Chen the end of his first season in the NBA, Usman Garuba has met a new stone on the road. The Spanish player of the Rockets I suffered a ankle sprain while doing three-on-three drills in pre-match training against the Suns.
His presence in the last 13 franchise games is up in the air because of the time it will take him to recover and because it is likely that when he does he will be sent to the Rio Grande Valley Vipersthe team linked in the G Leaguewhere he has already passed some sections of the course.
To the usual difficulties to settle in the NBA that rookies usually have, Garuba has joined a series of physical problems that have prevented it from having a certain continuity. an ailment in a thighthe health and safety protocols of the League against COVID-19 and one wrist fracture had been his mishaps so far, to which this sprain is added now that he had returned to action: seven minutes before the Pelicans with three points, three rebounds, a block and a recovery in his first game since January 10 and after missing the last 25.
Coach Stephen Silas analyzes the situation of the Spanish pvot and is not at all optimistic despite the fact that the team has not fought for anything for a long time: worst team in the NBA with a balance of 17-52. “It will be difficult for him to have minutes. We have Christian Wood, a Alperen Sengun, a Jae’Sean Tate, a KJ Martin… They are four in the rotation, for him it would be very difficult to get hold of minutes oh So I’ll probably have to go down to the Vipers again, play more and, if anything, come back. It will be very difficult for him to get into the rotation”, explains the coach, in favor of “Garuba recovering the rhythm. He has been a lot without being able to play. in the G League He did things very well: defense, rebounds… and the other day he did a good job in the few minutes we could give him. He defended well, put up a block, moved well in attack.”
In the event that the Spanish pvot does not play again this season in the NBA, he will close his first course in United States with 16 matches played and averages 7.0 minutes, 1.4 points, 2.3 rebounds, 0.5 assists, as many recoveries and 0.4 blocks. Not very exciting figures for a debut marked by injuries.
