Rockets' Jabari Smith Jr. has quietly taken another needed step forward

As the Houston Rockets have carved out a new identity with Kevin Durant on their roster, every single player has been asked to take a step forward in their game in order to account for the new expectations placed upon them.

Accordingly, Jabari Smith Jr., in his fourth season in the NBA, is making the necessary leap in his game to become the type of complementary scorer they desperately need next to Durant and Alperen Sengun, and, as his high level of performance continues, he will continue to become one of the team's most important players.

According to Sam Vecenie, on the latest episode of the Game Theory Podcast, Smith is finally climbing towards the ceiling that the Rockets saw when they drafted him:

"Jabari Smith has been really excellent this year. He's been the kind of complementary starter that we all anticipated him being."

Sam Vecenie

Jabari Smith Jr. could be the piece that completes this team as a contender

After starting every game in which he played through his first two seasons in the NBA, Smith was ultimately placed into a bench role in the latter half of last season as he returned from injury. He was effective, no doubt, but there were still lingering questions heading into this season as to what his role would be given the Rockets' need for additional 3-point shooting in the starting lineup.

Yet, the injuries to Fred VanVleet and Dorian Finney-Smith ultimately negated any debate, and, so far, Smith has proven that there never should have been any in the first place.

Through Houston's first 12 games, Smith is averaging 14.5 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists while shooting 45.7% from the field. On paper, these are not flashy numbers, but, on a team where both Sengun and Durant command a number of isolation touches, this is exactly what's needed from Jabari.

He's shooting 37.3% from 3-point range, meaning that he is capable of providing additional spacing when he's on the floor, and his mid-range shot, although still relatively inconsistent, is coming along nicely. Compared to a season ago, it seems as though his confidence has increased exponentially.

At 6'11", Smith not only presents extra size and interior defense for Houston, but his ability to take over a role as a tertiary scorer behind Durant and Sengun, which he has done excellently so far this season, is one of the many things that will determine this team's ceiling.

When their two stars go cold, who is capable of stepping up in their absence? Or, we can rephrase the question differently.

Who is capable of stopping a near 7-footer when he is at the height of his three-level scoring abilities? When the opposing defense's attention is tied so heavily to Durant and Sengun?

Smith's improvement this season has been fun to watch, and it could be one of the final developments that puts everything into place for this Rockets team if it continues.