Recruited by Houston in 17th position in the Draft 2022, Tari Eason has established himself throughout his rookie campaign as a key element in the future of Rocketsthanks to its versatility on 3/4 shifts.
While the Jalen Green, Kevin Porter Jr. or other Jabari Smith Jr. and Alperen Sengun have largely shown the display of their offensive potential, in a terribly gloomy and featureless season for the Texas franchise (22 wins and 60 losses) , the former Cincinnati and LSU player in NCAA has shown him that he is a future “role player” of luxury, a player not afraid of dark and thankless missions, less “flashy” than the attack but just as important in the collective.
A valuable profile and significant versatility to keep a place in the back-to-school rotation of these “new-look” and therefore more ambitious Rockets, who filled up with veterans this summer on the market to try to relaunch the club’s dynamic in the Western Conference (Fred VanVleet, Dillons Brooks, Jeff Green, Aaron Holiday and Jock Landale). Not to mention the recruitment ofIme Udokaa coach focused on defense.
A defense-hungry youngster in an adult team
” Our team is older and experienced now. So to continue to be called upon by the coach, I have to be one of the best defenders in the team, in all circumstances. », notes the 22-year-old winger. ” So that’s the key to my season, being intractable in defense. And punish behind the arc with regularity. »
A role ultimately close to that of Dillon Brooksanother newcomer to the Houston club with whom he shares a strong appetite for defense and for whom he will be, on paper, the understudy on position 3 since he wants to shift more on the wing.
” He’s one of the best outside defenders in the league, so there’s a lot I can learn from him. ‘Cause defense isn’t just about standing up to your opponent “, adds Tari Eason. ” And there are still things I can improve on in defense, so it’s beneficial for me to work with him, benefit from his advice and practice against him on a daily basis to become a better defender. »
And Tari Eason to reveal his other inspirations, in the defensive field.
” This summer, I consumed a lot of Jimmy Butler videos, and a bit of Kawhi Leonard. To understand how to improve myself, especially in the details “, he concludes thus. ” And I also review some of my passages from the past season, to see what was wrong. Certain ‘backdoors’ conceded, sometimes imprecise placement on an opponent’s cut or on an opposite assist, that sort of thing. »
| 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 |
