Tari Eason spearheaded a Houston Rockets comeback Saturday night that fell just short. The team might not be able to keep him on the bench much longer.
Eason had a career-high 27 points in the Rockets’ 127-121 loss to the Golden State Warriors. He had 10 points and three steals in the fourth quarter alone, including the game-tying free throws at the end of regulation.
The Rockets ran out of gas in the extra period, but the team was 11 points better than the Warriors during Easton’s 35 minutes. It’s not a fluke, either. Eason has been a disruptive defender all season, ranking fifth in the NBA in steals despite coming off the bench. He’s getting 2.2 steals and one block per game while shooting 43.8% from three-point range and 56% overall.
The advanced stats love Eason. He’s second in the NBA in defensive box score plus/minus behind only Chet Holmgren. In overall box score plus/minis, he ranks third behind Nikola Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Plus, he’s endeared himself to Rockets fans because of his open antipathy toward their recent tormentors, the Golden State Warriors.
While the Rockets need to find more playing time for Eason, the biggest impediment is a veteran on a long-term contract who plays his position.
Dillon Brooks is shooting just over 30% from three-point range this season while delivering a total of five assists in six games. Brooks hasn’t been outright bad, but Eason has clearly been better.
Brooks has three years and over $62M left on his contract. Houston may be hesitant to send a veteran to the bench so early in the season, but as Rob Mahoney of The Ringer wrote, it’s going to need to do something to get Eason on the court more.
The Rockets have a ton of young talent, which is a nice problem to have. But if they’re serious about competing this season, they’re going to want as much Tari Eason as possible.