The Biggest Surprise of the Season: Houston Rockets Forward Thrives in New Bench Role

Houston Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr. came off the bench for the eleventh time in his career on Sunday night. That appearance happened to end in a disappointing loss to a Denver Nuggets team missing MVP candidate Nikola Jokic. All eleven of Smith’s bench appearances have come since his return from injury after the All-Star break. But how has Smith’s transition to the bench affected his performance? How has it affected the Rockets as a team?

Demoted Rockets Forward Thriving In Bench Role

Smith’s Role On The Rockets Bench

Smith is averaging 13.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.6 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game coming off the bench. That’s compared with 11.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 0.3 steals, and 0.9 blocks over 39 games as a starter. Meanwhile, his minutes have dropped from 31.0 as a starter to 27.7 as a reserve. It’s clear, either from that comparison or just from watching the team play, that Smith is being used as more of an offensive focal point in his new bench role. Indeed his usage rate as a starter was 15.5% whereas his usage rate as a reserve has been 18.3%.

The truth is that Smith hasn’t really been demoted at all, merely reassigned. Someone had to make way for emerging star Amen Thompson in the starting lineup. Alperen Sengun and Jalen Green are the team’s best offensive players. Fred VanVleet is a much-needed steadying influence. Dillon Brooks is exactly the kind of 3-and-D wing that makes a lineup complete. The decision to occasionally start Tari Eason over him as well was more surprising but was possibly done in the interests of acclimatizing Smith to his new role. Or it could be just because Eason is a wrecking ball at both ends of the floor.

The Rockets’ New Lineups

Because of the various absences the Rockets have had lately, the lineup data is a bit of a muddle. Only one lineup has even played in 10 games since the All-Star break. Smith does feature in that lineup. Unsurprisingly though, now as a bench player, Smith doesn’t appear in the Rockets’ most-played five-man unit.

The original starting lineup of Smith with VanVleet, Green, Brooks, and Sengun averaged 13.1 minutes per game over 34 pre-All-Star break games. They played 446 total minutes. Since the All-Star break, Smith’s most played lineup is only the Rockets’ third-most. It has played 51 minutes over five games and has featured Brooks, Green, Sengun, and Thompson. Three of those games were among Smith’s six post-All-Star break starts (during the Rockets’ many other absences). The lineup has a +11.4 net rating. Tellingly, that is significantly lower than the +26.3 one that features Eason in Smith’s place and is otherwise the same.

But if that differential in plus/minus is being used as the sole reason for keeping Smith on the bench, then there’s a problem. The Rockets’ new full-health starting lineup is so far an awkward -27.4 over 54 minutes. That’s the one featuring VanVleet in place of Smith or Eason. VanVleet shot the lights out on Friday night against the Miami Heat (9-11 from three) and then stumbled around in the dark on Sunday night against the Nuggets (1-8 from three, 2-12 from the field). VanVleet’s shooting has been inconsistent all year, but it may stabilize a little as he adjusts to his own return from injury.

Rockets Going Big

Leaving full five-man lineups aside, there is something that can be gleaned from Smith’s new role. With Thompson and Eason both now ahead of Smith in the starting hierarchy, the dedicated reserve Smith has played the most with since the All-Star break is Steven Adams. They’ve played 136 minutes together over 13 games. In that time they’ve produced a healthy +18.5 net rating. A surprising 50 of those minutes have also featured Sengun for a triple big lineup of doom. Before the All-Star break, Smith and Adams only appeared on the court together for a total of 64 minutes.

Helping this jumbo lineup to survive is that Smith’s shooting has shot up to 40% from three over his 11 bench games. That’s compared with the 34.6% he achieved this season as a starter. That could be a total coincidence, as three-point shooting is confoundingly variable. However, being guarded by smaller players may help Smith somewhat from the perimeter.

A concern some observers have had is that Smith can’t just shoot over NBA players the way he could opponents at Auburn. Playing him as a handless small-forward may be a way to resolve that issue, even if it does come with its own set of problems. Smith’s length and activity in the Rockets’ various zone defenses have also been huge positives for the team. His man-to-man defense has never been his strong suit, but he has been a knight in shining armor for the Rockets at the rim this year. In his new bench role, it could be that the Rockets are getting closer to unlocking Smith’s potential.

The Last Word

Essentially, head coach Ime Udoka has been leaning into his instinctive preference for size and making the Rockets play bigger than ever. The result is matchup advantages for Smith who is scoring more despite playing less. The Rockets’ recent (though now expired) nine-game win streak is a testament to the strategy’s success. Whether opponents have been merely caught unaware and will presently adjust remains to be seen. One thing that’s been proven is Smith’s professionalism and commitment to his craft. He’s playing as hard as ever and turned a potential demotion into a brand-new opportunity. Now the Rockets have the opportunity to close out the season as the two-seed and they’ll need Smith’s continued production off the bench to do it.