Houston Rockets: Christian Wood’s injury could doom playoff hopes
An injury to Christian Wood could doom the Houston Rockets and their playoff hopes
The Houston Rockets have been one of the most pleasant surprises in the Western Conference over the last few weeks. After trading James Harden, it seems like the Rockets have finally got it together and have been playing good basketball since the move.
One big reason why the Rockets have been a surprise this season has been the play of Christian Wood, whom the team signed in free agency during the offseason. Wood has been sensational for the Rockets and has given this team hope for the first time since James Harden became disgruntled.
In his first season with the club, Wood is experiencing an outburst that many that perhaps not many could have perceived before the season. Even though many believed that Wood would be a good player, I’m not sure anyone thought that he would be an all-star caliber player of this season.
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The Houston Rockets’ hot start
A little more through the first quarter of the season, Wood is averaging 22 points and 10 rebounds, on 56 percent shooting from the field and 42 percent shooting from 3-point range. More importantly, he has the Rockets playing like a playoff contender in the Western Conference. At 11-10, the Rockets are sitting in the 10th slot of the Western Conference standings, just one-half game back of the Memphis Grizzlies for the 8th and final playoff spot.
Unfortunately, an injury to Christian Wood will have him sidelined for a few weeks. After injuring his ankle for the second time in the last couple of weeks, it’s expected that Wood is going to miss some time. It’s not knowing exactly how much time Wood is going to mess, but there’s no question that the team is going to miss him and could end up falling out of the playoffs if their star misses significant time.
The Rockets are concerned that star center Christian Wood could be sidelined for an extended period after injuring his right ankle for the second time in a span of less than three weeks, sources told ESPN.
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) February 5, 2021
“It didn’t look great," coach Stephen Silas said. "It was unfortunate.”
The injury couldn’t have come at a worse time as the Rockets have been playing great basketball and are 7-3 over the last 10 games. Houston was quickly becoming one of the better feel-good stories in the Western Conference and it’s going to be a shame if that is all put to rest due to injury.
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The good news is that the Rockets know that they have a really good player, and perhaps a cornerstone building block for the future