Steven Adams is out against the Hawks with a right soleus strain, while Fred VanVleet is cleared to return for the 3-0 Rockets

Steven Adams will miss the Houston Rockets‘ home game against the Atlanta Hawks on Monday with a strained right soleus, a muscle in the lower calf, while Fred VanVleet is cleared to return after sitting out the second night of Houston’s back-to-back.

The league’s official injury report, filed Sunday evening, lists Adams as out and Marcus Smart as questionable with a strained left forearm. VanVleet does not appear on it at all, which means the unbeaten Rockets should have their starting point guard back as they try to go 4-0. The Hawks had not yet submitted their list.

The Adams listing is the first time Houston has tied his absences to a specific muscle. He sat the opener against the Dallas Mavericks with what the team called a calf issue, played 8:53 in Friday’s win over the San Antonio Spurs, scoring four points on two shots, and was then held out of Saturday’s game in Atlanta under the label of injury management. No timeline has been given.

Udoka: Fred VanVleet, Steven Adams will sit out back-to-backs to start the season.

Marcus Smart will start at point guard when VanVleet sits.

(via @WillGuillory)

— Underdog NBA (@UnderdogNBA) October 20, 2026

The back-to-back plan, and what it cost

Coach Ime Udoka said before the season that VanVleet and Adams would skip back-to-backs early on, and that Smart would start at the point when VanVleet sat. Saturday stretched that plan further: Smart was also out with the forearm strain, so second-year guard Reed Sheppard started instead and answered with 19 points, seven assists and five 3-pointers in the 121-114 win.

VanVleet, who missed the whole 2025-26 season after tearing the ACL and meniscus in his right knee in a September workout, has looked like himself in two games. He had 11 assists in the 128-110 opening win over Dallas and 14 points in the 114-110 win over the Spurs, averaging 10.0 points, 8.0 assists and 3.0 steals without committing a turnover. His return should push Sheppard back to the second unit.

Who plays behind Sengun

Adams’ absence matters more for the frontcourt. With him out on Saturday, Clint Capela played 11:02 as the only true backup to Alperen Sengun, who had 17 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. Atlanta grabbed 19 offensive rebounds in that game, six more than Houston, and the Rockets will see the same front line again two nights later.

If Smart cannot go, Bogdan Bogdanovic, who scored 11 in Atlanta, is the likeliest guard to pick up extra minutes. Every designation for the night is on our NBA injury report page.

What comes next

The Hawks visit Toyota Center on Monday, October 26, at 8:30 p.m. ET (3:30 a.m. Tuesday in Cairo): Hawks at Rockets Game Center. Houston then opens a road trip at the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday, October 28, at 8 p.m. ET, the next chance for Adams to return: Rockets at Bucks Game Center.