Jabari Smith Jr. is the Rockets' franchise player

He was pretty athletic, I know why the Rockets wanted to turn him into another McGrady hence No. 1 which ultimately failed.

 

Literally he can be KD with elite rim protection and defense. Just give him 4-5 years because patience is a virtue.

 

So Jalen's MJ.
Jabari's KD+
Amen's Gary Payton

Just wait 4-5 years....and worship them no matter what happens in the meantime.

 

Yes, homegrown talents require to take that kind of risk if the potential is enormous.

 

5 years? A KD doesn't need 5 years to be KD. They are KD from the get go. It's like saying that player X might be Messi but i'm not sure let's wait 5 years to be sure if he is. Messi was Messi when he was 19 yo.

 

How can we be sure that Jabari won't be playing like a modern KD by the end of this season? I saw him crossover last game, his dribble is much better now. Little by little, he is going to grow up to be improved version of KD with better ankles. So no injury problems.

I can honestly see it... Everyone has to put faith in our homegrown KD.

 

I'm really not ready to put a cap on his ceiling to be honest.

The guy went 4/7 last game, this year has many games like this where he's shooting well and simply not getting enough shots. I'd really like to see him worked into the offense more, especially on nights where Jalen doesn't have it.

 

cross-posting from the actual franchise player's thread:

 

Why doesn't Jabari box out more?

He's like 96th in the league at 0.9 boxouts per game. Alpi is now 4th at 2.9.

 

Yes. Jabari needs to get better at blocking out. He also ball watches a few too many each game. He is 16 games into his second season, so I’m guessing he’ll get better at both.

 

Yes, that's fine. He should also become a bit more humble as a teammate when he is not yet doing these things.

 

No, he shouldn't. He plays better confident and cocky.

 

It's fine to be confident and cocky, it's not fine to repeatedly yell at a teammate when something goes wrong, especially when that teammate is clearly better than you.

 

It is ok. Ime wants there to be accountability by everyone. Sengun does it too. No hierarchy on this team. Jabari and Sengun are becoming really good teammates.

 

Any comparison that has Landale better than Cam & Bari is bullocks.

 

He won't be KD, he doesn't have a fluid handle like that.

 

He is only 20... only his 2nd year. Give him 4-5 years because patience is a virtue.

 

He's closer to Lamarcus Aldridge than he is to KD.

KD was a dripping bucket the moment he stepped on an NBA floor:

 

I think that's a very interesting comparison. If he could have a career like Lamarcus Aldridge, that would be a good outcome.