Houston Rockets starting power forward Jabari Smith Jr. broke his hand and requires surgery, sidelining him for four to eight weeks. Earlier in the season, Smith occasionally looked out of place in the starting lineup. Now, though, the Rockets will undoubtedly find that they miss him.
How the Houston Rockets Can Handle Jabari Smith Jr.’s Injury
Head Coach Ime Udoka broke the news ahead of the Rockets’ loss to the Boston Celtics on Friday. He also confirmed that second-year defensive menace Amen Thompson would start in Smith’s absence just as soon as he returns from his (now served) two-game suspension.
Due to Thompson earning more minutes throughout the season, the starting spot won’t see a major increase for him. That means someone else will have to fill in for the minutes Thompson would have played anyway.
Earlier this season, Houston’s biggest issue with the rotation, besides not having any superstar creators to rely on in crunch time, was finding minutes for people. Now, the shoe is on the other foot, and it’s a cast boot. They need to find people for minutes.
Tari Eason’s Eerie Absence
The Rockets’ other rotational power forward, Tari Eason, missed his eighth straight game on Friday night. He and Thompson have given Houston’s bench a sense of identity all season, tormenting opposing bench lineups with their size, athleticism, and defensive playmaking.
Houston’s bench must find a new identity with Thompson starting and Eason still absent. Second-year wing Cam Whitmore may be the stand-out feature. He had an ugly game against the Celtics, going 4-17 from the field in the blowout loss. Still, Houston is going to need him to keep being aggressive.
Rockets Rotation After Smith Injury
Other players to expect to see making contributions off the bench for Houston are Aaron Holiday and Jae’Sean Tate. Both are tenacious defenders, and Holiday can help space the floor. Meanwhile, Tate provides some rebounding and interior scoring despite his six-foot stature.
The real question will be whether the rotational overhaul will see a return of rookie Reed Sheppard. The coaching staff needs to make a decision about Sheppard’s next steps. If he isn’t going to play, he should be building his confidence in his shot back up in the G League. They might be glad they hadn’t already sent him down, though.
Then again, Udoka might not want to replace a six-foot-ten rotation player with a six-foot-two one. The LeBron James of role-players, Jeff Green (lately looking more like the LeBron James of bench mentors), got the start against Boston while Thompson served his suspension.
Missing the six-foot-11 Smith and six-foot-eight Eason, Udoka might be weary of losing too much size. Green is still an effective play-finisher and solid defender. Udoka might keep him active in a bench role so that Thompson isn’t the Rockets’ biggest non-center after the Smith injury.
Smith’s Improvement
Finally, it’s worth showing appreciation for the player Houston will be without for the next four to eight weeks. At first, Smith had a hard time for being considered in the top three forwards with fellow draftees Paolo Banchero and Chet Holmgren.
Those two players have shown themselves as All-Star talents, while Smith has not. The six-foot-ten marksman’s billing has manifested thus far in a 33.8 career three-point average.
His shot has been inconsistent, but he has been living up nicely to the six-foot-ten part this year. Smith is averaging a block per game this season. His rebounds are a little down overall, but his offensive rebounding rate is also at its highest. The Rockets don’t struggle for rebounds, though. It’s Smith’s rim protection that the team will miss. Thompson is an elite defensive playmaker, but there’s a lot to be said for long arms you can stick up around the rim without jumping.
Smith is only 21 years old. The consistency of his shot may still improve. He’s shooting a red-hot 86.7% from the free-throw line this season, so the touch is there. Or it will be once the bones in his hand are all in the right place again.
The Last Word
Smith and the Rockets avoided the injury bug to start 2024-25. Now, they’ve started to get bit by it in 2025. January is a big month for them matchup-wise, with three games against the seeding rival Memphis Grizzlies. They still have plenty of available talent on the roster. They just need to put it together and keep churning out wins. In short, they just need to handle it.
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