Rockets Star Breaks Hand During Shootaround Ahead of Celtics Clash

Boston will get a little injury luck on Friday night.

Oct 25, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun (28) celebrates with forward Jabari Smith Jr. (10) after a play during the third quarter against the Memphis Grizzlies at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Ahead of his club's impending game against the Boston Celtics, Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka revealed to reporters that starting power forward Jabari Smith Jr. broke his left hand during a team shootaround and will be out for the next 4-8 weeks, reports Brian Robb of MassLive.

Udoka, of course, coached Boston to the 2022 NBA Finals during his one-and-done season at the helm of the Celtics, before being fired for an improper workplace relationship. Joe Mazzulla, one of his deeper-bench assistant coaches, was promoted to replace him, and led the Celtics to the title in 2024.

Robb writes that center Kristaps Porzingis is slated to make his return to the Celtics lineup for the first time since spraining his ankle on Christmas Day against the Philadelphia 76ers. Three-time All-Star small forward Jaylen Brown, however, remains out for the second straight contest with a right shoulder strain.

Two-way Celtics players Anton Watson and JD Davison are away from the team with its NBAGL affiliate squad, the Maine Celtics, as is little-used rookie wing Baylor Scheierman.

Missing Smith is a big blow for an ascendant Rockets club, currently at 22-11 on the year and occupying the Western Conference's No. 3 seed.

The 6-foot-11 big man, 21, hadn't missed a game this season to this point. In his 33 healthy games, Smith has averaged 11.9 points on .435/.354/.867 shooting splits, 6.5 boards and 1.0 dimes a night. Houston selected him with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft out of Auburn, and though he hasn't blown up as a scorer yet, he has emerged as a core piece on this intriguing young team, currently led by star center Alperen Sengun and emergent shooting guard Jalen Green.

For Houston, Both Tari Eason (doubtful with a left lower leg injury) and Amen Thompson (suspended), one of whom will likely replace Smith as Udoka's starting power forward of choice, are probably going to miss out on tonight's contest. Does this mean one-time former Celtic Jeff Green, who's been relatively buried in Udoka's rotation this year, could earn the starting nod against Boston? Time will tell.

UPDATE:

Lerner reports that Green will get the starting nod for the Celtics game, but that Thompson is Udoka's long-term choice to replace Smith once he returns to action.

This story will be updated...

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