Key absences for Houston and Charlotte dictate strategy. Who steps up when the game tightens impacts this crucial matchup.
Rockets vs. Hornets Injury Report
Thursday’s matchup between Houston (31–18) and Charlotte (23–38) comes with availability questions that shape how both teams will have to function, not just who’s on the floor.
Houston Rockets
Questionable:
Tari Eason (lower left leg)
Out:
Jae'Sean Tate (left wrist)
Steven Adams (left ankle; surgery)
Fred VanVleet (right knee; ACL repair)
On Houston’s side, Tari Eason is listed as questionable after logging heavy minutes in last night’s loss to Boston. His status matters more than the box score. Eason’s energy, transition pressure, and defensive versatility are central to how Houston stabilizes non-scoring lineups. If he can’t go, those connective minutes become harder to replace.
Jae’Sean Tate will also be sidelined with a wrist injury, thinning Houston’s depth in physical wing minutes and limiting lineup flexibility in scrappy stretches.
Steven Adams continues to be out following season-ending ankle surgery, and his absence still looms large. Without Adams, Houston lacks a true physical anchor in the paint.
Rebounding becomes a shared responsibility, and lineups skew smaller, faster, and more positionally disciplined rather than overpowering. It raises the margin for error against teams willing to attack the glass.
Fred VanVleet remains out after ACL repair, keeping Houston firmly in its post-FVV identity. Without a traditional late-clock organizer, ball-handling duties are spread across the roster.
That puts added pressure on decision-making, spacing discipline, and collective shot creation rather than relying on a single safety valve to settle possessions.
Charlotte Hornets
Questionable:
Tidjane Salaun (illness)
Out:
KJ Simpson (left hip flexor)
Charlotte enters the night relatively healthier, though Salaün’s illness status is worth monitoring given his role in the Hornets’ forward rotation. Simpson’s continued absence removes a guard option but doesn’t drastically alter Charlotte’s structure.
With Houston navigating key absences and Charlotte missing fewer rotation pieces, this matchup will hinge less on star availability and more on execution- particularly rebounding, pace control, and who handles responsibility best when the game inevitably tightens.