Defensive ace PJ Tucker (left thigh contusion) and veteran guard Eric Gordon (sore right groin) both sat out during Houston’s game at Washington on Monday night. Between Tucker, Gordon, Christian Wood (rjght ankle sprain), and Victor Oladipo (right foot sprain), the short-handed Rockets are now without four of their top six rotation players.
Now 35 years old, this is the first time that Tucker has missed a regular-season NBA game since April 2017. It snaps a run of 267 consecutive games played, which was by far the league’s longest active streak.
Tucker suffered the injury last Thursday versus Miami and played through it on Saturday in New York — though he was largely uneffective, with 31 scoreless minutes in a blowout loss. Dating back to the 2012-13 season, Tucker has played in the most games of any NBA player.
Since signing with Houston in July 2017, Tucker had yet to miss a single game in the regular season or playoffs for the Rockets.
Tucker played through the injury on Saturday. His streak of 267 consecutive games played will end. It will be the first game he has missed with the Rockets. No one has played as many games as Tucker since he returned to the NBA in 2012.
— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) February 15, 2021
Meanwhile, Gordon is Houston’s third-leading scorer on the season, averaging 18.8 points (46.5% FG) and 2.6 assists in 29.2 minutes per game. Head coach Stephen Silas did not know a specific recovery timetable for either injured player, with Houston’s next game set for Wednesday night in Philadelphia. That will be the finale of a three-game East Coast road trip for the Rockets (11-15), who are on a season-long losing streak of five games amid the widespread injury absences.
With Tucker, Gordon, Wood, and Oladipo all sidelined, the Rockets started John Wall, David Nwaba, Jae’Sean Tate, Danuel House Jr., and DeMarcus Cousins on Monday night against the Wizards.
[lawrence-related id=44920,44398]
The Rockets will be without PJ Tucker (left quad contusion) and Eric Gordon (right groin soreness) tonight vs. Washington, per Coach Silas.
This is the first game Tucker has missed in a #Rockets uniform. He had played 267 consecutive games. His last missed game was 4/2/17.
— Cayleigh Griffin (@cayleighgriffin) February 15, 2021