A favorable comp lands Smith with some high praise and high expectations.
Have you ever heard the mind-boggling take that Chris Bosh, not LeBron James, nor Dwyane Wade, was the most important player during the Miami Heat’s Big Three era? It’s a point that has been thrown out there over the past decade and even supported as recently as of March by former Heatle, Udonis Haslem.
It’s a startling take for sure, but there’s merit to it. No one would argue against James and Wade being far and away the best players on those title teams, but does that necessarily make them the most irreplaceable? James & Wade’s skillsets were mostly interchangeable, but neither of them could offer those title teams the mix of unique size and skill that Bosh provided, thus making him an integral piece.
Now what does any of that have to do with what the Houston Rockets have going on? Enter Jabari Smith Jr.
What’s most appealing about this comparison is that it’s not too difficult to see the similarities between the two players. Like the class of 2021 Hall of Fame inductee, Smith is a 6’11’ athletic big equipped with long arms ais nd someone who projects to become a slick shooter.
Bosh certainly came into the league as the more polished offensive player, but it’s also important to point out the drastic difference in the league’s playing style. Today’s NBA is a three-point league. You live and die by it. Bosh came into the league when post play and mid-range work were still general principles of the game. It’s something Bosh had to work at as he modeled his game after another great, Kevin Garnett.
To Smith’s credit, he gets the nod early on his career as a more versatile defender. It’s been noted how his perimeter defense has outshined his rim protection through two years. There’s still growth opportunities for Smith on the interior, but with more experience and more muscle, he figures to become an even more stout defender.
The potential for Smith’s defensive versatility, combined with an ability to step out and space the floor at an elite level is what makes Smith the most integral piece for the Rockets going forward. While he may never turn out to be viewed as the Rockets number one option or best overall player, he can solidify himself as the perfect complementary star for an emerging team in the West. Houston could see the dividends pay off from when they took him third overall in 2022.
Nobody on this roster has the same capacity to fill as many roles as Smith could and a lot of that comes down to pure size. Amen Thompson projects to be a switchblade capable of guarding up and down a lineup, but he’s also not 6’11”. That’s not even factoring in the ever-present concerns with Thompson’s jump shot. Speaking of scoring, Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun may be the Rockets’ best offensive options, but they won’t be providing the consistent defensive prowess that Smith can night in and night out.
There were three things that Bosh pulled off for those back-to-back title Heat teams in the Big Three era that stand out in particular in relation to Smith. The first is that Bosh became a factor from the three-point line in the 2012 NBA Playoffs, something that he was less accustomed to in the 2011 postseason.
If you recall, Bosh shot a crucial 3-of-4 from deep in Game 7 of the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals following his return from an abdominal strain earlier in the playoffs. Now 3-of-4 may not sound that impressive these days given the volume of threes that are taken, but it was huge back yonder as it gave James and Wade more room to operate with.
All of that is to say the league’s trend of shooting from deep favors Smith as he came into the league with a smooth stroke. His rookie splits were woeful, but he showed considerable improvement in year two by knocking down 36.3 percent of his threes. It was only a matter of time before his shot started to fall. His form is too pure for it not to.
The second piece to Bosh’s excellence during those early Miami runs was his ability to man the middle and play small ball center. Those Heat teams helped usher in an era of small ball lineups that relied upon forwards playing up in size. While it wasn’t Bosh’s preference to play center — as it isn’t for many players that consider themselves as power forwards — he rose to the challenge, and it’s a major reason why those teams had the success they did.
Interestingly enough, Miami wasn’t the first time Bosh technically had to play out of position. He took plenty of lumps and bruises guarding up as the Toronto Raptors’ center in his rookie campaign. Even more interesting to Red Nation is the correlation between that and Smith getting an extended look at center minutes in the wake of Sengun’s injury last year.
Ime Udoka led a top-ranked unit with the Boston Celtics in 2021-22 with a defense predicated on switching. Given some of the encouraging results from last season, the idea of Smith occasionally playing center should give Rockets fans some excitement on schemes the team can implement this year. If Smith can bolster his rim protection, Houston may have one of the most formidable defensive lineups in the league.
The last note on Bosh’s time with the Heat that could parallel with Smith is how Bosh was willing to sacrifice for the betterment of the team. Yeah, he may have not preffered to play center, and he probably would have liked to take more shots during the Big Three era, but he did what was needed of him. When the Heat’s Big Three came together, they all knew that some form of sacrifice would be required to make it work. No one took a backseat more than Chris Bosh.
The days of him being a team’s leading scorer would have to be put on pause, but he accepted it gracefully. He wanted to be a champion at the end of the day.
Those similar traits already appear to be in Smith. The guy is just a hooper. He’s passionate about the game and also about winning. He may show a humble demeanor off the court, but he wears his emotions on his sleeve and is willing to fight tooth and nail with and for his teammates.
Just to reiterate, year one was rough. However, year two was promising and full of noticeable improvement. His efficiency was up across the board, he rebounded better, his defense and understanding of the game went up a notch, just overall a much better player. A lot of that can be attributed to confidence. He looked like a much more confident player.
It shouldn’t be a shock to see him make even more progress this year. Training with the likes of Kevin Durant and the national team in the offseason are going to show up in games, it’s just a matter of time. If he keeps developing into what he’s built to become, he will become the fundamental piece that allows the Rockets to click on all cylinders.