Yeah it’s pretty weird we don’t get any formal updates about he’s situation. He’s got an important role to fill. Feels like even Tari will be back before DFS, smh..
News reported DFS could have came back before Training Camp. Now it seems he will miss half season at least. SMH.
Ben DuBose said that DFS had the same cleanup on his ankle as Jae'Sean Tate. He said Tate was ahead of DFS, but the Rockets believe they brought him back too soon. He thinks it will be after Christmas. I'm fine with how long it takes, since DFS will be important in the playoffs and we're playing well.
Tari absolutely will return before DFS. Even if he misses the full 6 weeks, he'd be back by 12/27 vs the Cavs. With still no timetable on DFS, there's no way he's gonna be playing within 3 1/2 weeks from today. What worries me is that it seems almost certain he ain't playing til 2026, but how far into the new year are we talking? Early January? Late January? Post All-Star Break?
I am sure the FO knew about the time table for him to come back from the start. DFS and Tari will be back just in time for mid season so KD can get more rest.
Hopefully in early January, this is the point where schedule gets tighter, and we’ll need him and Tari available so KD can get some rest.
It’s better to wait and have him come back 100% even if it’s toward the end of the season. He’s going to be vital come playoffs much like Adams has been. IMO we’re not going to win that many more games with or without him in the regular season and we’re not going to pass OKC for 1st place. Where his experience is going to help is in the playoffs against teams like OKC, Denver, Wolves, and LAL where we lack size at PF against players like Chet, Aaron, Naz, and LeBron and have to roll with more of the twin towers.
I think a lot of injuries are a lot less predictable than fans realize. I think FO realized it would take time to heal, but I got the impression the FO's guess on when he would be back was probably sometime in November (but it taking longer wasn't out of the realm of possibility). Sometimes injuries recover faster than average, sometimes recovery is average, and sometimes it takes longer. The problem is that recoveries are not a bell curve. When they go longer, they get skewed longer as early recoveries generally aren't that early. Fans don't like it when teams give them information that turns out to be incorrect based on the unpredictability of some injuries. Fans don't like it when teams are silent. Fans want perfect information exactly when they want it. Fans are going to complain about how FO's release injury information except when: 1) a team is really healthy. 2) The injuries just happen to recover at average or early recoveries. I'd guess at any moment, about 60-80% of fans of different sports teams complain about their FOs releasing of recovery information or their poor medical staff. I've noticed NBA teams doing the "we will reevaluate the player in 4-6 weeks" instead of the actual recovery timetable. This is basically saying something, without saying something.
I'm not too concerned but I really dont like how Houston does not offer any updates on injuries. Like we still have no idea what happened with Tari and his leg last season.
The proof of concept is Steven Adams. Investing in proven players is not just about money. A healthy DFS is a difference maker. It will pay off, imo.
The difference is that everyone knew Steven wouldn't play at all in the 2023-24 season. But he was ready to go early in the 2024-25 season as expected. He didn't round into shape til later on, but he was otherwise available in non-B2B situations. I could be wrong, but I don't recall anyone saying that DFS would be out to start this season after his signing. And it sure as hell was never communicated that he'd miss at least the first couple months. It seems like the Rockets badly underestimated the length of his recovery time. Imagine our situation if Stone hadn't signed Okogie.
Tari Eason’s surgery in the 2023-24 season was to repair a benign growth in his lower leg (tibia) that had caused persistent pain and eventually a stress reaction severe enough to shut him down. Into the 2024-25 season, he dealt with lingering soreness and workload limits and months-long recovery. The Rockets undersold that him being back was still going to require load management. Also, I think Tari played too hard on it and had a setback causing a good stretch of games missed consecutively. For the most part, it looks like Tari should have had surgery 4 months earlier. The Rockets are handling DFS injury information differently than they did with Tari. When injuries take longer to heal than expected, fans aren't going to be happy with how it is communicated.
I know the Thunder have separated themselves defensively but I honestly believe if we were fully healthy we would be just as good as the Thunder defensively and we'd still be a top 3 offense. We've been missing arguably 3 of our top 5 defenders for most or all of the season (DFS, FVV, Eason). I think that's a superpower we've yet to unlock. It's REALLY rare to have a team that's top 3 in both offense and defense but it seems like something we can achieve this season.
