All offseason, the Houston Rockets and head coach Stephen Silas have preached that the team wants to be better defensively in the 2022-23 season. The Rockets ranked 30th out of 30 teams in multiple defensive metrics last season, and they know they’ll have to improve if they want to make a run towards the playoffs in the coming years.
After taking Jabari Smith at No. 3, a strong defender in his own right, Houston doubled down in their commitment at No. 17 overall. Rockets general manager Rafael Stone and his basketball operations team selected Tari Eason from LSU, largely regarded as one of the best and most versatile forwards in the draft and a defensive specialist.
The pick is the first selection made from the blockbuster James Harden trade to Brooklyn in January 2021.
Eason averaged 16.9 points and 6.6 rebounds per game during his one year at LSU and will enter the NBA at 21 years of age. More impressively, he averaged 1.1 blocks and 1.9 steals per game last season with the Tigers. It’s a defensive skillset that Houston has long coveted.
Houston has considered Eason the best defender in the draft, taken by his his ability to switch and play with aggression. https://t.co/hvnUoOrC7T
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 24, 2022
Eason brings defensive intensity to a frontcourt that will feature Alperen Sengun as a scorer and post presence accompanied by Smith as a 3-point threat and switch defender. Eason is currently set to compete against Jae’Sean Tate, KJ Martin, and Usman Garuba for minutes.
The versatility on defense, compared to Eason’s offensively oriented counterparts, could eventually pay large dividends for the Rockets. At LSU, the 6-foot-8 forward was able to switch essentially from point guard to center and guard equally well inside and outside the perimeter. This could lead to transition baskets and allow for Silas to finally exhale about his team’s performance on the other end of the court.
Fans won’t have to wait long to see Eason debut in a Rockets uniform, since he and the remainder of Houston’s 2022 rookies are expected to play in the Las Vegas Summer League starting on July 7.
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