The Rockets selected three SEC players in the 2022 NBA Draft, taking Auburn forward Jabari Smith Jr. and LSU forward Tari Eason with the third and 17th picks respectively before trading down to the 29th pick to draft TyTy Washington Jr. out of Kentucky. They received high praise initially, filling team needs effectively and securing players with serious potential.
Fans anxiously anticipated witnessing these players in action together and with summer league play beginning just two weeks after the draft, they did not have to wait long. Summer league provides fans with a glimpse of how well highly touted rookies will perform against talent similar to theirs and above.
In terms of analysis, it is a mixed bag when it comes to gauging how a prospect will transition into the NBA. Sure, players that have displayed success or even dominance during summer play like Ben Simmons and Jaylen Brown have translated well, but players that struggled immensely, like Trae Young, also didn’t have much trouble adjusting once the regular season began.
But it’s still fairly accurate at predicting success, with many players that performed well in summer league over the past decade or two going on to have successful careers.
More often than not, a rough performance leads to criticism and scrutiny of said player or team’s next performances. And when a team performs as poorly as the Rockets did last Thursday in their debut summer league game against Orlando, it’s bound to garner some negative attention.
Houston struggled throughout most of the game, falling behind by double-digits at the end of the first half and getting completely outplayed in the fourth. And their first-round picks earned much of the blame, shooting a combined 12-of-33 from the field and 4-of-16 from three, on top of being three of the four players on their squad with negative, double-digit plus/minus ratings.
Plus/minus refers to how much a team outscores, or gets outscored by, opponents while a specified player is on the floor. In this case, Houston was outscored by 21 with Eason, 17 with Smith and 11 with Washington on the floor against the Magic.
There were positives like Eason contributing a double-double and Smith’s 10 points and seven rebounds, but they were still thoroughly outplayed by a team in a comparable situation to theirs, and the negatives clearly outweighed the positives. Eason and Smith were both ineffective on defense and timid on offense, flaws that countered fans expectations of them, and Washington didn’t do much to impact their team’s success despite playing nearly 30 minutes.
But it was just one game, and the Rockets had four more to go to quiet the critics. It’s safe to say they managed just that in the next two.
From the eye test alone, the energy and confidence displayed by the trio had already improved by the next game.
Against Oklahoma City, Eason looked like his explosive self, contributing three first-half dunks and his second straight double-double, coupled with better shot selection and defense. And while Smith and Washington shot the ball inefficiently, they were less tentative and made huge plays down the stretch.
In a tight, back-and-forth fourth quarter, each prospect hit an important shot to either narrow their deficit or in Washington’s case, take the lead with less than 30 seconds to go. They were also heavily involved defensively down the stretch, forcing crucial stops on the Thunder’s last attempts at reclaiming the lead. Their plus/minus ratings reflected that, improving considerably from the last game.
Defensively, most concerns were temporarily alleviated, with Eason and Smith improving their steal and block totals after a shaky debut in the category, but Smith’s poor shooting was still prevalent. He shot an abysmal 26.3% from the field and 22.2% from three, a far cry from his 43% and 42% in college.
He had improved defensively, on the boards and in terms of confidence and shot creation against the Thunder, his shots just needed to start falling. And against the Spurs, they would.
After starting 1 of 5 from the field through the midway point of the second quarter, he made five of his last seven shots, finishing the game with 19 points and 8 rebounds on 50% shooting from the field, 60% from three and 80% from the free-throw line. It was an impressive, breakout performance from the forward, and it wasn’t even the most impressive performance of the night.
The first half was the Tari Eason show, as he did all he could to combat the Spurs’ fast start. The former Tiger scored 14 of the team’s first 26 points, shooting 67% from the field and knocking down his first two three pointers during the period.
He cooled off in the second half but ultimately finished the game with 22 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two blocks & steals, shooting 56.3% from the field and putting up his third straight double-double. He is quickly proving himself as an underrated prospect, putting up some of the best and most consistent numbers in the entire league.
Eason, Smith and Washington have all shown improvement through their first three games together, whether it was evident on the stat sheet or not. Their chemistry, confidence and overall involvement increased after each game, leading to better statistics, overall team performances and two impressive victories.
Each player’s plus/minus rating increased in a similar fashion, going from negative in game one to positive and in the double-digits in game three. With the trio towards the top of the lineup in terms of minutes per game, that is noteworthy.
Eason and Smith were inefficient and unconfident against the Magic but have quickly transformed into largely effective players on both sides of the ball, with everything coming together against the Spurs. Washington has put up the same stats through the first three games and has been terrible shooting from the outside, but his defense has improved throughout that span, and he has exhibited productivity when driving to the rim in terms of scoring inside against larger defenders and passing it out to open teammates on the perimeter.
It is still far too early to form an accurate prediction on how impactful these players will be for the Rockets, but they have the potential to form a scary team coupled with the team’s current roster of up-and-coming stars. Their next matchup will take place against the Trail Blazers on Thursday at 8:30 p.m.PM CT.
