Jabari Smith Jr. settling in for Rockets, ready to get more involved

Jabari Smith Jr. on his Rockets debut (10 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists): “Coming into the second half, I felt more relaxed. I settled into the game, and I felt like they could see that.”

LAS VEGAS – When the doors finally opened to the Thomas & Mack Center, fans rushed down the aisles to get to the open seats closest to the court. Most wanted to make sure they had the best view to witness the marquee matchup between rookies Paolo Banchero and Jabari Smith Jr. in the first game of the 2022 NBA summer league.

The Orlando Magic selected Banchero with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft, while Smith went to the Houston Rockets two picks later. What made the matchup so intriguing for fans and intense for the two individuals involved was the pre-draft analysis done by most NBA media members, who had flipped the ultimate order.

Once Thursday’s game began, it was clear that Banchero was the more polished offensive player of the two, as he helped lead his team to a 91-77 victory (box score) over the Rockets. The Duke product finished the game with 17 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists, and he made quite an impression by connecting on his first four shots and not missing any until the middle of the second quarter, leading to 13 first-half points.

“He is good,” Rick Higgins said of Banchero. Higgins, who is normally an assistant coach for the Rockets next to Stephen Silas, is head coach for Houston’s summer league team (schedule). “He is good. We knew that. He hit some tough shots. Still not why we lost.”

Smith could not match Banchero point-for-point in the first half, when he scored just 3 points. But he showcased more offensive skills in the second half, finishing with 10 points and 7 rebounds on the night.

“Coming into the second half, I felt more relaxed,” said Smith, who admitted to reporters that he had a lot of adrenaline heading into the game. “I settled into the game, and I felt like they could see that.”

One glaring thing that will stand out during film study of Smith’s summer league debut is the need to be more aggressive on the offensive end of the court and find more comfortable spots on the floor. The idea is for his teammates to get him the ball within the flow of the offense.

“I thought I could have been more involved, just off of me finding more ways to be involved on the offensive end,” Smith told reporters postgame. “That’s going to come just from learning a new offense, a new system. Other than that, I felt I was pretty involved just have to make more open shots and crash the glass more.”

Houston returns to action on Saturday with a matchup versus Oklahoma City, which features the No. 2 overall pick from the 2022 draft in Chet Holmgren. It’ll be yet another opportunity for Smith on a big stage.

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