Tag: Garrison Mathews

Garrison Mathews happy to be back in Rockets’ lineup after protocols stint

“In the fourth quarter, I started feeling it a little bit,” Garrison Mathews said of his return. “When you take seven days off, your conditioning starts to wear down a little bit towards the end.”

With the way the season is going for the Houston Rockets, it seems as if there is a player or players on the team every game being welcomed back into the lineup. Houston has had multiple players out of its rotation of late due to injuries, health and safety protocols, or suspensions.

Most recently, Rockets forward Garrison Mathews and guard DJ Augustin were re-inserted into the rotation Monday in Philadelphia.

Both players had been out of the lineup since the end of December after being placed in the NBA health and safety protocol due to COVID-related issues. Even though the Rockets were happy to have both players back in the lineup, Mathews’ 3-point shot was clearly missed most.

Mathews was eager to get back on the court after being isolated at home.

“Boring,” said Mathews about how his time was away from the team. “Just laying on the couch, watching TV, playing with my dog, that was about it.”

After a scorching start in the first half, scoring 17 points to give the short-handed Rockets a one-point advantage over the 76ers at halftime, Mathews cooled down in the second half after fatigue began to set in after having such a lengthy layoff. He finished the game with a team-high 23 points, making 4-of-8 shots (50%) from beyond the 3-point arc.

“In the fourth quarter, I started feeling it a little bit,” said Mathews, who tied his season-high scoring total in Monday’ return.

“Having six, seven days off, it’s hard to take that many days off and come back and get right to it. My body felt fresh. It wasn’t sore like it was before. It was good to have a few days off, but when you take seven days off, your conditioning starts to wear down a little bit towards the end.”

Mathews, who signed a four-year contract with the Rockets back in December, said postgame that he was frustrated during his personal hiatus by just watching and not being able to play. However, he did take time to watch film on how to get better on the defensive end of the court.

“I try to pay attention to defense more than the offense, because that is what I try to focus on to be different,” Mathews said. “So just watching different guys in the league and watching their tendencies.”

On Wednesday, the Rockets wrap up a two-game road trip in Washington before heading back to Houston for a three-game homestand.

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76ers, Joel Embiid blast Rockets despite Garrison Mathews’ strong return

Garrison Mathews returned to Houston’s lineup with 23 points, including 4-of-8 on 3-pointers, but it wasn’t nearly enough versus Joel Embiid (31 points, 15 rebounds, 10 assists) and the 76ers.

Garrison Mathews returned to Houston’s lineup after a four-game health and safety protocols absence and scored a team-high 23 points, including 4-of-8 on 3-pointers (50.0%), but it wasn’t nearly enough for the Rockets in a 133-113 loss (box score) to the host Philadelphia 76ers.

Perennial MVP candidate Joel Embiid led the Sixers with a triple-double of 31 points (60.0% FG), 15 rebounds, and 10 assists. The 76ers had plenty of help from surrounding shooters, who hit 17-of-40 from 3-point range (42.5%). Furkan Korkmaz was the headliner with 24 points, 11 rebounds, and 6 assists, including three 3-pointers, while Isaiah Joe added 18 points off the bench on 5-of-8 shooting from 3-point range (62.5%).

By comparison, the Rockets made only 15-of-44 from 3-point range (34.1%), and shooters outside of Mathews were 11-of-36 (30.6%). Rookie Jalen Green scored 12 points in 27 minutes, but he shot just 3-of-12 from the field (25.0%) and only 1-of-5 on 3-pointers (20.0%).

As expected, the Rockets were very short-handed on Monday in Philadelphia, with two starters suspended in point guard Kevin Porter Jr. and center Christian Wood. Backup center Alperen Sengun (right ankle sprain) also remains out, leaving veteran Daniel Theis as the only remaining big — and he shot just 3-of-13 from the field (23.1%) in a game-high 34 minutes, including 1-of-7 on 3-pointers (14.3%).

The Sixers, who have looked the part of a contender when Embiid is healthy, won their fourth straight game to improve to 20-16 this season. For the rebuilding Rockets (10-28), it’s an eighth straight loss.

Houston will finish up its brief two-game road trip on Wednesday in Washington, where tipoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. CST. Until then, scroll on for highlights and postgame reaction from Monday.

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Garrison Mathews, DJ Augustin exit health and safety protocols; Armoni Brooks enters

Garrison Mathews and DJ Augustin are back with the Rockets after missing four games due to health and safety protocols. However, Armoni Brooks is now entering the protocol.

The Rockets enter Monday’s game at Philadelphia with seven straight losses, but they do have at least some roster reinforcements on the way. Garrison Mathews and DJ Augustin, who missed each of Houston’s last four games due to the NBA’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols, have been cleared and are no longer on the team’s injury report.

However, reserve sharpshooter Armoni Brooks — who started in Saturday’s second half versus Denver after Kevin Porter Jr.’s halftime outburst — is now unavailable due to his own protocols stint. While there is no immediate timetable for Brooks’ return, each of Houston’s four players to enter the protocol since Christmas has rejoined the team in less than a week, presumably due to the NBA’s recently relaxed rules.

Mathews and Augustin are two of Houston’s best perimeter shooters, with 3-point percentages of 37.0% and 41.3%, respectively. Only Eric Gordon, who is questionable for Monday’s game with right hamstring tightness, has a higher clip (44.7%) among rotation players.

A 6-foot-5 wing, Mathews also offers value to the Rockets in terms of defensive length and a willingness to draw charges.

If Gordon is unavailable, Mathews appears likely to start for Houston at the small forward spot. If Gordon plays, Mathews would presumably come off the bench. As a point guard, Augustin might also find an increased short-term role if Porter is disciplined for his recent antics.

Tipoff between the Rockets and 76ers is set for 6:00 p.m. CST.

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Rockets forward Jae’Sean Tate makes impressive return versus Heat

Jae’Sean Tate on his return to the Rockets: “They called me earlier today and said they had changed the rules, and (asked) would I be ready to suit up. I was like, ‘Heck, yeah.’”

As rookie Jalen Green was wrapping up his pregame shootaround, the small crowd in attendance who showed up early for Friday’s Houston Rockets contest versus the Miami Heat began to cheer when a familiar face that had not been seen in a while came walking out of the tunnel.

Second-year Rockets forward Jae’Sean Tate made sure to return the love he was receiving, as he waived to the Toyota Center crowd before being handed a basketball to begin his drills.

It was the first time that Tate had been seen in a Rockets uniform in over eight days, having played his last game on Dec. 23 at Indiana.

After that game, Tate and forward KJ Martin (who also returned on Friday) and guards DJ Augustin and Garrison Mathews were all placed in the NBA’s health and safety protocol due to COVID-19 related issues.

After the game, Tate revealed to the media what he did while recovering from COVID-related symptoms:

It was relaxing at first, and then it got boring real fast. Those first couple days, I used it for my body to recover. You start to feel how sore you really are.

By day three, you’re just looking at TV all day, and you’re just ready to do what you love. They called me earlier today and said that they had changed the rules, and (asked) would I be ready to suit up. I was like, ‘Heck, yeah.’

Instead of placing him in his usual starting role, Rockets head coach Stephen Silas decided to bring Tate off the bench Friday to help him get reacclimated to being back on the court and test his conditioning.

“I was concerned, obviously, because I didn’t start him, but I didn’t know what we were going to get from him,” Silas said after the game.

Tate scored a team-high 22 points in the 25 minutes he was on the court in Houston’s 120-110 defeat to the Heat, and he made 9-of-15 shots (60%) from the field. He admitted to shaking some of the rust off due to not playing for so long. One thing that seemed to fire up the former All-Rookie First Team player was the on-the-court battle and trash-talking going on between Tate and Heat superstar Jimmy Butler.

“I love that he is a competitor,” Tate said postgame. “He is a guy who has a love for the game and love for the competition. He works extremely hard. Any player that likes to compete, I am a fan of. It was a little bitter tonight, but at the end of the day, it was a great game.”

Tate won’t have a long time to recover, as the Denver Nuggets will make their way to Toyota Center on Saturday. Tipoff is at 7 p.m. CST.

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Rockets issue positive update on players in health, safety protocols

Based on the NBA’s newly revised rules, Houston could have some of its protocol players (Jae’Sean Tate, Garrison Mathews, KJ Martin and DJ Augustin) back as soon as Saturday or Monday.

For the time being, the Houston Rockets remain without four rotation players (Garrison Mathews, DJ Augustin, Jae’Sean Tate, and KJ Martin) due to the NBA’s health and safety protocols for COVID-19. But as of now, the team appears cautiously optimistic that they could return soon.

“They’re good,” head coach Stephen Silas said prior to Tuesday’s home game. “Symptoms are minimal, if that. Everybody’s fine.”

Mathews and Augustin have been resting in Houston since apparently testing positive on Sunday, when the team was coming out of its mini-break over Christmas. Tate and Martin, however, were with the team in Charlotte when they were placed into the protocol on Monday. While NBA rules did not allow them to travel back to Houston with the team, Silas said Tuesday that he believed they had returned on their own.

The NBA’s newly revised protocols could allow many of those players to return much sooner than they would have earlier in the season. Per ESPN, vaccinated players who are asymptomatic can now clear quarantine after six days if testing data shows they’re no longer at risk to be infectious. The Rockets’ roster is fully vaccinated and fully boostered, which may also be playing a role in their lack of symptoms.

Thus, for Houston’s players who went into the protocol early this week, they could potentially emerge as soon as Saturday’s home game versus Denver or Monday’s road contest in Philadelphia. As of late Wednesday, the team had not issued an expected timetable just yet.

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Stephen Silas focused on teaching as COVID losses force Rockets to go younger

With numerous rotation players unavailable, Houston coach Stephen Silas turned to a lineup consisting of five rookies. Four of those players are not of legal age to purchase alcohol in the United States.

On Monday, the Houston Rockets suddenly found themselves in a situation that was unfamiliar to their team but has rapidly become the norm throughout the rest of the league over the past month.

Houston went into its game in Charlotte down four key players to their rotation due to the NBA’s health and safety protocols.

Jae’Sean Tate, DJ Augustin, KJ Martin, and Garrison Mathews were unavailable after test results were apparently positive for COVID-19. Rockets head coach Stephen Silas also decided not to play guards Kevin Porter Jr. and Jalen Green in back-to-back games due to injury maintenance considerations, which left Houston’s bench depleted.

With a limited number of rotation players, Silas found himself playing a lineup consisting of five rookies, and four of those players are not of legal age to purchase alcohol in the United States. Usman Garuba (19), Alperen Sengun (19), Daishen Nix (19), and Josh Christopher (20) all found themselves on the court together for the Rockets at some point in the 123-99 road defeat (recap) to the Charlotte Hornets.

It is hard to compete with a team like the Hornets, who have the second-ranked offense in the NBA, when you have a healthy rotation. It becomes especially problematic when you have rookies who have not played together consistently trying to figure each other out.

Coach Silas knew coming into the game that he and his staff would have to adjust to the younger players that were going to play a significant number of minutes on Monday.

“It changes as far as teaching and making sure you are not overreacting or getting onto guys for mistakes,” Silas said when asked about how his coaching style would have to change due to the suddenly younger rotation. “When you have so many young guys on the floor, it is more about teaching them for the moment instead of scolding them.”

Houston will not yet have time to develop continuity with their younger players through practice, since they head back to Toyota Center on Tuesday to face the Los Angeles Lakers. Tipoff is at 7 p.m. CST.

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Rockets lose Jae’Sean Tate, KJ Martin to growing health and safety protocols list

As of late Monday, Houston now has four players sidelined by the NBA’s health and safety protocols: Jae’Sean Tate, KJ Martin, Garrison Mathews, and DJ Augustin. Hardship signings will be required.

Starting forward Jae’Sean Tate and reserve forward KJ Martin were each added on Monday afternoon to Houston’s growing list of health and safety protocols absences, which already included Garrison Mathews and DJ Augustin. Until this week, the Rockets had been largely unaffected by COVID-19 issues during the 2021-22 season.

Some consolation for the Rockets, along with numerous other teams that are currently having their rosters ravaged by positive COVID test results, is the new agreement between the NBA and the National Basketball Players’ Association (NBPA) that shortens the mandatory quarantine period for vaccinated players to six days, rather than 10.

Even with the reduced quarantine window, all players who were added to the protocols list over the last two days (barring an inconclusive result that ultimately proves to be negative, or the determination of a false positive) will still miss this week’s games for the Rockets, who are in Charlotte on Monday followed by home games on Tuesday versus the Lakers, Friday against Miami, and Saturday versus Denver.

But after those four games, they could potentially return as soon as Houston’s game at Philadelphia on Monday, Jan. 3.

With Houston facing its first widespread roster absences, there are also short-term roster implications. Under new rules, NBA teams are permitted to sign one replacement player for each player who tests positive for COVID-19, and teams are required to sign at least one replacement player if they have two positive cases; at least two if they have three positive cases; and at least three if they have four or more positive cases.

The Rockets filled one of the vacated roster spots by recalling rookie guard Daishen Nix from the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Houston’s G League affiliate. But with Houston’s protocols list now expanding to at least four, further roster additions will be necessary.

Any replacement players who are signed will not count toward the team’s yearly salary and will not factor into any luxury tax calculations. Each hardship signing is initially for a period of 10 days.

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Garrison Mathews sidelined for Rockets by health, safety protocols

As Houston emerges from its Christmas break, Garrison Mathews joins teammate DJ Augustin with absences due to health and safety protocols.

Third-year wing Garrison Mathews, who has become a regular starter for Houston over the past month, is joining DJ Augustin as a health and safety protocols absence for the Rockets. His timetable to return is not yet clear, though assuming it is due to a positive COVID-19 test result, the NBA is shortening the return process to as little as six days.

With Mathews in a more prominent role, Houston is 9-7 over its last 16 games. In those outings, Mathews is averaging 12.9 points (38.8% on 3-pointers) and 3.9 rebounds in 31.7 minutes per game.

For as long as Mathews is sidelined, that should present more opportunities for reserve guards and wings like Armoni Brooks and rookie Josh Christopher. Expected starters Jalen Green and Kevin Porter Jr. could also shoulder more of the load, though they may each miss one game of Houston’s back-to-back on Monday in Charlotte and Tuesday versus the Los Angeles Lakers (at home) as a precaution due to their recent leg injuries. Both are listed as questionable for Monday.

Mathews is the first player on the Rockets outside of Augustin to miss time in the 2021-22 NBA season due to health and safety protocols. Houston has not played since Thursday, Dec. 23 and did not practice on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day — so if both players did test positive, it’s possible that no teammates were exposed due to the timetable.

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Jrue Holiday, Khris Middleton lead defending champion Bucks past Christian Wood, Rockets

Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton led the defending NBA champion Bucks to a convincing win Wednesday over Christian Wood (20 points, 11 rebounds) and the visiting Rockets.

Houston center Christian Wood played well Wednesday versus one of his former NBA teams, but the former Milwaukee player didn’t have nearly enough help as Khris Middleton, Jrue Holiday and the veteran-laden Bucks routed the young Rockets, 126-106 (box score).

The defending champions improved to 20-13 with the victory, which came without two-time league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo (health and safety protocols). Meanwhile, the rebuilding Rockets fell for the fourth time in five games, dropping them to 10-22 on the 2021-22 season.

Holiday led the Bucks with 24 points and 10 assists, and he shot 10-of-17 from the field (58.8%) and 2-of-5 on 3-pointers (40.0%) in Wednesday’s win, while Middleton added 23 points and 6 assists in 28 minutes. Veteran wing Wesley Matthews scored 16 points off the bench for Milwaukee in only 20 minutes, including 4-of-5 on 3-pointers (80.0%).

Wood had 20 points and 11 rebounds in 28 minutes to lead Houston, but his 0-of-6 showing from 3-point range felt appropriate on a night that the Rockets made just 13-of-45 as a team on 3-pointers (28.9%). By comparison, Milwaukee connected on 17-of-46 from long range (37.0%).

Wood connected on 6-of-7 shots (85.7%) from inside the arc and 8-of-11 on free throws (72.7%). Both were well above his season averages.

Besides Wood, other double-digit scorers for Houston were:

  • Eric Gordon: 12 points, 4-of-9 shooting (44.4%), 2-of-6 on 3-pointers (33.3%), 6 assists in 24 minutes
  • Garrison Mathews: 10 points, 2-of-5 on 3-pointers (40.0%), 6 rebounds in 27 minutes
  • Alperen Sengun: 10 points, 4-of-6 shooting (66.7%), 8 rebounds, 4 assists in 24 minutes
  • KJ Martin: 10 points, 5-of-12 shooting (41.7%), 2-of-5 on 3-pointers (40.0%), 6 assists, 5 rebounds in 28 minutes

The Rockets were again short-handed on Wednesday, with the expected starting backcourt of Jalen Green (left hamstring strain) and Kevin Porter Jr. (left thigh contusion) still sidelined versus the Bucks. But that situation should change soon, with Green set to return on Thursday in Indiana and Porter potentially in the following game.

For now, scroll on for highlights and postgame reaction from Milwaukee. Tipoff in Indianapolis is set for 6:00 p.m. CST on Thursday.

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Garrison Mathews thanks Rockets for new contract, explains his long journey

Garrison Mathews was emotional on Saturday in explaining his reaction to signing a four-year NBA contract with the Houston Rockets.

Emotions were clearly present for sharpshooter Garrison Mathews on Saturday when asked by reporters about his reaction to signing a four-year standard NBA contract with the Houston Rockets.

The news leaked Friday night, and Mathews celebrated it by playing very well with 16 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals on strong efficiency during Saturday’s impressive win by the Rockets at Detroit.

Since Mathews began receiving starter’s minutes (27 or more per game) for head coach Stephen Silas on Nov. 24, the 25-year-old is averaging 14.4 points, 4.0 rebounds, and only 0.5 turnovers in 32.8 minutes, and he’s shooting 45.2% from the field and 38.8% on 3-pointers.

The Rockets (10-20) are 9-4 in that stretch after going 1-16 to start the 2021-22 season, and the 6-foot-6 wing player who began his Houston tenure in the G League and on a two-way contract (after being waived by Boston to end the preseason) is a big reason for the turnaround.

“Garry Bird” has clearly made a huge difference, and Houston general manager Rafael Stone understandably rewarded him. Saturday’s postgame media session from Detroit was Mathews’ first interview since signing the deal, and he offered unique insight and emotional perspective on his journey after going undrafted out of Lipscomb in 2019.

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