Houston Rockets forward Tari Eason has yet to step on an NBA court dating back to January 3rd. Since the preseason game against the San Antonio Spurs, Eason has been dealing with leg injury that has kept him from making his season debut. Once he made his long awaited return after several games, Eason was put on multiple rest days during games, playing limited minutes.

This has caused him to rest frequently between games to prevent reaggravating this injury. But since the third of January, it looks like the pain made a re-appearance, causing him to sit out consecutive games.  The bench, already an ongoing issue dating back to the start of the NBA season, continues to deteriorate with Eason missing more games. Along with Dillon Brooks' oblique injury in late December, the defensive rating took a huge nose dive, taking them out of the top five in defensive rating.

Big Tari Eason injury update

As Rockets fans await for the LSU product to eagerly return, slight good news lies ahead. Tari Eason performed through sections of Rockets practice on Tuesday and is determined to be brought back on a week-to-week basis, according to Jonathan Feigen of Houston Chronicle. Adam Spolane of SportsRadio610 posted on Twitter indicating coach Ime Udoka's update on Eason, noting that the forward will be in contact drills in a “week or so.”

“Tari [Eason] participated in parts. He's been doing a little bit here and there,” Udoka said during practice. “He's feeling better, still don't have a definite date….he will be reevaluated soon, and we will go from there.”

Since he's been out for more than three weeks, coach Ime Udoka looks to bring him back slowly, ensuring his leg injury fully heals.

Tari Eason is Rockets' defensive stopper

Based on this update, it could at least a week till Eason is given the green light to get back on the court. Through 22 games, Eason has averaged 9.8 points on 46.6 percent shooting with 7.0 rebounds and 1.6 steals. In his last 10 games, the 22-year old averaged 13.6 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.6 steals. His sophomore improvement consists of stellar defense against multiple decisions with a 103.1 defensive rating–specifically, his opponent fast break points. This season, Eason allows 3.9 fast break points compared to 7.8 allowed in his rookie season.

He's also increased his steal and block percentage by six and seven percent. Houston has been teetering under .500 for most of January without Eason as their most challenging month into this season yet. The intensity by the second unit as a whole isn't as strong when Eason rides the bench. The Rockets desperately need him in order to get back to a top five defense in the league.

Less than half of the season is left and making a move at the trade deadline to increase depth is the Rockets main objective. More significantly, a healthy Tari Eason ensures Houston's depth doesn't maintain its vulnerability when the starters are off the court.