Hoops Habit
Fansided

Houston Rockets: What Jae’Sean Tate brings to the table

By James Mueller

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 04: Jae'Sean Tate of the Kings in action during the round 14 NBL match between the Sydney Kings and the Adelaide 36ers at Qudos Bank Arena on January 04, 2020 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Evans/Getty Images)
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 04: Jae'Sean Tate of the Kings in action during the round 14 NBL match between the Sydney Kings and the Adelaide 36ers at Qudos Bank Arena on January 04, 2020 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Evans/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 3
Next
Houston Rockets Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images
Houston Rockets Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images /

How does Tate fit with the Houston Rockets?

Despite being only 6’4″, Tate plays much bigger than his size. Tate lives in the paint and his strength and wide frame allow him to be an effective scorer down low, as he made over 70 percent of his shots inside the paint last season in Sydney.

Tate has also proven the ability to run the pick-and-roll, which should help him fit right in with a Rockets offense that has been known to set a lot of on-ball screens during the Harden-era.

Tate also is extremely versatile and can be compared to a guy like PJ Tucker, who can play four different positions on the court. Tate has the speed to be a good on-ball defender on the perimeter while also having enough size and strength to hold himself in the post.

Tate’s versatility and ability to defend multiple different positions is huge for a Rockets defense that has switched on screens more than anybody in the league.

Related Story. 25 best players to play for the Houston Rockets. light

New Rockets head coach Stephen Silas emphasized this in a recent press conference, saying that Tate has been the guy who has stood out the most in Houston’s first few practices. Silas went on and raved about Tate’s ability to play multiple positions on both ends of the floor.

Hoops Habit’s own Lachlan Everett, who is also an NBL journalist, echoed what Silas had to say about Tate’s versatility.

“(Tate) does a little bit of everything. He can shoot it a little bit. He defends really well. He rebounds,” Everett said.

Tate’s relationship with Will Weaver, his coach in Sydney who is now an assistant for the Rockets, will greatly help the 25-year-old in Houston not only because Weaver is a familiar face, but because the system Weaver ran with Tate in Syndey was an analytics-based system similar to Houston under coach Mike D’Antoni and general manager Daryl Morey.

“It’s a perfect fit in Houston because all the Sydney Kings did (under Will Weaver) was layups, free throws, and threes,” Everett said. “They were the perfect analytics team.”

Tate’s versatility on both ends of the floor along with his relationship with Weaver makes him a perfect fit in Houston as a role player who can come off the bench and give the Rockets valuable minutes,

Home/Houston Rockets