After missing three games with a sprained left ankle, defensive ace David Nwaba returned to the Houston Rockets for Saturday’s home game at Toyota Center versus division rival San Antonio.
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. For the 2020-21 season as a whole, the 28-year-old has the best overall net rating of any rotation player with the Rockets.
Meanwhile, point guard John Wall was in Houston’s starting lineup after being listed as questionable (back spasms) going into the game.
Wall said he injured his back after taking a hard fall during Thursday’s victory at Memphis. He stayed in the game and downplayed the injury in postgame comments, but he was shown moving gingerly and with an apparent heat pack on the area during timeouts. Head coach Stephen Silas said told reporters before Saturday’s game that Wall’s back was “still kind of spasming and whatnot,” adding that the Rockets wanted to see how the 30-year-old responded to treatment and a pregame workout.
Stephen Silas says David Nwaba is good to go and John Wall is a game-time decision (back spasms). pic.twitter.com/iKUJPgsjQv
— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) February 6, 2021
The Rockets entered Saturday with a 9-4 mark when Wall plays, including 7-0 when he plays without James Harden. However, they are just 2-6 in games that Wall has missed, making his availability a key concern. That’s especially the case now, given Christian Wood’s indefinite absence.
Saturday’s game against the Spurs tipped off at 7:00 p.m. Central. It’s the start of tough stretch of three games in four nights for the Rockets, who visit Charlotte and New Orleans on Monday and Tuesday, respectively. Wall was already likely to miss one of those two games for planned maintenance, which could give him a chance to rest his back, as well.
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