Third-year forward Tari Eason went for 18 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter, as the Rockets rallied from a second-half deficit in Sunday's 101-99 victory (box score) at Detroit. The Pistons fell to 4-7, while Houston improved to 6-4 with the win. The Rockets were +7 as a team during Eason's efficient 27 minutes, which included a 7-of-12 shooting line (58.3%) and two makes in four attempts from 3-point range (50.0%). He also had 9 rebounds and several key defensive plays, including a blocked 3-pointer in a frantic closing minute. Yet again, Eason forced his way into the closing lineup of head coach Ime Udoka, who removed Jabari Smith Jr. at power forward to make room. It was another rough game for Smith, who finished with 6 points and 7 rebounds on 2-of-8 shooting (25.0%), and the Rockets were -12 in his 26 minutes played. But, in large part due to the insurance policy provided by Eason — who, as the No. 17 overall pick in the 2022 first round, was actually drafted 14 spots later than Smith at No. 3 — Houston won for a fifth time in seven games. In many respects, it was a similar second-half spark to the one Eason provided when scoring a career-high 27 points earlier this month versus Golden State, which helped Houston flip a 31-point deficit into an eventual lead before falling in overtime.
NBA leaders in Box Plus Minus: Nikola Jokic (+15.1) Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (+9.0) Anthony Davis (+8.6) Jayson Tatum (+8.5) Steph Curry (+8.2) Tari Eason (+7.8)‼️‼️‼️
The Rockets were a playoff team before Tari got injured last season. After he was put on IR, they bottomed out and made a strong run not to be abysmal towards the end of the season. But there is no doubt the Rockets are a way better team with Tari in the lineup. I am still really high on Jabari Smith Jr. and think he is going to turn into something special. Tari is like the heartbeat of a team and I think he accentuates Sengune and Green.
Tari is hilarious. They have him mic'd up...just saw him say "James! James! Tell the truth!" I think that was from the scene where Harden got free throws for elbowing Alpi in the chest.
I have no idea how to look this up (I'm sure some of yall do), but Tari is in the game for how many minutes per stretch, on average? How does this compare to other Rockets?
Tari's per 100 possession numbers are pretty wild so far this season: 26.8 points 12.0 rebounds 2.6 assists 3.9 steals 2.5 blocks 55% / 38% shooting On a per-possession basis, the dude is rebounding and shotblocking like a starting-caliber center while playing most of his minutes at the forward positions. His offense, while not quite at all-star level, has been highly efficient and productive, would be above-average among starting forwards if translated to 30+ mpg. And all of this while playing insane defense. It's a small sample size so we'll have to take everything with a grain of salt for now, but I do think we can say that so far his overall production, offense/defense/rebounding combined, if it translated at the same rates at 30+ mpg, would be in the second tier of forwards in the league right now (if the first tier are the superstars/borderline superstars).
