Rockets forward Tari Eason has been diagnosed with a strained oblique and will miss four-to-six weeks, according to head coach Ime Udoka (Twitter link via Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle).
The 24-year-old sustained the injury in the first half of Friday’s win over Portland, with Houston initially describing it as a right hip contusion. Upon further evaluation, it turns out he suffered an oblique strain.
It’s a tough blow for Eason, who has battled multiple injuries the past few years. After appearing in all 82 regular season games as a rookie, Eason played just 22 games in 2023/24 and 57 last season.
The 17th overall pick of the 2022 draft, Eason has been a valuable contributor for the Rockets when healthy. He holds career averages of 10.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.4 steals in 22.8 minutes per game and was off to a solid start to the season prior to the injury, averaging 12.3 PPG and 5.3 RPG on .517/.531/.714 shooting through 10 games (24.5 MPG).
Until Dorian Finney-Smith returns from offseason ankle surgery, the Rockets won’t necessarily have a direct positional replacement for Eason. Udoka could give Reed Sheppard, who has been playing the best basketball of his young career of late, more minutes, perhaps sliding Amen Thompson up to the wing at times instead of playing point guard.
Veteran guard Aaron Holiday played a season-high 13 minutes — all in the second half — with Eason out and responded with 10 points.
Eason will be a restricted free agent in the summer if Houston gives him a qualifying offer.