Rockets get their first taste of frustrating Steven Adams trend against Grizzlies

As the Houston Rockets head into Memphis and attempt to extend their winning streak against the Grizzlies, the team could have a major advantage given their opponents' current lack of depth in the frontcourt.

Yet, for the first time this regular season, Steven Adams is questionable to play as a result of a nagging hip issue, and, given Adams's health history, this might serve as the first taste of a frustrating trend this season.

Adams is an extremely valuable player to the type of super-sized looks that Houston likes to run, and, if he ends up missing a wide swathe of games this year, the team could suffer tremendously from his absence in spite of their versatility and depth at the position.

Steven Adams could miss Wednesday night's game against the Grizzlies

As the double-big lineup emerged as a serious weapon for the Rockets late last season, Adams's role became all important. Not only was he a massive physical presence in the paint, his minutes alongside franchise center Alperen Sengun made the team one of the most dominant rebounding squads in the league.

However, as Adams career has worn on, his limitations have come as no surprise. After missing the entire 2023-24 season due to injury, Adams only played in 58 games last season for Houston, and, heading into this season, it was easy to anticipate that he would need to miss another swathe of games in order to manage his health and energy heading into the playoffs.

In fairness, the organization was fully aware of this, and they attempted to mitigate it by adding Clint Capela as a depth center through a sign-and-trade that was buried in the Kevin Durant deal.

Capela has been highly effective in his limited minutes thus far, and probably deserves more of them, but there is one thing he does not provide that Adams does: a dominant force on the boards.

With Zach Edey out, the Grizzlies have run a combination of Jaren Jackson Jr. and Jock Landale at center, and their lack of a solid rebounder has shown. Through the team's first eight games, they are 12th in the league in defensive rebounding percentage and 19th in the league in offensive rebounding.

Therefore, although head coach Ime Udoka has fallen away from utilizing both Sengun and Adams in the starting lineup, this could be the perfect matchup to see the duo make an extended appearance in the second and third quarters.

However, if Adams is forced to miss the game, the team could miss out on a major advantage in this regard.

Don't get it wrong, players are allowed to miss games, and the team was aware of the gamble they were taking in hinging much of their gameplan on Adams. The Rockets will be alright for one night without him.

However, this serves as a reminder of a trend that, if it continues, could grow increasingly frustrating over the course of the season.