Rockets Suspend Kevin Porter, Christian Wood Ahead of Sixers Matchup

Lately, many of the Philadelphia 76ers' opponents have been quite shorthanded. Nothing about that will change on Monday when the Sixers face the Houston

Lately, many of the Philadelphia 76ers' opponents have been quite shorthanded. Nothing about that will change on Monday when the Sixers face the Houston Rockets.

With a couple of players in the health and safety protocol, the Rockets are expected to play without Armoni Brooks and DeJon Jarreau on Monday. In addition to those in the health and safety protocol, Houston will also face the Sixers without Alperen Sengun, as he nurses a right ankle sprain.

While Eric Gordon has a chance to play as he's questionable with hamstring tightness, the Rockets will get even more shorthanded as they will punish multiple players after the team had a controversial incident the other night.

During Houston's Saturday night matchup against the Denver Nuggets, the Rockets had two separate incidents involving Kevin Porter and Christian Wood. After losing his temper in the locker room during halftime over the weekend, Kevin Porter left the arena and never returned to the court for the Rockets in the second half.

As for Wood, the former Sixer was benched on Saturday after failing to show up for COVID-19 testing. His absence caused the Rockets to get a late start on their team shootaround on Saturday morning. Wood's body language and behavior throughout Saturday's game caused Houston's head coach Stephen Silas to issue Wood the same punishment as Porter.

Out on Monday

Porter and Wood reportedly traveled to Philly on Monday as the Rockets are set to take on the 76ers for the first time this year. However, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Rockets have decided to suspend the two veterans, causing them to miss Monday's game.

Reporting with @ESPN_MacMahon: The Houston Rockets are suspending Kevin Porter Jr., and Christian Wood for tonight’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers, disciplining both for poor behavior surrounding Saturday’s loss to Denver.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 3, 2022

No Porter or Wood on Monday night is a tough blow for the Rockets. While the Sixers are the clear-cut favorites for Monday night's matchup, the Rockets could certainly use the help from their two veterans. However, Houston has room for error as they are in a rebuilding phase. Therefore, they can afford the potential defeat that comes with benching Porter and Wood to get the point across.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.