Always deprived of Fred Vanvleet, the Rockets found this night Jabari Smith Jr.absent for about two months because of a fracture of the left hand. In his absence, his teammates climbed to 2nd place in the Western Conference, before experiencing a little less well before the cut of the All-Star Weekend.
For this recovery, facing the Wolves, the winger was not in the starting five, and it was an event. The last time he had started a meeting as a replacement was when he was 14! This did not prevent him from playing 38 minutes, and of accumulating 15 points and 9 rebounds to snatch the victory.
“There was a bit of everything behind this choice” Explain IME UDOKAabout to have it started on the bench. “It was to facilitate his return, not necessarily in terms of his physical condition, but to see how he behaves. For the rest, everything remains open. »»
Always as dangerous by far
During the absence of Smith, the Rockets won 12 matches out of 22, and this success against Minnesota allows them to stay well in 4th place, now with four victories in advance on the partners of Anthony Edwards. Smith's return occurs at the ideal time to keep this place in the top 4, and his absence of seven weeks does not seem to have had an effect on his address from afar: 4 out of 6 to 3-point.
“My shot will never disappear … as long as I am on earth, I can promise you” He smiles, before evoking the progress of his training. “We can still make losing silly balloons at the end of the match, like the one I committed today, but we know better what to do: slow down, give the ball to our guys, take some rebounds and make 'stops'. This is what we have to do to conclude the matches. We are still learning, getting there, but sure we are progressing. ”
