If it were necessary to designate an MVP of this beginning of Summer League of Las Vegas, Jabari Smith Jr. would be a serious candidate with 33 points and the winning basket against the Blazers, then 38 points against the Pistons. Each time, victories. At his side, Tari Eason is also doing his job with 23 points on average. The two “sophomores” of the Rockets do not shy away from their pleasure of finding Las Vegas.
“We ended up with 22 wins for 60 losses. We played 82 matches, but we lost a lot, a lot…” recalls Tari Eason. “Personally, I don’t mind (playing in the Summer League). I like basketball. I’m here to play and have fun. »
The perfect time to have fun
Unfortunately, the Houston Chronicle reports that the Rockets have decided to save them for the rest of the summer, and we will not see them again on the field. For Jabari Smith Jr, the record is almost perfect, and he has explanations for his rise to power. “I think it’s just a matter of trust. I spent a lot of time working on handling the ball, being able to take shocks and being decisive in your movements… Without necessarily having a panoply of movements, it’s just a question of being able to handle the ball, to absorb the shocks and to have movements to make. »
In general, the strong winger from Houston is relaxed, and he no longer has the pressure that weighs on a rookie. And then, the young Rockets are the first to discover some of Ime Udoka’s basketball.
“You learn a new attack, a new style of play, new defensive coverage, new teammates, new faces on the bench… And then there’s just going out there, repeating things, to play a different role, just have fun… We don’t have the opportunity to do it at that time, so we have fun”.
Tari Eason shifted to post 3?
For Tari Eason, it’s a bit different. Jabari Smith Jr understudy in position 4, he takes advantage of the Summer League to play more in position 3.
“It’s pretty regular, because even during the season, I was moved to position 3. So it wasn’t really new. It’s more about being on the ball side and having to read different things. It’s different. I really see myself more as a 3, but I also feel like I don’t have a fixed position. »
At the start of the school year, on position 3, he will be behind Dillon Brooks, and there will always be the precious Jae’Sean Tate. But Tari Eason believes in her qualities.
“I show other things, other readings that I can do, I try to make things easier, to shoot a little more, to expand my game”he concludes. “I will continue to work. I hear everything that is said. I’m ready to show people what I can do. I think that a large part of my qualities cannot be measured: being everywhere on the pitch, my stature, my versatility in defense. These are things that I can obviously show here, and that I continue to develop. »
| Shots | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | bp | Int | CT | party | Points |
| Jalen Green | 76 | 34.2 | 41.6 | 33.8 | 78.6 | 0.6 | 3.2 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 2.6 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 1.7 | 22.1 |
| Kevin Porter, Jr. | 59 | 34.3 | 44.2 | 36.6 | 78.4 | 1.3 | 4.0 | 5.3 | 5.7 | 3.2 | 1.4 | 0.3 | 2.6 | 19.2 |
| Alperen Sengun | 75 | 28.9 | 55.3 | 33.3 | 71.5 | 3.2 | 5.8 | 9.0 | 3.9 | 2.6 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 3.4 | 14.8 |
| Eric Gordon | 47 | 30.2 | 43.9 | 34.7 | 81.5 | 0.3 | 1.8 | 2.1 | 2.9 | 1.8 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 1.0 | 13.1 |
| Jabari Smith, Jr. | 79 | 31.0 | 40.8 | 30.7 | 78.6 | 1.5 | 5.7 | 7.2 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 0.9 | 2.9 | 12.8 |
| Kj Martin | 82 | 28.0 | 56.9 | 31.5 | 68.0 | 1.5 | 4.0 | 5.5 | 1.5 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 1.8 | 12.7 |
| Tari Eason | 82 | 21.6 | 44.8 | 34.3 | 75.2 | 2.4 | 3.7 | 6.0 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 2.3 | 9.3 |
| Jae’sean Tate | 31 | 21.9 | 48.0 | 28.3 | 72.5 | 1.3 | 2.5 | 3.8 | 2.7 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 3.4 | 9.1 |
| Josh Christopher | 64 | 12.3 | 46.5 | 23.6 | 75.0 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 5.8 |
| Garrison Mathews | 45 | 13.4 | 35.3 | 34.2 | 91.1 | 0.2 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 1.2 | 4.8 |
| Tyty Washington, Jr. | 31 | 14.0 | 36.3 | 23.8 | 55.6 | 0.1 | 1.4 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.9 | 4.7 |
| Bruno Fernando | 31 | 11.7 | 51.6 | 0.0 | 68.2 | 1.5 | 2.4 | 3.9 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 1.0 | 2.2 | 4.1 |
| Daishen Nix | 57 | 16.0 | 34.2 | 28.6 | 66.7 | 0.3 | 1.4 | 1.7 | 2.3 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 1.0 | 4.0 |
| Darius Days | 4 | 6.2 | 41.7 | 30.0 | 100.0 | 0.3 | 1.3 | 1.5 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 3.8 |
| Boban Marjanovic | 31 | 5.5 | 68.3 | 0.0 | 74.1 | 0.6 | 1.3 | 1.9 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 3.3 |
| Usman Garuba | 75 | 12.9 | 48.6 | 40.7 | 61.7 | 1.6 | 2.5 | 4.1 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 1.8 | 3.0 |
| Frank Kaminsky | 10 | 5.9 | 31.6 | 20.0 | 100.0 | 0.4 | 1.2 | 1.6 | 1.1 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 1.8 |
| Trevor Hudgins | 5 | 5.7 | 22.2 | 25.0 | 100.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 1.8 |
