Rockets’ Tari Eason Discusses Leg Injury, Rehab

Following a solid rookie season, Tari Eason fell victim to the injury bug last season. Eason appeared in just 22 games, none after January 1st.

The Rockets forward underwent surgery to treat a benign growth on his lower leg, with the procedure involving “excising and bone grafting the lesion along with inserting an intramedullary rod in his tibia to help accelerate healing.”

Eason told The Athletic’s Kelly Iko it was all a new experience for him.

“It was a trying time,” Eason said. “I’ve never really dealt with a major injury or anything that has kept me out of basketball for a long period of time. It was tough on me mentally, but I had the right people in my corner, giving me good, positive energy and praying. That helped me stay grounded through the process.”

Indeed, Eason appeared in all 82 games in his rookie campaign, averaging 9.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.2 steals in 21.5 minutes per night. The rehab process has been arduous but he’s confident he’ll be ready to reestablish himself in training camp.

“I feel good. I feel like I’m close to 100 percent. You’ve seen me jumping, running, dunking,” he said. “I feel pretty normal, to be honest. It’s really about getting all the movements back to where they were.”

Eason was the 17th pick of the 2022 draft and projects as a key reserve on the much-improved Rockets. He’ll be eligible for a rookie scale extension next offseason.

Here’s more from his interview with Iko:

• Eason said he felt soreness in his shin before the season began: “I’d say right before training camp in the Bahamas during the team trip. Working out, I would notice that my shin would be really, really sore. I thought that was maybe through lack of treatment or stretching, things like that. I put more time in the training room and just ignored it. But definitely around training camp, because every time I jumped, I was in pain.”
• The injury took a mental toll on him: “It was weird going to games and not suiting up, wearing regular clothes. It was sad. There was a point where I really was sad, a low point. I didn’t know what was going to happen, I didn’t know what the solution was. That thought of not knowing is uncomfortable.”
• On how he views next season: “I don’t have too many words on that. I’m going to let my game do the talking. A lot of stuff has been said, a lot of ways people view me, I hear it all. But I’m not here to prove anything.”