Tari Eason out for rest of season
Absent for four months, Tari Eason will be ready for the start of the 2024-25 season. It’s a big blow for a Western Conference team with playoff aspirations. Particularly the one who put his money where their mouth is regarding their desire to be playoff contenders this past offseason.
Eason, the 17th overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, complements the rotation well with his skillset. A promising defender, Eason provides a respectable punch and has a knack for grabbing the boards at 6-foot-8. In fact, when the Rockets signed a defensive specialist Dillon Brooks last summer, one of the biggest questions was the impact it would have on Eason’s role moving forward. Considering Brooks’ prowess and reputation in this regard, that was a nice compliment for a player who was coming off his rookie season.
With Eason last playing on Jan. 1 and missing all but 22 games this season, Houston probably feels like it caught a break by signing Brooks. Still, when fully healthy, Eason has every right to consider himself an equal 2022-23 All-Defensive selection. His anticipation, hands, hustle, length and quickness allow him to be an extremely effective multi-position defender, whether with or without the ball.
An overview
It’s worth wondering if this injury could be a recurring theme throughout his career.
According to Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka, the pre-existing benign growth on Tari Eason’s lower leg bone is “something he’s had for a while.” However, multiple collisions near his knee early in the season caused it to “pop” in what would become a “pain tolerance” issue. More worryingly, the rest only seemed to provide temporary relief, as Eason experienced a high level of pain when the Rockets “ramped up” his injury rehabilitation process.
Of course, the hope for him and the Rockets is that surgery not only fixes the current problem, but prevents it from happening again in the future. To that end, Eason will receive a “bone graft” and “stem placement,” according to Udoka. With a four-month recovery timeline, Houston will have to wait until the summer to see if the procedure worked. Still, with more than eight months until the start of the 2024-25 season, Eason has plenty of time to get fully healthy and fit.
Ultimately, everyone in the Rockets organization will be pulling for Eason, who is as well-liked as a person as he is as an all-around defender. Additionally, the operation should not have an impact on his performance at both ends of the court. Still, this legitimately casts doubt on his ability to stay healthy.
