Houston Rockets News: Injuries as of January 29, 2009

With injuries up and down the lineup, the Houston Rockets will be firing at full force before long.

Houston Rockets: Injury Report
Injuries. Injuries. Injuries. That has been the story of the Houston Rockets for a handful of seasons, and this season – in the early going – has proved no different. Heading into the 2008-09 NBA season, fans and sports critics alike largely picked the Houston Rockets to be a formidable contender in the Western Conference so long as their key players could stay on the floor.

So far, Houston Rockets ticketholders and the rest of the NBA have yet to see the real damage that a healthy Yao Ming, Tracy McGrady, and Ron Artest can do together, with the latter two missing significant time with nagging knee and ankle injuries, respectively. Shane Battier and Rafer Alston have also missed playing time with injuries of their own, and fans have seen a carousel of different lineups over the past month. As of January 29, 2009, the Houston Rockets’ list of injuries is bare, and it’s time for the Big Three to live up to its potential.

Houston Rockets: Tracy McGrady
To say that Tracy McGrady’s chronically sore left knee is frustrating is a bit of an understatement. Already this season, Tracy McGrady has missed 16 games, but the Houston Rockets and the reserve corps have managed to stay afloat in the stacked Western Conference. Instead of playing one game and sitting out the next as he had been doing, Tracy McGrady decided that resting his knee and sitting on the sidelines would be the best medicine. It appears that the rest has done him good, as he returned to the lineup looking almost like the T-Mac of old. Houston Rockets ticketholders are hoping for an explosive second half from Tracy McGrady.

Houston Rockets: Ron Artest
After spraining his right ankle in mid-November, Ron Artest has been in and out of the lineup ever since, nursing the injury. The nagging soreness limited Ron Artest’s ability to penetrate in the paint or be the beast that he is known to be on defense. Now back in the lineup, it is obvious that Ron Artest is shaking off a bit of rust and struggling to find his shot. Fans with Houston Rockets tickets will be patient to see how and where a 100-percent-healthy Ron Artest fits into the offense.

Houston Rockets: Yao Ming
Yao Ming has been the rock for the Houston Rockets so his injury suffered during the game against the Indiana Pacers on January 23, 2009, had fans with Houston Rockets tickets holding their breath. Yao Ming bruised his right knee in the second quarter but would not return for the second half. Fortunately, X-rays on the knee were negative and the swelling subsided swiftly enough; Yao Ming would only miss a couple of games before returning to action.

Houston Rockets: Other Injuries
Starters Shane Battier and Rafer Alston both struggled with injuries – Battier with left foot inflammation and Alston with a strained right hamstring. With a depleted bench and often barely enough players to dress out, Rick Adelman had his work cut out for him. Fortunately, the Houston Rockets bench stepped up in the absence of the team’s biggest players.

A favorite of fans with Houston Rockets tickets, journeyman Von Wafer has exploded and truly earned his place on the Houston Rockets roster, while Luis Scola has been a monster at both the four and five spots. Carl Landry continues to bring defensive tenacity and a pounding presence down low, while Aaron Brooks – despite recent shooting woes – has brought a spark off the bench on numerous occasions.