The Houston Rockets are feeling pretty good as the playoffs roll around. Houston has the best record in the NBA, going 65-16 and setting a franchise record for wins in a season. They have the 1-seed in the Western Conference locked up, and behind the backcourt duo of Chris Paul and likely MVP James Harden, there’s reason to believe that the Rockets can legitimately challenge the Golden State Warriors in the West and win an NBA championship.
But on Tuesday night, the Rockets lost a member of their rotation for the foreseeable future due to a shoulder injury. Veteran forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute threw down a dunk in Houston’s 105-99 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers and came down holding his right shoulder. Here’s a video of the injury, but be warned that it’s not something to watch, as his shoulder is clearly dislocated.
Here's the play where Luc Mbah a Moute dislocated his shoulder. He knew it right away. It's a big blow to the #Rockets defense. pic.twitter.com/MHeozjWY6J
— ClutchFans (@clutchfans) April 11, 2018
It was a brutal looking injury for Mbah a Moute, who is one of the lynchpins of Houston’s defense and connects on 36.4 percent of his attempts from behind the arc. On Wednesday, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN gave an update on how this will impact Mbah a Moute’s ability to play in the postseason, and he didn’t have good news.
After MRI this morning, Houston's Luc Mbah A Moute is likely to miss first-round of playoffs with dislocated right shoulder, league source tells ESPN. For now, there's no clear timetable on return.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 11, 2018
It’s always unfortunate to see a player get hurt, especially when they go down this close to the postseason. Hopefully Mbah a Moute is able to get healthy and make a return at some point during the playoffs.
