Rockets reportedly have targeted return date for Jabari Smith Jr.
Houston is slumping through February without their starting power forward in the lineup.
Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udokalamented his team’s battered rotation Sunday afternoon as he noted the injury absences of starting point guard Fred VanVleet and forward Jabari Smith Jr.
Houston now has a targeted return date for one member of its usual starting lineup as of Wednesday.
Smith, the third-year forward from Auburn, is targeting Houston’s Feb. 21 game against the Minnesota Timberwolves for his return from a fractured hand, according to NBA reporter Chris Haynes. Smith has not played since Jan. 3 after breaking his hand during a Houston practice.
Smith, 21, is averaging career lows in scoring and rebounding this season, but a dip in output doesn’t correlate with a dip in impact.
The former No. 3 pick of the 2022 NBA draft is vital to a poor shooting team (Houston sits No. 28 in three-point percentage) with a 36.1 percent mark beyond the arc across the last two seasons. He’s Houston’s leading rim protector when paired with more ground-bound center Alperen Şengün. The Rockets’ defense is 6.3 points per 100 possessions with Smith on the floor compared to when he sits. He sports a healthy plus-5.2 net rating after posting negative marks in his first two NBA seasons.
Smith, given his production to date, doesn’t necessarily project to be a future All-Star. However, he’s still a valuable member of Houston’s young ‘Core 7’, and more importantly, a necessary cog of Udoka’s upcoming playoff rotation. The Rockets dropped six straight before a Super Bowl Sunday win over the Toronto Raptors. Four of those losses featured an opponent scoring 115-plus points. Add the mobile and rangy Smith as a 6-foot-10 deterrent, and Houston’s defense should return to its imposing, pre-2025 form.
