Green resumes shooting drills
Rockets rookie guard Jalen Green on Tuesday went through his most extensive session of shooting drills since going out with a hamstring injury, but the Rockets had no update on a timetable for when he could return or begin stepping up workouts to include more on-court rehab.
Green was hurt Nov. 24 and missed the Rockets’ past five games. Before resuming more basketballrelated activities, he likely will need time to regain strength even after he is cleared for the next stages of his rehab.
Point guard Kevin Porter Jr. is also out, having left consecutive games in the first half with a bruised thigh before sitting out Sunday. He has missed five games with the injury and has been hampered in many others.
“Jalen is progressing,” Rockets coach Stephen Silas said. “Obviously, he is out shooting — basically just spot shots — but moving along. With both guys, we’re going to take it slow and make sure they’re 100 percent before they come back.
“Kevin, we’re still kind of evaluating what is necessary, but he is doing his treatment and we’ll have an update sooner or later.”
Silas said there is no timetable on Porter, but there is not a need for any sort of procedure to address the problem that first started Nov. 7 against the Warriors.
“He has this spot that keeps getting hit,” Silas said. “Do you just hope it doesn’t get hit or make sure that it’s 100 percent before he comes back? We’re making sure he is 100 percent before he comes back.”
Nets, Bucks offer measuring stick
The Rockets head into a stretch likely to test their turnaround, or at least make them well qualified to discuss the Eastern Conference championship chase.
After facing the Eastern Conference-leading Nets on Wednesday, they play the reigning NBA champion Bucks on Friday before beginning a three-game road trip.
That would seem to offer a chance to validate the Rockets’ six-game winning streak, though they did not quite see it that way.
“I don’t know if validation is the word,” Silas said. “I mean, we feel good about what we’ve been doing. We’re continuing to get better. It doesn’t feel like (about) validation to me. It feels like just another step in getting better.
“We’re very much not worried about the opponents as much. We’re worried about ourselves and getting better and growing. Playing against two quality teams, you do get to find out where you are as a group. I continue to say to the group, it’s very much about us and are we doing the things that are necessary as far as our execution on both ends of the floor, our spirit, our togetherness and our attention to detail, because that comes and goes at times.”
Durant, Harden present challenge
Though the Rockets likely will try to avoid leaving any of their players on an island against Kevin Durant and James Harden, they do have their top defensive players at the positions with the Nets’ star scorers. The Nets go oneon-one more than any team in the league and rank third in scoring efficiency in isolation.
While guard Eric Gordon likely will match up with Harden, second-year forward Jae’Sean Tate probably will get his first playing time against Durant, the NBA’s leading scorer who missed both games against the Rockets last season.
“Any time you get to go out and compete against the best in the game, one of the best in the game, it’s going to be awesome,” Tate said. “It’s great to be able to do it in front of a home crowd, on this streak as well.
“Just try to be as physical as I possibly can without getting in foul trouble and just contest his shots. He’s going to make shots. That’s why he is who he is. As long as I can continue to just be in front, that’s all you can ask for.”