Tari Eason Is Slowly, But Surely, Breaking Out

The Houston Rockets currently rank second in the Western Conference, despite the youthfulness of their roster, in which multiple core members are under the age of 25.

Winning in the NBA isn’t easy. Period. It’s even more difficult for young players who lack the experience to tough out ugly games.

However, in Tari Eason, the Rockets have a guy who seemingly loves to turn games ugly, and his worth has been on display this season, when he hasn’t been sidelined.

Eason, who’s playing his third season, missed 15 of 17 games from December 5th to January 15th, but has picked up from where he left off.

Stat-stuffer

Eason has been on quite the four-game tear, averaging 11.6 points, 5.0 rebounds, and a whopping 2.6 steals per game, while connecting on 41.7% of his three-pointers.

That’d be impressive if he produced those numbers over the course of a full game. But Eason is doing this in just 23.3 minutes of playing time, making his per-minute numbers all the more ridiculous.

Defensively, Eason is a menace, and loves to muck up the game for his opponents, while turning games physical. He’ll play the passing lanes, contest shots on the perimeter and inside, compete hard on the glass.

Offensively, he’s opportunistic, scrappy, finds ways to score despite not always being fluid in his movements. Granted, he’s otherworldly athletic, which helps him a great deal, but he makes himself available, doesn’t turn down shots, and rarely turns the ball over. All aspects go a long way.

More minutes

It’s curious, then, that Eason isn’t playing more. Jabari Smith Jr is out with a hand injury, and Eason hasn’t been in any particular foul trouble during those games.

While head coach Ime Udoka might prefer to limit Eason’s minutes to allow him to go fully nuclear in the minutes he does receive, eventually that’s got to change.

As such, it’d be a solid investment for Udoka to test out the 23-year-old in an expanded role, if only to find out if he can handle more minutes. However it shakes out, that’s knowledge and data that the Rockets can analyze.

As for Eason himself, his intensity and energy are major assets, and some he will need to maintain, even when the season drags into the often up and down months of February and March.

But if he does, and if Udoka provides him with more opportunities, it’s at this point difficult to see how he’d fail.

Unless noted otherwise, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball-Reference. All salary information via Spotrac. All odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.