The turning point came in the second part of the season for the Rockets, whose roster had been remodeled last summer to hope to make the playoffs, notably with the arrivals of Fred VanVleet And Dillon Brooks. After winning 14 of its last 20 games, Houston finished at the foot of the “play-in”, as if stopped in its tracks. Enough to sharpen the ambition of Jabari Smith Jr. and his teammates at the start of this new season.
“We weren’t ready for the season to end, you know what I mean? We always had this same appetite, this desire to play, and to make the playoffs”, remembers the inside. “So during the offseason, we kind of had a bad taste in our mouth that we didn’t really like. And so we want to transpose all that to this year. We're going to keep this feeling during training camp, and we're ready to go. We’re hot.”
An almost unchanged group
Jabari Smith Jr. is therefore approaching this season with the knife between his teeth, believing that this year will be the good one for Houston, which has been chasing a participation in the playoffs since 2020. For him, the young hard core of the Rockets, which he notably composes with Jalen Green And Alperen Sengunhas finally reached maturity.
“This year, we want to do big things. We know how close we were to securing a place in the playoffs and how many games we let slip away. We have to gather all our energies and have a great season. There are some players like Alperen Sengun and Jalen Green who I've been playing with for two years now. So we know each other, we know what to expect from each other. And after spending all of last season with Fred VanVleet, Jeff Green, Dillon Brooks, we feel like we can talk to each other, we know what each other is capable of.”
Growing confidence
On a personal level too, Jabari Smith Jr. hopes to turn a corner after showing more confidence during his sophomore season, which was reflected in his overall statistics. His plan to achieve his goals: put extra effort into training, and work harder and harder.
“Everyone sets goals, and you may or may not achieve them. I set very high goals for myself. This is not to minimize what I have done, but it is just that compared to what I envision for myself, I have not yet arrived where I want”he confided. “I was very happy with my progression from my rookie season to my sophomore season. Just the ease that I was able to develop, the confidence. With each season that begins, I feel more confident, in my place, more sure of myself. So I was very confident going into this offseason.”
Beaten in Utah for their first pre-season match last night (122-113), the Rockets are expected in OKC tomorrow.
| Jabari Smith, Jr. | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2022-23 | HOU | 79 | 31 | 40.8 | 30.7 | 78.6 | 1.5 | 5.7 | 7.2 | 1.3 | 2.9 | 0.5 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 12.8 |
| 2023-24 | HOU | 76 | 32 | 45.4 | 36.3 | 81.1 | 1.8 | 6.3 | 8.1 | 1.6 | 2.6 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 13.7 |
| Total | 155 | 31 | 43.0 | 33.5 | 79.8 | 1.7 | 6.0 | 7.7 | 1.4 | 2.8 | 0.6 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 13.3 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
