Tonight, the Houston Rockets are set to take on the LA Clippers, hoping to find some positive momentum in the Western Conference.
The Rockets have seen their biggest slide of the season, dropping three out of their last four games to the Nuggets, Pelicans and Kings. Houston can’t be faulted for dropping to Nikola Jokic and Denver, though the other losses have come against two of the worst teams in the West.
Houston has also fallen to Dallas and Utah in recent weeks, dropping all the way to No. 6 in the Western Conference with the recent cold spell.
Suffice it to say, the Rockets desperately need a win against LA. The Clippers have seen an abysmal season so far, standing at just 7-21.
Here are the injury reports for both the Rockets and Clippers ahead of tonight’s game.
Houston Rockets injuries:
Dorian Finney-Smith — Out: Left ankle surgery
Fred VanVleet — Out: Right ACL
LA Clippers injuries:
Bradley Beal — Out: Left hip fracture
Derrick Jones Jr. — Out: Right knee sprain
Chris Paul — Out: Not with team
Ivica Zubac — Out: Left ankle sprain
The Rockets again see their shortest injury report yet, with veterans in Dorian Finney-Smith and Fred VanVleet as the only two listed.
Neither has played for Houston this season, with VanVleet suffering a torn ACL in an offseason workout that’s set to keep him out of the entire 2025-26 season, and Finney-Smith undergoing an offseason ankle surgery that’s kept him out of play.
Finney-Smith is trending toward an early-2026 debut, a positive considering the Rockets could certainly use his shooting and defense on the wing.
“Dorian is improving,” head coach Ime Udoka said in early December. “He’s starting to ramp it up a little bit. He’ll get some live work in. Obviously, how he reacts to that determines when he gets back. It will be a little bit still. I think we’re anticipating more around January hopefully, but he’s getting into the phase of playing a little bit more now.”
Tari Eason has avoided the injury report after making his return, going for 16 points on 6-for-8 shooting, hitting all three of his 3-point attempts.
The Clippers have seen injuries to their own veterans this season. Guard Bradley Beal will miss the entire season due to a hip injury, and major contributors in Ivica Zubac and Derrick Jones Jr. are set to miss time as well.
The Rockets and Clippers tip off at 9:30 p.m. CT tonight.