Mbah a Moute appreciates OK to get back to the court
LOS ANGELES — Luc Mbah a Moute waited one month to the day to get to Sunday, when he was cleared to go through all of the Rockets’ practice.
Barring setbacks, he is expected to play against the Clippers on Monday night, but he said his happiness regards returning to the court, rather than the opponent, his previous team before signing with the Rockets in July.
“It’s good to be back, obviously,” Mbah a Moute said. “It feels good to be back in the mix of things.”
The month he had been out with a dislocated shoulder, suffered when he took a hard fall on a dunk, had been the longest layoff he said since he starting playing basketball. He missed 15 games.
Considered the Rockets’ top defensive player (his defensive rating is the best among Rockets rotation players), Mbah a Moute had been averaging 6.8 points and 3.4 rebounds.
He said he did not know how rusty he will be, never having been out so long.
“I’ll find out today at practice first,” Mbah a Moute said. “It’s different to do drills. It’s different going against contact, all that stuff. Today at practice will be a good test, and tomorrow, we’ll go and see.”
Center Tarik Black, who missed one game with an abrasion on his right eye, is also expected to return.
Hunter confident after promotion
R.J. Hunter, a firstround pick of the Celtics in 2015 who has spent the season with the G League affiliate, joined the Rockets in time for practice in Los Angeles on Sunday, confident he could make the adjustment because of his familiarity with the system the Rockets and Rio Grande Valley Vipers run.
Hunter said he has improved “a lot” since his rookie season in Boston but added “the system helps, too.”
“The system allows me to play free and run the court,” Hunter said. “I didn’t run the court a lot in the East. It’s a lot of grind-it-out. These guys play the style I play, running and shooting 3s.”
Hunter, a 6-5 guard, averaged 19.2 points to lead the Vipers in scoring.
“When you join a D League team, you want to get called up to that team, but it’s almost not realistic,” Hunter said. “For them to do that after seeing me a lot is definitely a confidence booster.”
Injured players begin to return
Guard James Harden could return from his strained left hamstring as soon as Thursday against the Minnesota Timberwolves, coach Mike D’Antoni said before Harden went through some of Sunday’s practice at UCLA, his first practice time with the team since the injury Dec. 31.
Harden’s return “could be Thursday or Saturday, I don’t know,” D’Antoni said. “We’ll see how it is. Each day he’s got to get better. We’ll see. Whenever he’s ready.”
The Rockets have gone 4-2 in games without Harden. They face the Clippers on Monday night at Staples Center before home games against the Timberwolves and Warriors. All three are 10-3 in their past three games, the best record in that stretch in the NBA going into Sunday’s games.
“He’s a little bit away,” D’Antoni said. “Luc (Mbah a Moute) and Tarik (Black) back, then we get him and Nene and back, and we’re at full strength, and that’s not too far off.”
Nene has been out since he bruised his right knee Jan. 3. Black missed one game with a right eye abrasion. Mbah a Moute has been out with a dislocated shoulder since Dec. 13.