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Jabari Smith Jr. reportedly targets return in Rockets’ next game
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- Jabari Smith Jr. reportedly targets return in Rockets’ next game
For Jabari Smith Jr., Thursday's game versus Golden State could be the last that the third-year Houston Rockets forward misses with his current injury.
Per veteran insider Chris Haynes , the 21-year-old is targeting a return on Friday, Feb. 21, when Houston (34-20) hosts the Minnesota Timberwolves (30-25) at Toyota Center. That game, which will be broadcast to a national television audience on ESPN, is the first for both teams after the NBA's upcoming break for its 2025 All-Star events.
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Smith hasn't played since fracturing the fourth metacarpal in his left, non-shooting hand on Jan. 3. During 22 games across those six weeks, the Rockets have clearly slipped on defense and with rebounding.
But because the injury wasn't to Smith's lower body, he was able to stay in basketball shape and participate in conditioning activities during that absence. As a result, the process of physically ramping back up to play in NBA games should be minimal.
In recent days, Smith shed the cast and began doing on-court shooting drills.
The final step will be Smith getting medical clearance for contact activity, which the Rockets anticipate happening over the All-Star break. Once that happens, Smith should be a participant in next week's practices, and it appears the plan is for him to play once games resume that weekend.
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Head coach Ime Udoka has yet to indicate whether Smith will return to his previous spot as the starter at power forward. The Rockets began the season starting Smith, Alperen Sengun , and Dillon Brooks in the frontcourt, though Thompson has started and performed well in Smith's absence.
While playing 30.9 minutes per game (33 starts), Smith has averaged 11.9 points (43.5% FG, 35.4% on 3-pointers) and 6.5 rebounds this season.
In comments prior to Thursday's game versus the Warriors, Udoka indicated that both Smith and starting point guard Fred VanVleet (out since Feb. 1 with a right ankle strain) could return versus the Timberwolves.
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"They're both getting looked at and checked out during the All-Star break, and hopefully ramped up with that game in mind," Udoka said of that Feb. 21 date. Houston is 1-2 against Minnesota this season, with losses in each of its last two meetings.
Because VanVleet's injury was to his ankle, conditioning could be more of a factor as it pertains to ramping up. However, VanVleet was not absent from games for nearly as long as Smith, which could mean that he has less work to do in order to get back to full strength. Udoka and the Rockets will know more when practices resume next week.
More: Without Jabari Smith Jr., Rockets struggling with defense, rebounding
This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: Jabari Smith Jr. reportedly targets return in Rockets' next game
