Rockets: Fred VanVleet, Jabari Smith Still on Track for Post-All-Star Return

The Houston Rockets were one of the healthiest teams in the league during the first two months of the season. They used their health and good fortune to get off to one of their best starts in the last four seasons.

At the start of 2025, their injury fortunes started to change. Jabari Smith broke his hand in practice and has not played a game since Jan. 1. A few weeks later, Fred VanVleet would go down with an injured ankle.

The Rockets have also had to deal with Steven Adams and Tari Eason being unable to play back-to-back games. In the Rockets' win over the Toronto Raptors to end their six-game losing streak, Alperen Sengun went down with back spasms and missed most of the game. The injury bug hit the Rockets at the worst possible time, with the Rockets going through the toughest stretch of their schedule.

After today's practice there was some good news on the injury front. Rockets on SI asked Ime Udoka if VanVleet has had any setbacks in his injury rehab or if he was still on schedule for a post All-Star return.

“He’s on track as far as that and the plan is to have him back after the All-Star break.”

I asked Coach Udoka if Fred VanVleet was still on schedule or had he suffered any setbacks.

“He’s on track as far as that and the plan is to have him back after the All Star break.” pic.twitter.com/gAgEQiiaHE
— Lachard Binkley (@BinkleyHoops) February 11, 2025

Udoka also stated that Smith has not been cleared for on-court activities yet, but he will participate in practices as soon as he is. From all accounts, it seems he will be ready for on-court activities after the All-Star break.

A couple of more items from yesterday practice that were interesting. When Coach Udoka was asked about Jabari injury timeline he stated that once he is cleared for contact his return shouldn’t be to long after.

“I would assume once he is cleared for contact he will be ready to… pic.twitter.com/I9lCohcFqb
— Lachard Binkley (@BinkleyHoops) February 12, 2025

VanVleet has not started physical on-court activities but has been working on different drills and is moving well on his ankle. Ime Udoka also said that Sengun is doing better and will test his back before Wednesday night's game against the Phoenix Suns.

The Rockets' recent losing streak was partly due to the demanding schedule and late-game collapses but mainly because of injuries. More than any team, the Rockets need the All-Star break to get back to being fully healthy.

The Rockets fell from the second seed down to the fourth seed during the losing streak and will look to climb back up the standings as they regain more of their players. Houston has two games left before the All-Star break as they look to gain some momentum.

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