Steven

Adams

Adams attempted a staggering 16 free throws in Game 6, as the Warriors intentionally fouled him on multiple occasions to close the gap. The veteran center made enough to keep Golden State at bay, and he has been more impactful than many may have expected before the series began. According to Hoop Informatics, Adams has been a +15 or better in the last three games. Houston has won the last two, and a similar effort from Adams in Sunday’s Game 7 may get the Rockets out of the first round for the first time since 2020.

Adams has been cleared to play shortly after being made a late addition to the injury report. He’ll continue to fill out the backup center minutes, which means there won’t be any extra time for Jock Landale.

Adams is a late addition to the injury report and may end up missing Monday’s game. Jock Landale has been cleared to play and will fill out the backup center minutes behind Alperen Sengun if Adams is out.

On a night when their backcourt struggled mightily, the Rockets received solid contributions from their reserve bigs. Adams led the way with 12 rebounds, while Jabari Smith Jr. didn’t miss a shot and finished with 11 points, six rebounds, one steal, one block and one three-pointer in 25 minutes. Houston also took the approach of pairing Adams and Alperen Sengun when Stephen Curry was not on the court, but this had minimal impact on the action due to Houston’s guards struggling to hit shots. Game 2 is on Wednesday.

VanVleet and Sengun will not play on Wednesday, as the Rockets have clinched the two-seed in the West. Aaron Holiday and Reed Sheppard may see their minutes increase due to VanVleet’s absence, while Steven Adams and Jock Landale will pick up the slack for Sengun.

Houston is set to be without Fred VanVleet (ankle) and could miss two more key contributors. Sengun’s absence would likely bump Steven Adams into the starting lineup, with Jock Landale filling out the backup center minutes. Smith Jr.'s absence would open the door for Cam Whitmore or Jae’Sean Tate to fill out extra minutes. However, in an important game for the standings out West, head coach Ime Udoka may lean on his starters more heavily.

Adams moved into the starting lineup with Dillon Brooks out after receiving a 16th technical foul this year. The 31-year-old center only played 23 minutes despite getting the start. Adams still had a solid game with eight points and 12 rebounds against his former team. He’s not much of a source of fantasy value at this point in his career.

The Rockets are without Dillon Brooks, who picked up his 16th technical foul of the season in Wednesday’s win over the Jazz. Adams will fill his spot in the starting lineup as the Rockets match up with Oklahoma City’s tandem of Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein. Even with Adams receiving the starting nod, Tari Eason should play plenty off the bench.

Adams logged 12 minutes on Sunday and will be available to play in both legs of a back-to-back since early February. However, with Alperen Sengun healthy, Adams likely won’t see enough minutes to provide standard league value. Still, it’s a good step in his progression, since he has been dealing with ankle injuries all season.

After sitting out Thursday’s win over the Jazz, Adams played 12 minutes off the bench in Sunday’s win over the Suns. The veteran center has not played both ends of a back-to-back since February 3-4, but the importance of Monday’s matchup likely factors into Udoka saying that Adams will play. Houston and the Lakers are two of the teams fighting for the two-seed in the West, with the Rockets leading third-place Denver by two games in the loss column and the Lakers by three.