Rockets wing Amen Thompson will return on Friday vs. Miami and will immediately reenter the team’s starting lineup, head coach Ime Udoka said today (Twitter link via Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle). Thompson won’t be on a minutes restriction after missing the past six games due to a sprained ankle.
Besides being good news for the Rockets, who are vying for playoff position and currently control the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference, Thompson’s return bodes well for his end-of-season award eligibility. He’ll reach the 65-game minimum if he plays at least 20 minutes in seven more games — Houston has 12 left on its schedule.
Thompson looks like a solid candidate to receive consideration for Most Improved Player and All-Defensive honors this spring.
Here are a few more injury-related updates from around the NBA:
- Heat forward Andrew Wiggins is returning on Friday vs. Houston after missing two games with a leg contusion. He had originally been listed as questionable with an ankle impingement. Head coach Erik Spoelstra said the team will be “mindful” of Wiggins’ minutes in his first game back, per Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald (Twitter links).
- Pelicans forward Zion Williamson will be inactive on Friday vs. Minnesota due to a low back contusion, according to the team (Twitter link). Although Williamson has been fairly healthy for the past two-plus months, he has appeared in just 30 total games so far this season.
- The Hornets have ruled out several players on the second end of a back-to-back set in Oklahoma City on Friday, including LaMelo Ball (right ankle injury management) and Mark Williams (left foot injury management), both of whom played key roles in Thursday’s win over New York. Marcus Garrett, who has played rotation minutes over the past four games, is listed as “not with team” on the final night of his 10-day contract.
- It’s not an NBA injury, but Duke star Cooper Flagg said ahead of the team’s NCAA tournament opener that he’s “pain-free” after injuring his ankle last Thursday against Georgia Tech (story via David Hale of ESPN). The projected No. 1 overall pick for the 2025 draft didn’t have to play a ton on Friday, as the Blue Devils rolled to a 93-49 win over No. 16 seed Mount St. Mary’s. Flagg had 14 points, seven rebounds, and four assists in 22 minutes.
Just gotta say, everything Jimmy Buckets was criticized for, lives 100x in Andrew Wiggins. As a Warriors fan, Wiggs infuriated me nonstop with his middling play and overall inconsistency, especially from a guy who was supposed to be this massive superstar but instead never cleared Harrison Barnes (who plays an identical role) on any day they both were in the league together.
I can’t think of a softer player than Wiggins, every single thing in his career has been his way or he basically no-shows/turns into a ghost on the court.
Harisson Barnes was also drafted with high expectations
You can say whatever you want about Wiggins but he was the second best player in 2022 and they wouldnt win without him.
That absolutely is untrue. Barnes never had MJ comps. Also Draymond, Looney and Poole were just as important and my main point is swapping out Wiggins for Harrison Barnes would have ended that series in 4. They absolutely would have won with any number of SF instead of Wiggs. Wiggs wasn’t even top 5 in WS or VORP on the team the year they won.
Everyone forgot how much offense Looney provided that year.
Davey knows balls!
DUBS on their honeymoon stage with Jimmy. The warts will reveal themselves eventually.
The post season is just around the corner.