Veteran guard John Wall is expected to miss the remainder of the season for the Houston Rockets due to a hamstring strain suffered in recent days, as first reported by Shams Charania of The Athletic.
The 2020-21 regular season ends on Friday, May 16, which is under three weeks away. Thus, a return doesn’t seem to be realistic. In 40 games played, it appears Wall will finish his first season with the Rockets averaging 20.6 points and 6.9 assists in 32.2 minutes per game.
A five-time All-Star over his first nine NBA seasons, Wall said after his most recent outing (27 points, 13 assists versus the Clippers) that he believes that he’s still an All-Star caliber player, when healthy.
Unfortunately for the Rockets, the 30-year-old has still had a hard time staying on the court to consistently showcase that form. Per Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, Wall felt discomfort in the hamstring during Friday’s game, and the diagnosis is now a grade two strain.
Rockets star guard John Wall will be sidelined for the remainder of the season due to a hamstring tweak, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Wall being shut down also gives Houston opportunity to tinker with lineups for final 11 games of season.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 26, 2021
After missing most of the previous two NBA seasons with various injuries, headlined by an Achilles tear, it appears that Wall will end up missing 32 of Houston’s 72 games this season due to either injuries or planned back-to-back maintenance (designed to prevent an injury).
With Wall sidelined, second-year guard Kevin Porter Jr. will take over the team’s primary ball-handling and playmaking duties.
Wall is under contract with the Rockets for at least one more season.
[lawrence-related id=48182,48088]
https://embed.sendtonews.com/oembed/?SC=2pYqAPoWz8-1275934-7498&format=json&offsetx=0&offsety=0&floatwidth=400&floatposition=bottom-right&float=on