I'm a big believer in what Smith brings to a team, but there is a question about how much physically bigger he can become. He's young, so things can change in the next few years. But right now, he's still at a disadvantage in quite a few frontcourt matchups.
Tari Eason averaged the same amount of points as Jabari this past season...Jabari Smith is not a franchise-changer type of player. The main reason he's not included in this KD deal because KD is 36 and and Jabari is 22...I think our organization is haunted by the past in which we traded our youth (Horry/Cassell) for Barkley. The main difference between those 2 scenarios is we won with Horry/Cassell and haven't won crap with Jalen/Jabari...
Jabari is a better player than Tari Eason on both ends of the ball. Tari just manufactures steals sometimes so people love to focus on that. He's worse at almost everything else. He was one of our worst players vs GSW whereas Jabari was the opposite.
Tari is better at cutting, getting offensive rebounds, getting to the line, finishing at the rim despite criticisms of his layups, dribbling with his right hand, dribbling with his left hand even though he doesn't have a left hand, protecting rim, and passing. JSJ has a quicker release, rebounds defensively better, is better at staying with his man (though he's not very agitating on ball defensively), does a better job switching, and handling the low man duties defensively. JSJ did have a better series against the GSW as his shots were falling. Overall, I thought JSJ and Tari didn't play well together as they both need others to create for them. Tari's injuries held him back a lot. I'd say Tari's run early in the season and late in the season (March) were better than anything we've seen from JSJ. JSJ may have better shooting times, but when Tari is scoring efficiently (like early in the season and March)...the chaos defense and offensive rebounding really impact the game.
Tari is better at cutting: yeah. Worse at finishing at the rim though. Offensive rebounds: yeah. Better nose for the ball but that's kinda his thing. Getting to the line: nope. Worse FTA per game. Finishing at the rim: absolutely not Jabari is way better at this. Way better touch around the basket and much better finesse with scoop layups. Tari might be the worst rim finisher on the team. Dribbling with his right hand: yes and the only reason it's even a debate because of how bad Jabari has been here Protecting the rim: uhhhh what. No. Passing: nope he sucks at this. Jabari's issue has largely been that he was a bigger project than we all thought. We thought we were getting rangier Lamarcus Aldridge but his lack of handle was a bigger issue than we thought and his defensive acumen/POA defense against smaller twitchier guards and wings turned out to be worse as well. Tari's issue is that he's just dumb. Jalen and Tari both are just powder kegs full of bone headed stupid mistakes at the worst times. Jalen on the offensive side and Tari on the defensive side (Tari also is a bad 1v1 defender). I'm ready to move on from both Tari and Jalen. Cam not so much yet but damn am I close. Jabari isn't going anywhere. Way too valuable for a number of reasons that a lot of his detractors seem to not understand.
I agree from an overall perspective Jabari is better than Tari. However, our team's biggest weakness is offense and Jabari is expendable to improve that area for our team...I dont see Jabari becoming a 20/10 guy based on his physical limitations (meaning lack of assertiveness/aggression in the paint) and lack of shot creation off the dribble - hence why Amen took his spot after he got injured...there are plenty of forwards you can get to produce 12/7. In addition, LeBron is still effective at 40 years old and KD's skillset at 36 will still keep him as an impact player for the next 5 years. However, I would love to keep Jabari, but he should not be a deal breaker for getting KD. Proposed trade package: FVV, Jabari, Cam, #10 for KD/ Oso Ighodaro Suns get their point and 2 wings We get our closer in KD -> our starting lineup: Sengun KD Dillon Jalen Green Amen
What happened after we traded those role players??? We still had Hakeem, but Matt Maloney was hot garbage and John Stockton was killing us...I argued if we had Cassell, we would have beaten the Jazz in 97-98
Tari Rim % 63.3 from dunksandthrees with a ton more attempts per 75 possessions (6.9) JSJ 61.9% with only 3 attempts per 75 possessions. I don't care about skill or looking good. Tari finishes at the rim more efficiently and much much more often than JSJ. JSJ's attempts are usually much easier as he picks his places more than Tari. Maybe there is a different classification of what rim finishing is that gives JSJ a slight edge in efficiency, but I doubt there is any measure that shows JSJ finishes nearly as often. Considering Tari finishing at the rim is an extremely efficient play, it is hard to consider someone a better finisher than gets less than half the attempts on a per possession basis. On FTs, its close on a per possession basis. I concede this point. I was wrong here. On passing, Tari sucks, but JSJ can only flip out passes to reset offense losing every advantage the Rockets have. There is a reason Tari has about double the assists as JSJ with similar turnovers on a per-minute basis. Tari tries to make passes that lead to easy buckets. JSJ rarely does. On rim protection, it is clear who gets more blocks on a per minute basis. It is also clear that Tari's chaos defense limits attempts at the rim. JSJ is better at contesting at the rim when he doesn't get a block. JSJ is a better low man as I said. As far as protecting the rim, denying attempts and getting blocks (I place more value on limiting the attempts) is better than being there and making shot a little more difficult, IMO. I'd guess JSJ has a slight edge in metrics regarding efficiency around the rim defensively (not sure there is a good metric), but the number of attempts while each is in the game with similar teammates favors Tari.
Without Barkley we don’t get past the Payton/Kemp Sonics. The trade has been debated to death. The Rox gave it a shot with the Hakeem, Drexler, Cassel and Horry squad and were swept by the Sonics in ‘96. Barkley got them past in ‘97 but couldn’t overcome the Jazz and the bear hug of Malone. The trade was successful but the aging big 3 couldn’t keep up and who knows if more time or development would have seen Cassel and Horry able to beat the Jazz.
Players with his length and athletic ability don't go grow on trees. I can see him as a 5th or 6th best player on a team that wins several championships in the mold of Robert Horry and Trevor Ariza.
You completely overlook that the Cassell / Horry crew was 100% able to beat the Jazz in 1994 and 1995. We had their number. Our guards punished Stockton from outside when he inevitably left to gamble for steals. Hakeem feasted inside. That Sonics team was kryptonite to the Rockets in 1996. I get the move. But we just traded one problem team for another. And the team we gave up the advantage against, went on to win the WCF the next two seasons. Hindsight being 20/20, the Barkley era didn't produce any championships after he was traded to a 2x championship winning team. You can't call that a success.
I'd look at the rim finishing in different contexts. The typical Tari possession is a steal and breakway dunk or layup which would make his rim finishing %s seem high. In a half court setting with a set defense, he is pretty bad. Or at least he has seemed it to me. Not sure what a good site would be to look at specific instances (half court vs fast break) but the Rockets need to move away from "chaos and offensive rebounds" as a viable offensive strategy. Players like Reed Sheppard and Jabari Smith aren't good chaos agents (Reed a little bit with his hands) but they are better half court players. I want to start getting a little more calculated and a little less random. As far as passing, that is fair. Whether or not the passes come in the half court (where Jabari is better) or the fast break (where Tari is better) is irrelevant right now. Neither is amazing with general passing chops but Tari's is more useful (right now). I think it probably just comes down to projection. This is where Tari ultimately ends up to me and if he's worth keeping around or moving on from while his value is at it's highest. I see a better Jaesean Tate whereas with Jabari I think the jury is still out. Some believe there isn't anything more to see from him but he's super young still. I can't continue to hold out hope for him much past year 4 (which is when Mobley and Cade made their leaps) though, I will say that. He needs to show way more next year otherwise I will begin to need to admit that this is just sorta who he is. Even as a role player though, his skillset is incredibly useful. Specifically as a small ball 5 if we determine there isn't more to unlock offensively but he does still continue to fill out his frame. There's just way more to Jabari than there is to Tari as we move forward into contention. I do think next year is sort a put up or shut up year for both of them.
I beg to differ on Jabari being better. You never watch a game and wonder if Tari is playing or not. He's a better perimeter player defensively, scores at a more effective level also. Around the nba, they will value Smith on his draft status and height, but Tari has more impact than Smith. Smith is not a natural basketball player. The Rockets don't regret the Barkley trade either. Houston had lost 16 straight games to Sonics, let that sync in
They got a round further than running it back like they did in ‘96. They had to try something or they would just keep getting knocked out by the Sonics. I don’t begrudge the trade. The real kick in the nuts is the Damon Stoudamire at the 1 inch line trade that fell apart at the last minute.
Jabari or picks...not both. Jabari can be a good role player on a championship team. He showed flashes in his first playoff experience. As much as I like Eason, I would rather trade him over Jabari.
I'd like to see the split too. Another thing about Tari's at rim efficiency is that a lot of it came off of offensive rebounds under the basket. Those put backs are easier to make than if you need to work your way to the basket. That said, offensive rebounding is part of your at rim efficiency. Tari's ability to grab his own misses kind of cancels out his tendency of missing point blank layups.
No context. That's why you should watch the games. You don't know who was out when Tari was out or vice versa
