3 Rockets who could slip into an All-Rookie team selection this year

Tari Eason

If you're a Tari Eason truther, you always knew he would contribute like this on both ends immediately. But, if you didn't know much about him pre-draft, you are probably shocked by how good he is already.

He has massive baseball gloves for hands and they're extremely quick and strong. He routinely knocks balls loose from ball handlers, aggressive in passing lanes, and underrated as a help defender and weak side shot blocker.

He's flashed transition scoring off of his defensive playmaking, and a eventual reliable jumper. Fans would argue he's been the most consistently positive rookie, maybe even overall player, regardless of age, on the team. He's been that impactful

According to Cleaning the Glass metrics, Tari Eason's defensive statistical profile is nothing short of stunning.

He registered a steal percentage of 2.2 percent, which would rank in the 98th percentile amongst forwards league-wide. To put that into context, according to Cleaning the Glass' definition, for every 100 defensive plays against Tari Eason, he stole the ball approximately 2.2 times. That's elite.

Rounding out the metrics from Cleaning the Glass, Tari ranks in the 95th percentile in block percentage, #1 overall in Offensive rebounding percentage amongst forwards, 93 percent in offensive rebounding rate, and 86th percentile in overall on/off rating.

The Rockets' best lineup features Tari Eason in it, and it is producing at a crazy rate. A lineup of Kevin Porter Jr, Jalen Green, KJ Martin, Tari Eason, and Alperen Sengun has an overall differential rating of +30.3. That would rank in the 97th percentile (134 possessions).

Its evident that when Tari is in the game and has ample playing time, he impacts the game at a high level and is probably already one of the more dynamic players when it comes to making winning plays.