Rockets remain without return timetables for injured guards Jalen Green, Kevin Porter Jr.

Jalen Green has now missed two weeks with a left hamstring strain, while Porter has missed one with a nagging left thigh contusion. Neither Houston guard appears close to returning.

One of the most remarkable aspects of the historic winning streak by the Houston Rockets (at seven games entering Friday) is that they’ve largely done it without the services of their planned backcourt.

With Jalen Green (left hamstring strain) and Kevin Porter Jr. (left thigh contusion) each out, players such as Garrison Mathews, Armoni Brooks, and Josh Christopher have stepped up to fill the vacated minutes. For the time being, it appears they will need to continue doing so.

In a Friday afternoon appearance with radio broadcaster Matt Thomas of SportsTalk 790, Silas said this of Green and Porter:

We’re still kind of evaluating with Scoot (Porter). The contusion is still there. It’s a case where he can jog around fine, and shoot spot shots fine. It’s just that when he’s trying to do things at full speed, where the pain comes back. The doctors and trainers are trying to put their heads together and figure out the best way to accelerate that healing process, and make sure that he’s good, and not 70% when he comes back. Because that could be something that sticks with him for a while, if it just continues to get irritated.

With Jalen, he’s doing more on the court. He’s doing individual workouts and moving well. But we want to be in a position to where when he comes back, he can play long stretches and not have that twinge of pain or tightness in his hamstring. We’re making sure with both guys, that they are going to be 100% when they come back so that when they’re out there playing, they’re not playing guarded at all. They’re able to play full force, and join what we’ve been doing.

Green hasn’t played in over two weeks since suffering the injury on Nov. 24, while Porter last played in abbreviated minutes on Friday, Dec. 3.

During comments at Friday’s team shootaround, Green said he continues to make progress, but agreed regarding the lack of a return date.

“I’m making good progress day-by-day,” Green said. “I’m getting better every day, stronger every day. We don’t have an exact date (to return). We’re just trying to make progress each day, get better every day.”

Considering that it is a soft tissue injury to the No. 2 overall pick from the 2021 NBA draft, the Rockets are understandably being cautious.

“It’s been a little difficult,” Green said on Friday. “Everything happens for a reason. This is my first time really being injured.”

“I think it’s a sign to really lock in on my body and take it more serious, really lock in mentally and physically,” Green told reporters. “I’ve always been locked in on my body. But take it to another level just because I’m expected (to play) big minutes. I’ve never played this amount of minutes in my life before. It’s all good. It’s all part of the process.”

For Porter, the issue is that they already gave him a week off to rest his thigh in late November, but that clearly didn’t resolve the nagging injury, which he first suffered in a collision with Draymond Green on Nov. 7. Thus, it makes sense for Porter’s current downtime to be more than a week, since they already have evidence that a week was not enough.

With both young guards sidelined, Mathews and Brooks appear likely to remain in the starting lineup for the time being, though Silas has advocated for a flexible approach. When playing, Green has averaged 14.0 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in 30.8 minutes per game, while Porter is at 12.8 points, 5.8 assists, and 4.4 rebounds in 30.2 minutes.

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