard","tag-tari-eason"],"modified_by":"Benjamin Yu","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166871","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5223"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=166871"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166871\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":166904,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166871\/revisions\/166904"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/166899"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=166871"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=166871"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=166871"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}