Rockets' analyst gives a surprising truth about monstrous lineup's biggest benefactor

As the Houston Rockets deployed their double-big lineup, featuring Alperen Sengun and Steven Adams, for its first extensive run this preseason against the New Orleans Pelicans, there were a number of solid developments that gave fans hope for its continued use and viability this season.

The most important of these, however, was likely Jabari Smith Jr.'s 26-point explosion, and Lachard Binkley, on the most recent episode of his Rocket Fuel podcast, has pointed out why Smith will benefit greatly this season from the use of this monstrous lineup.

With a starting lineup of Sengun, Adams, Smith, Kevin Durant and Amen Thompson, there are few teams that will be able to contend with the Rockets' size, and Smith, at 6'11", could be the secret weapon that makes it all work.

Jabari Smith Jr. could see his stock skyrocket when the Rockets play double-big

When teams are forced to matchup against a lineup with as much sheer size as the one that Houston started last night, it will result in some serious mismatches.

According to Binkley, Smith received the most benefit from this fact as he matched up against the Pelicans' smaller players throughout his minutes: "The biggest benefit for anybody on the court for this huge line-up was Jabari Smith because he was being guarded a lot of times by players like Jordan Poole and smaller guards, and he was really able to take advantage of that inside the paint..."

With Adams, Sengun and Durant on the court, New Orleans was hard-pressed throughout the night to match up to them physically. Although second-year center Yves Missi did a solid job, all of the team's other players with length, including even Saddiq Bey, were kept busy trying to contain the dynamic offense of players like Durant and Thompson.

Therefore, Smith, who averaged just 12.2 points last year, was largely the forgotten man, and he took full advantage of that fact.

Not only did he hunt his mismatches in the paint, driving to the basket and getting multiple easy buckets through those means, he also shot 4-of-10 from beyond the arc, using the spacing and gravity created by Durant's presence to get his own shots off.

While there are still justifiable concerns regarding the amount of spacing (and, by extension, the offensive viability) that the double-big lineup can provide, Smith's performance in its first extensive run is a highly encouraging sign.

Especially with Clint Capela now on the roster, the Rockets could be ready to run their monstrous lineup in order to exploit a number of mismatches this season, and expect Smith to play extensive minutes whenever they decide to go this route.