Luc Mbah a Moute scheduled for re-evaluation next week

As the Rockets look to close out their first-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves after gaining a commanding 3-1 lead in their historic win on Monday night, they also got some additional good news.

According to the Houston Chronicle, forward Luc Mbah a Moute, who has yet to play this postseason after suffering a shoulder injury, will be re-evaluated next week with an eye on returning soon if all goes well.

Mbah a Moute suffered the injury back on April 10, which was a dislocated shoulder coming after a dunk. The injury was never thought as serious as the one he suffered earlier in the year that caused him to miss over a month of action, and now we have hope that he could be back in the lineup as early as Houston’s second-round series (should they close out the Wolves).

Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni had this to say to the Chron when asked about Mbah a Moute’s availability:

“He’s closer. It’s still too early to put a timetable on it, yet. Next week, he’ll be re-evaluated. I think he’ll be real close next week, but I don’t know that for sure.”

If the Rockets advance, the second round should begin Monday or Tuesday of next week, so that might be a little too early to expect him back for Game 1, but if the evaluation goes well, his return would certainly be a huge boost to the Houston rotation regardless of their second-round opponent.

Last week, there was a report saying Mbah a Moute was ahead of his original four-week timetable for the injury, and now with this additional news, it appears he very well could be back early after all.