Silas wants Wood engaged despite injury
Though the Rockets and center Christian Wood could have felt relief that Wood’s sprained ankle was not worse, with no other damage found, the injury and prolonged absence it will require still are greatly disappointing amid his breakthrough season.
With that in mind, Rockets coach Stephen Silas said he wants Wood to be around the team as often as possible while he is out.
“His spirits are just OK,” Silas said. “He was a little down last time I contacted him. He’s raring to get to his treatment. The thing I told him, we want him to be around.”
Wood is averaging career highs for minutes, points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocked shots while shooting a careerbest 42.1 percent on 3s.
“He’s disappointed but understands it’s part of the game and knows what is going to be required to get back better than he was when he got hurt,” Silas said. “He was still kind of dealing with the ankle (from when he sprained it Jan. 22.) We’re trying to be smart as far as getting him back to a place where it won’t happen again.
“For sure it’s a sigh of relief. The way he went down, the way it started swelling initially, it looked like it could have been a lot worse. We still have quite a bit of time to play without him, so it’s not all great. But it’s definitely a sign of relief as far as what it could have been.”
Small ball being embraced again
Given the success of the Rockets small, center-less lineups this season, the Rockets were happy to extend the stretches they will play with 6-foot-5 P. J. Tucker or 6-foot-4 Ja e’Sean Tate at center. They also have no choice.
With Christian Wood out at least for several weeks with a sprained ankle, DeMarcus Cousins is the Rockets’ only healthy center, and the Rockets do not want to extend his minutes too far.
“I want him to be around 30; 26 would be great, 32 if necessary,” Rockets coach Stephen Silas said. “I don’t want him to get in the high 30s at all, or even the mid-30s. Our schedule is a beast. Playing every other day until All-Star break is going to taxing on everybody. I want to make sure not just Cuz, but John ( Wall). Vic ( Victor Oladipo), Eric ( Gordon), Tuck (P.J. Tucker), all those guys are playing appropriate minutes so we can make it to the break.”
The Rockets have been more careful about when they can use their small lineups than they can be now, but those lineups have been effective, particularly in the previous stint without Wood.
“I’m very confident in the small ball,” Silas said. “We’ve done a good job with it whether it’s P.J. at the five or Jae’Sean Tate at the five. The reality is based on our roster, that’s what we’re going to have to do.
“We have Cuz out there. He’ll be our primary center. Beyond that, we don’t really have a true center. So, we’re going to have top play some small ball, get in some switching, speed the game up a little bit, which is good for us.”
Cousins steps in with Wood out
As disheartening as the injury to Christian Wood could be, the Rockets did not have to twist logic too greatly to find a bright side.
Wood will be out indefinitely with a sprained right ankle, but the Rockets also knew that the injury could have been considerably worse.
They also could have confidence, considering their stretch when Wood previously went out, that DeMarcus Cousins could step in as an effective replacement starter.
“Obviously, that helped me with my confidence going through this season,” Cousins said. “I mean, it’s unfortunate what happened to CWood. I’m going to come in and do my job. That’s really all I can do, play my part and help us get another W in the win column.”
Struggling to start the season and especially in the games before Wood’s first ankle sprain, Cousins seemed to get going when he moved into the starting lineup. He made just 2 of 16 shots in his first game after Wood’s previous ankle injury, but even then, he seemed to be moving better and getting his rhythm. He had 15 rebounds with seven assists and two blocked shots that night in Detroit, then scored a season-high 28 points with 17 rebounds and five assists the next night in Dallas.
Cousins averaged 15.3 points and 14.3 rebounds in his four starts before Saturday’s against the Spurs, though he rarely matched that level of play off the bench. Still, though Cousins is on a one-year, nonguaranteed contract after two seasons largely lost to major injuries, he would not view his return to the starting lineup as a chance to show that he can still be an effective starter.
It remains uncertain how long Wood will be out. The Rockets announced that he would be evaluated on a weekly basis, indicating a prolonged absence. There are 3½ weeks remaining before the All-Star break. The MRI, however, showed no further damage. Wood does not have to look far to see reminders that it could have been worse, with a large contingent of teammates with experience coming back from significant injuries, including his backup and temporary replacement at center.