No more playing! Grade 3 ankle sprain! Another key Rockets player is down

The Rockets are such a frustrating team — capable of losing to the low-ranked Kings but also defeating the defensively strong Spurs, who are second in the Western Conference.

Following their tight 111-106 home win against the Spurs, the Rockets have achieved three consecutive victories,and currently hold the fourth spot in the Western Conference with a 26-15 record, with the Lakers trailing closely behind at 26-16.

As for the Warriors, another popular team but without Butler, they now stand eighth in the West with a 25-20 record, focusing mainly on securing a play-in tournament spot this season.

Returning to the Rockets, despite their recent strong performance, Adams’ injury is a major setback. He hurt his knee landing during a defensive play against Zion in the game versus the Pelicans a couple of days ago. The diagnosis is partly good news—no fracture—but the bad news is a grade 3 ankle sprain, leading to an indefinite absence...

Sports medicine expert and injury analyst Jeff Stotts commented on this:The average absence time for NBA players with a grade 3 ankle sprain is 62.9 days (about 28 games).

In simple terms, Adams is likely out for the rest of the regular season, but optimistically expected to return before the playoffs begin.

So far this season, Adams has played 32 games with 11 starts, averaging 22.8 minutes per game, contributing 5.8 points, 8.6 rebounds (4.5 offensive boards), and 1.5 assists, shooting 50.4% from the field. His 4.5 offensive rebounds per game rank second in the league, only behind Knicks big man Mitchell Robinson.

Before the season started, the Rockets lost their backcourt leader VanVleet (right knee ACL tear), and midseason they lost their interior anchor and one of the strongest men in the NBA. The Rockets have faced many challenges and may soon lose even their proud rebounding edge, currently leading the league with 49 rebounds per game, closely followed by the Spurs at 46.4 per game.

Fortunately, the Rockets showed foresight by re-signing Capela last offseason for three years and $21.5 million. This guy has played 35 games this season with 1 start, averaging 11.4 minutes, producing 3.7 points and 4.4 rebounds (2.4 offensive boards), somewhat filling the role Adams left.