Rockets shut down John Wall to protect hamstring (and tank hard)

Star guard John Wall won’t play another game for the Houston Rockets this season after being shut down with a tight hamstring.

The Houston Rockets aren’t taking any risks with John Wall’s hamstring.

Wall didn’t play in Houston’s loss to the Denver Nuggets on Saturday after tweaking his hamstring against the LA Clippers on Friday night.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, fans shouldn’t expect to see him again. The guard will sit out the remaining 11 games of the season as a precaution.

Charania used the word “tinker” there. He could have also gone with a more bold choice like “tank.”

The Rockets are shutting down shop on the 2020-21 season

Unfortunately, Houston made this announcement a day before the John Wall Bobblehead Night.

It’s not like the Rockets were winning many games with Wall in the lineup. In fact, they haven’t won two in a row since Feb. 1, and they haven’t exactly come close. They’re 5-37 over the last three months.

In that sense, they don’t need to actively tank. They’ve handled the losing part just fine.

Still, Houston has lost 17 of the 20 games Wall has missed this season. They aren’t likely to get better without him.

Protecting Wall is part of the long game. There’s no point in him pushing through injury when the Rockets sit at the bottom of the NBA standings. It’s better to let him get right physically. Then he’ll be more useful next season, whether he’s playing for the team or traded away.

This will be a time for Houston to focus on developing players like Christian Wood, Jae’Sean Tate, Kevin Porter Jr. and Kenyon Martin, who general manager Rafael Stone has highlighted as the young core of the team.

Houston just got Porter back from his suspension for violating league health and safety protocols.