Houston Rockets: Evaluating the progress of their 6 recent first-round picks

Houston Rockets: Tari Eason

The Rockets selected Tari Eason with the 17th pick in the 2022 Draft. Despite this rather high selection, Eason has been coming off the bench so far, averaging 8.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1.5 steals. He’s hitting 43.5 percent of his field goals and 37.1 percent of his three-point attempts.

Eason is a competitive player who brings energy to the court and does many of the little things well. The season is still young, but Eason is already showing off his scoring ability and defensive potential, as he can get valuable steals.

Getting acclimated to the NBA often takes some time for many rookies, but Eason seems to be getting more comfortable on the court with every game he plays. He scored a career-high of 19 points in the Rockets’ recent loss against the reigning champions.

Warriors’ veteran star Draymond Green said after the game that Eason had the potential to “become somebody in this league.” That is high praise from a four-time champion, and, given his competitive spirit, Eason will continue to do everything in his power to not disappoint Green.

All in all, Eason has given a solid performance for a rookie who averages around 18 minutes on a young, rebuilding team that is still trying to figure out how to play together. In the future, we will surely see more improvements from him.