What we learned from the Rockets’ first two Summer League games
Jabari Smith Jr. #10 of the Houston Rockets gestures toward Detroit Pistons players seated courtside after hitting a 3-pointer against the Pistons in the second half of a 2023 NBA Summer League game at the Thomas & Mack Center on July 09, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ethan Miller/Getty Images
Was this past weekend the most enjoyable stretch of Houston Rockets basketball in the post-James Harden era? It may be hard to argue otherwise.
The Rockets, who finished in the Western Conference cellar in each of the last three seasons, have been the talk of the town in Las Vegas through their first two Summer League contests. Houston paired a thrilling debut from Amen Thompson on Friday night with a game-winner from Jabari Smith Jr. to beat the Blazers, and Smith followed up his buzzer-beater three with a game-high 38 points in Sunday's win over the Pistons. As the Rockets desperately eye a return to relevance in 2023-24, their young talent made a serious statement in the first two games in Las Vegas.
We should, of course, take Summer League results with a serious grain of salt, though there are some things we should note when looking back on the last eight quarters of action for Houston's Summer League squad. Let's dive into our notebook and sort through the top observations.
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Amen won't be overwhelmed
We only received 28 minutes from the No. 4 pick before he suffered an ankle injury in the second half against Portland, but what a 28 minutes it was. Amen Thompson tallied 16 points, five assists and four rebounds in a winning effort, including nine points in the opening frame. Thompson's burst to the rim was on full display as he rather easily blew past defenders going to his right, and he flashed a smooth floater game as well. Thompson even banged home a top-of-the-key three for good measure, helping quiet concerns over his admittedly shaky jumper. Thompson will have rough shooting nights early and often in his NBA career. His physical gifts will help ease the adjustment.
It was more than Thompson's speed and size that stood out on Friday, though. His feel for the game in half-court settings was notably advanced for a player of his age, and he looked right at home snaking into the lane in pick-and-roll situations. Thompson found streaking cutters on multiple possessions as he engineered the offense, and he hit his center with smooth pocket passes through traffic. Thompson fancies himself as a bit of a hoops junkie, and his coaches and teammates describe him as something of a film nerd and a fast-thinking leader. He quickly showcased those traits in limited minutes, adding to the excitement over what should be Houston's next leading man.
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More than a spacer?
Jabari Smith Jr.'s rookie season was somewhat of a disappointing campaign. The No. 3 pick in last year's draft struggled mightily from the field in the first half of 2022-23, and he spent much of the year relegated to simple floor-spacer duty in the corner as Jalen Green and Kevin Porter Jr. domineered possessions. The smooth scoring big man we saw at Auburn rarely looked comfortable in his first professional season, and you could see hesitation emerge on even simple catch-and-shoot looks as his shot ebbed and flowed. Perhaps the collegiate version of Smith will emerge in 2023-24.
The first two games in Las Vegas were quite promising in that regard. Smith ripped off 29 points in the second half on Friday before a dominant 38-point night on Sunday, and his scoring was driven by far more than hot shooting from the outside. Smith bullied smaller defenders on the block. He chased opposing bigs out past the foul line, then danced past the defender thanks to an improved handle. I never quite bought the narrative that Smith can be a self-starting wing a la Khris Middleton in Milwaukee, but he is obviously far more than a simple catch-and-shoot option. Smith often does his best work around the foul line as he rises up for jumpers like a young Kevin Garnett. That comparison is unfair on a number of levels, but offensively, it's encouraging to see Smith pursue such a shot profile. Look for Smith to get more leeway in Ime Udoka's offense in 2023-24 compared to his lone season with Stephen Silas.
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Tari remains a steal
Tari Eason was frankly Houston’s best rookie in 2022-23 as he emerged as a fringe All-Defense defender with some legitimate verve off the bounce. The LSU product picked up right where he left off in Las Vegas.
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Eason tallied 46 points over the weekend, and he frankly was a complete wrecking ball on the defensive end on Sunday. He defended both point guard Jaden Ivey and big man James Wiseman with relative ease, and he wreaked havoc diving into passing lanes. Watch Eason below single-handedly destroy a Detroit pick-and-pop. He briefly tags the roll man near the foul line at the start of the action, then turns and dives back out to defend Ivey’s three-point attempt. The shot is smothered by Eason, who then corrals the ball and races ahead for a transition dunk. Such contests aren’t exactly common, especially considering Eason first dropped into the lane before diving back to Ivey.
The incoming second-year forward pairs his large frame with impressive intellect, effort and feel for the game. He’s simply a joy to watch, and a player who could become a quick favorite of Udoka.
The Cam question
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Look at the Rockets' roster as currently constituted, and a bit of a minutes crunch quickly emerges. The Rockets will use a trio of bigs in Smith, Alperen Şengün and Jock Landale. Porter, Green, Thompson and Fred VanVleet are guaranteed backcourt minutes, as is Dillon Brooks and Tari Eason on the wing (along with some scattered minutes for veteran Jae'Sean Tate). Will there be minutes available for Cam Whitmore? The No. 20 pick may just force Udoka's hand.
I worked under the assumption that Whitmore—a promising scorer who needs some serious seasoning—would spend significant time in the G League at Rio Grande Valley in his rookie season, as has become common for non-lottery picks in Houston across the last two decades. Yet given his scoring upside, perhaps Whitmore won't need a trip to south Texas after all. He scored 21 points in Sunday's win over Detroit (including two thunderous dunks in the opening minutes) and despite being just 19, Whitmore will already enter the NBA as a physically imposing guard. He powers past contact in the lane with ease given his 230-pound frame, and he's a heady cutter and strong finisher. The Anthony Edwards comparisons, at least physically, aren't totally out of place.
This is a situation where I think the Summer League tape may be lying to us to a degree, however. Whitmore won't have a major adjustment trying to score at the NBA level, but his decision-making still leaves a lot to be desired. He has tunnel vision when attacking in half-court settings, and he'll commit plenty of live-ball turnovers like Green did as a rookie. Such a formula isn't one for sticking around Udoka's rotation. Still, credit to Whitmore for an impressive summer session. He joined the Rockets as the draft night's big faller, then impressed in his first on-court action since his disappointment earlier this summer. Whitmore deserves credit for hitting the ground running in a situation he likely didn't envision before draft night.
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Stylistic notes
New Rockets assistant coach Ben Sullivan is acting as Houston's leader in Summer League competition, and I've noticed two stylistic changes in particular compared to the Silas era for the Rockets. Defensively, Houston deploying a heavy amount of switching across all lineups, deviating away from the sagging drop coverage schemes we saw last season. I believe this is ultimately the coverage best suited given the new-look lineup including VanVleet and Brooks, and frankly, I think Şengün is better as a switching option than a pure drop defender. We'll see if Udoka sticks to primarily switching in the regular season, or varies the coverage based on opponent.
The offensive adjustments are a little less easy to spot, but it appears as though Sullivan is using each of Houston's key pieces as primary initiators, dedicating full possessions to Thompson, Whitmore, Smith and Eason (who didn't get his own section here, but was an impressive two-way force as usual) as leading men. Thompson was able to earn free runs to the rim as the Rockets employed pick-and-rolls from the right wing with a shooter in the corner and two on the weak side, and when Smith was featured, there was a smattering of nice dribble-handoff action (a Şengün staple).
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Source: Chron
