With Boban moving on to play pro basketball in Türkiye, the NBA will be searching for a new “man of the people.”
Boban Marjanović is a large human. He is also one of the kindest humans on the planet. No one has ever heard anyone say anything negative about Boban.
Boban will certainly be missed in the city of Houston for sure. Sadly, the Rockets won’t even be able to give him a tribute video since he will now be playing overseas in Alpren Sengun’s home country of Türkiye.
However, with Boban gone, there is a very crucial role on the Houston Rockets that needs to be filled. Who is gonna win free chicken for the fans on the road?
Well lucky reader, I just so happen to have concocted a top five list of candidates to fill this void for all the free chicken lovers of the NBA landscape. You’re welcome!
5. Jae’Sean Tate
Jae’Sean not only makes this list because he seems like a super nice guy who would purposely miss a free throw on purpose to help fans on the road get some free yardbird, but also because he’s most likely to be on the court late in games that have been determined.
Jae’Sean is gonna compete no matter what, and although I could see Jae’Sean being a piece that is likely to be moved, while he’s a Rocket, he will be aggressive in his minutes and get to the line. Unfortunately, for Rockets fans, and fortunately for fans on the road, Jae’Sean isn’t a sure thing at the line, shooting 66.7 percent from the free-throw line last season and 70 percent for his career. If if I’m a fan of any of the other 29 teams, and my tummy is rumblin’ late in the fourth, I’d be pretty excited to see Tate at the line in hopes he either misses two because he’s not the best free-thrower or because maybe he will find it in his heart to… throw me a bone?
4. Tari Eason
Tari seems to be a man of the people. Very active on his social media, engaging with his followers with live stream videos. Sometimes with ill-advised trolling of a dynasty… but still he’s a very happy and engaging young fellow.
Now does the fact that I know he is the ultimate competitor and wants to rip the heart out of the other team and their fans make me a little nervous to put him on this list? Yes. That’s why I put him on it with the caveat — Tari will not win free chicken for the road crowd on purpose. But if he did miss two in a row, I could see him claiming he missed on purpose.
Tari shot 75 percent from the line two seasons ago, which sadly was among the best on the team. But last season in limited action, he shot 63 percent from the line. I think Tari will see the floor in the fourth quarter in important games for the Rockets, but his inconsistency on the line will make him a good candidate to tingle the tastebuds of NBA goers on the road.
3. Cam Whitmore
I think Cam is a good candidate to see fourth quarter minutes in close games and in blow-outs. If he makes a significant jump in his development offensively and defensively, combined with his athleticism, I don’t know that he’d be closing close games out, but he definitely has a shot at being on the floor near crunch time.
If he doesn’t develop to the level we hope, he could see himself buried in the rotation if not back in the G-League. If that happens, then he will see the floor during garbage time again and is a good candidate to miss two in a row seeing as he shot just 67.9 percent from the line last season. Would he miss on purpose, just to hear the roar of the adoring crowd, saluting their new hero? I don’t see it, but maybe?
2. Amen Thompson
This one’s is a bit of a layup. We all anticipate that Amen will be an important part of the Rockets rotation this season. His his slashing and passing ability, combined with his relentless effort on defense will make it difficult for him to not have him on the floor in the most crucial moments in the fourth quarter.
Because he’s so aggressive at attacking the basket he will no doubt get to the line, where he unfortunately shot 68.4 percent last season. With a true-shooting percentage of only 54.9 percent, it’s no secret that shooting is not Amen’s strong suit.
He is absolutely a candidate to miss back-to-back free throws in the fourth quarter, however, since I do not believe he will be playing when games are blowouts in either direction, I do not see him missing on purpose. He can’t really afford to do that anyway in my humble opinion. Fans on the road will be thrilled to see Amen Thompson shooting free-throws if free chicken is… shall I say, on the line?
1. Alperen Sengun
Let’s face it, we love everything about Alpi’s game, except for when he’s stepped up to the free-throw line in critical situations. As he whispers those sweet nothings to Wilson before each shot, we are all praying he find’s the magic words. Alpi rarely takes free throws that aren’t important, but unfortunately, he’s only a 70 percent shooter. No, 70 percent isn’t horrible. But the reason I am picking Sengun number one isn’t just because of his struggles at the line. In fact, I’m very hopeful that he will be an improved free-throw shooter this year.
I’m picking him because I think he’ll have the most opportunities to shoot free throws in the fourth quarter because, if all things go well, this offense will be running through him and Jalen Green. Although Jalen is not a great free-throw shooter, he is much less likely to miss two in a row at 80 percent for his career.
I think Alpi will he taking lots of crucial free throws in the fourth, and while I’m hopeful he won’t miss back-to-back, it’s happened before. Lastly, I believe with all of my soul that Alpi would miss a second consecutive free throw on purpose in a heartbeat, if a win was firmly in-hand and for all those reasons he is my number one pickin’ to have the road fans finger lickin’!
Conclusion
Okay. If you made it this far into the article. Salute to you. Training camp is just a couple of weeks away. Thank goodness! I look forward to covering this team in what should be a very exciting season with plenty to write and read about. Hopefully, free chicken is the only thing the Rockets are doing to make fans on the road happy on their path to their first playoff birth since 2020.