Almost as soon as Fred VanVleet went down with a devastating ACL injury late in the offseason, it became clear that head coach Ime Udoka was going to approach the Houston Rockets’ starting lineup with a fluid mindset, rotating players in and out depending on both matchups and performance.
Yet, Jabari Smith Jr., after being relegated to a bench role following his return from injury last season, has started every game in which he’s played for the Rockets this season, and, as a result, he’s already in the process of taking a massive leap in his game.
On paper, his numbers are only slightly improved. However, his consistency and his confidence seem to have taken great bounds forward, and, if he can continue this level of performance over the course of the season, he could be the tertiary scorer that Houston needs.
Jabari Smith Jr. is finally becoming the player the Rockets thought he could be
As a 6’11” rebounder, defender, and viable perimeter shooter, it goes without saying that Smith’s ceiling has been ridiculously high since he was drafted third overall by the Rockets in the 2022 NBA Draft.
Yet, through his first few seasons in the league, he often struggled to find his footing from a perspective of consistency on the offensive end of the court. Through his first three seasons, he shot just 43.2% from the field, and, although he showed flashes of being a highly impactful defender, it became clear that he was never going to reach his full potential if his offensive game did not come together.
This season, however, Smith is averaging more minutes than he has ever before in his career playing alongside Kevin Durant in the frontcourt, and it’s paying dividends. Through his first 21 games, he’s averaging 15.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and two assists while shooting 45.5% from the field.
Granted, there are still games where the team might want to see more out of Smith, and there would be major concerns if there were ever a situation where he would need to become their primary scorer. Yet, on a team with Durant and Alperen Sengun, that is certainly not his role.
Instead, Smith must function as a lethal tertiary scorer, capable of getting his shots up from all areas of the court and presenting an additional threat at the rim alongside Amen Thompson.
This isn’t to say that there are not areas in which Smith could still improve, but, insofar as he has learned to perform that role for Houston, he is slowly becoming the exact player the team envisioned when they drafted him. Consistent minutes have been the key to his continued development, and, if he were fluctuating in and out of the starting lineup, who knows if all of this would still be the case?
