The Houston Rockets are likely to be without defensive ace David Nwaba for Monday and Wednesday’s games in Oklahoma City due to a sprained left ankle, head coach Stephen Silas said at Sunday’s practice. Nwaba rolled his ankle late in Saturday’s victory at New Orleans.
“He won’t be out for too, too long,” said Silas, who identified Ben McLemore as a short-term candidate to replace Nwaba’s minutes. Silas said that trimming his rotation from 10 players to nine is also an option.
A 6-foot-5 swingman, Nwaba is averaging 8.6 points (47.5% FG, 28.2% on 3-pointers), 3.1 rebounds, and 1.2 steals in 22.6 minutes per game this season. After Saturday’s win over the Pelicans, the 28-year-old has the best overall net rating of any rotation player with the Rockets.
Led by strong defenders such as Nwaba, Houston entered Sunday with the NBA’s No. 2 defense since their Jan. 13 agreement to trade James Harden. The Rockets are 6-3 over that span. Prior to the blockbuster deal, Houston went 3-6 with the No. 22 unit by defensive rating.
Coach Silas says David Nwaba wasn’t able to practice today. He does not anticipate him playing tomorrow, or Wednesdays game but “we’ll see.” He’s been icing and doing treatment.
Coach says depth is playing to their favor – expect McLemore to play – but Nwaba will be missed.
— Cayleigh Griffin (@cayleighgriffin) January 31, 2021
By FiveThirtyEight’s RAPTOR metric, Nwaba grades out as one of the NBA’s elite defensive players. Silas has become increasingly reliant on Nwaba for his defensive versatility and athleticism, which also allows him to be effective on offense via transition opportunities.
Monday’s game between the Rockets (9-9) and Thunder (8-10) tips off at 7:00 p.m. Central from Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City. Houston enters on a five-game winning streak, which is its longest of the 2020-21 regular season to date.
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