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Reports: Rockets hopeful of Jalen Green, Kevin Porter Jr. returning within week

Ben DuBose
·3 min read

The Houston Rockets are reportedly expecting to have injured guards Kevin Porter Jr. (left thigh contusion) and Jalen Green (left hamstring strain) back within the next week, potentially with the same return date.

Per Kelly Iko of The Athletic, the tentative target date for Porter is Monday, Dec. 27 at Charlotte. That matchup is the fifth of a five-game road trip for the Rockets, who are 9-4 in their last 13 games.

Meanwhile, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reports that Green could come back one game earlier — or perhaps wait until the same date as his usual starting backcourt mate. Feigen writes:

(Green) is unlikely to play in both games of a back-to-back Wednesday in Milwaukee and Thursday in Indianapolis, likely making the (Dec. 23) game against the Pacers the earliest he would be back, one day short of a month since he was hurt.

If the Rockets want to give him a little more preparation time, their next game is not until next Monday in Charlotte.

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.

Green has not played since his injury on Nov. 24 versus Chicago, while Porter last played on Dec. 3 versus Orlando. Porter re-aggravated his injury multiple times after first suffering it Nov. 7 at Golden State.

Though the Rockets (10-20) have recently found success with both young guards out of the lineup, the 19-year-old Green and 21-year-old Porter — who were selected in the first round of the 2021 and 2019 NBA drafts, respectively — remain cornerstones of the team’s rebuilding plan.

Thus, in a season where development of young players is the leading priority, both are expected to start as soon as they return.

“There’s an excitement about those guys coming back,” head coach Stephen Silas said, according to Feigen’s report from Sunday’s practice in Chicago, where the Rockets will take on the Bulls on Monday night.

“They see what works and what doesn’t work, whereas before… we didn’t really have a feel for what works and what doesn’t work,” Silas said. “But now, we really have a good grasp on the things that are good for our team, and they can just fit right into what we’ve been doing.”

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