Jabari Smith Jr's exciting development reveals the key to his star potential

The Rockets’ young core is already hard at work this offseason with many breakout candidates targeting their weaknesses. The most recent example is Jabari Smith Jr, who was seen developing his ball-handling ability in training clips. Smith has already developed into a solid supporting piece as a shooter and defender, but leveling up his ball-handling could help the Rockets reach a higher ceiling.

Jabari Smith Jr is preparing to take the next leap

Since being drafted 3rd overall in 2022, Smith has steadily improved to become an unquestioned starter on a perennial playoff team. He’s fit into the mold of an elite role player by using his size to be a disruptive defender and progressing his outside shot to respectable levels.

He might be able to improve his shot even further next season with the help of the Rockets’ new hire Chip Engelland, who could have a big impact on the team as a whole. But Smith’s evolution will likely come with more self-creation instead. Last season, nearly 80% of his made field goals were assisted, an extremely high number regardless of role.

Smith can take a bigger jump by creating more unassisted buckets for himself. Not only could improved handles help Smith carve out a bigger role in general and produce more in the stat sheet, but the effect would be most pronounced in the playoffs. Last season, his lack of creation played a role in Houston's disappointing first round exit, as Smith struggled to score consistently unless he was hitting kickout threes.

The Rockets need more creation to come from somewhere

Of course the Rockets won't place the blame for their playoff loss solely on Smith's shoulders. After all, they still have two other All-Star talents besides him in the starting lineup. But Kevin Durant missed most of the playoffs with an injury, which wasn't exactly unexpected at his age, and Alperen Sengun was often left to lead the offense in an unrealistic way.

During their series against the Lakers, the Rockets desperately needed other players to step up and ease Sengun's burden by taking on some creation load. If Smith can develop some more reliable isolation scoring ahead of next season, his contributions in the self-creation department could pay huge dividends for his teammates. Neither Sengun nor Durant are natural playmakers, so they need teammates who can also get their own buckets when needed.

All of the Rockets' youngsters should be working on improvements to help with their creation and scoring ability: physical strength for Reed Sheppard, a jumpshot for Amen Thompson and the aforementioned handles for Smith. Any of those leaps could have a huge impact for the Rockets. Smith knows what he has to do for his part; now it's just a matter of putting in the work and transferring it to the court next season.

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