Training to be more like Kevin Durant might help him in the long-run, but Jabari Smith Jr. isn’t helping this team by focusing on ball-handling.
The Houston Rockets might have a dilemma on their hands with a player in their starting lineup. They’ve built a solid roster with a plethora of players previously selected in the lottery, but I have questions about one of them in particular.
We all hope Amen Thompson can develop an outside shot, and that Reed Sheppard will continue to gain trust and build out a more consistent role. Comparatively, Jabari Smith Jr. doesn’t get much attention at all. What are the hopes or expectations for him this season and beyond?
It seems like he’s in jeopardy of becoming an afterthought, if that’s not already the case. He was drafted third overall, just like Sheppard, and one spot higher than Thompson —— but he’s also the oldest of the bunch. It’s a strange position to be in for someone who was almost drafted first overall by the Orlando Magic.
I believe it’s in his best interest to simply focus on becoming an absolute knockdown shooter. It’s hard to block a 6’11” guy with a 7’1” wingspan. Clean up his shot diet and stop trying to be Kevin Durant with the mid-range fadeaway attempts.
I know he’s expressed how he looks up to KD, but their careers have already have already had very different trajectories. One guy easily beat out Al Horford to win Rookie of the Year in 2008, while the other guy wasn’t even mentioned with the runner-ups, as seen on Basketball-Reference:
He’s a solid NBA player, but I don’t think he should be aiming for stardom right now. He just has to be the best possible role player he can be, and things will work themselves out. Think of Aaron Gordon with the Denver Nuggets, who was originally drafted fourth overall. A high draft pick who became an elevated role player for a championship winning team.
My concern is that Jabari Smith Jr. might be focused on the wrong things, though. In a recent podcast appearance with Chiney Ogwumike, Houston’s forward indicated that dribbling is a major focus for him this offseason, saying, “I feel like ball-handling is the area where I can take the biggest jump,” was definitely a surprise to me.
Sure, maybe it’s just semantics and that’s where he can technically improve the most, but I still don’t understand it being such a heavy focus. I’d like him to be more decisive and secure with the ball, but a lot of that isn’t even ball-handling. Those are issues with his decision making.
If he was relentlessly working on his jumper, it seems like it’d be an easy decision to simply shoot the ball whenever he has the daylight. Unfortunately, I can see a world where we see the same indecision paired with a higher confidence in dribbling can lead to some frustrating plays.
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