<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/rockets-news-jabari-smith-jr-most-improved-player-award-next-season');   ga('set', 'title', 'Rockets’ Jabari Smith Jr. shooting for Most Improved Player award next season');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Jabari_Smith_Jr._shooting_for_NBA_award_next_season.jpg"></figure><h1>Rockets’ Jabari Smith Jr. shooting for Most Improved Player award next season</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2023-08-06T17:20:34-07:00">August 6th, 5:20pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2023-08-06T17:21:39-07:00">August 6th, 5:21pm</time><address><a>Quenton Albertie</a>Quenton Albertie is an author and sportswriter with a focus on the NBA. A native of Fort Hood, TX, Albertie currently lives in Atlanta, GA.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Houston Rockets forward-center <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rockets-news-jabari-smith-jr-playing-2023-nba-summer-league" rel="noopener">Jabari Smith Jr. knows that there</a> will be a lot of eyes on him next season as he looks to bounce back from a rough rookie campaign. A fast riser on draft boards early in his freshman year at Auburn, Smith looked like a shadow of the player he was projected to be last winter.</p><p>No rookie is expected to be perfect, or even consistently dominant. However, Smith underwhelmed with 12.0 points per game on 38.9-30.3-79.4 splits prior to the 2023 All-Star Break. The Georgia native warmed up in the spring though, averaging 15.2 points per game on 46.7 percent shooting from the field in March and April.</p><p>He was even hotter in the summer, averaging 35.5 points per game in the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rockets-news-jabari-smith-jr-stuns-shaedon-sharpe-blazers-with-epic-summer-league-buzzer-beater" rel="noopener">2023 Las Vegas Summer League</a> while shooting 48.8 percent from the floor, playing with even more confidence and decisiveness.</p><p>In light of this, Smith was asked about his personal goals for the upcoming season while making an appearance on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9i-R_uDsKwQ" rel="noopener">The Bradeaux &amp; Will Show</a>.</p><p>“Just be <a href="https://rocketswire.usatoday.com/2023/08/06/jabari-smith-jr-aiming-to-win-nbas-most-improved-player-in-2023-24/" rel="noopener">the most consistent</a>, everyday guy that I can be,” Smith says initially (h/t Ben Dubose of Rockets Wire). “Go into every game with the same mentality. Don’t change. Just impact winning. That’s my biggest thing. Whether it’s averaging 10 points or averaging 20, I just want to affect winning.”</p><p>Smith then reveals his intentions to win the Most Improved Player Award next season, noting that his goals don’t just serve him but the entire team.</p><p>“I definitely want to strive to win Most Improved Player. I’ve been working so hard this summer, why wouldn’t I try to go get that?,” he questions. “If I have that success, I know our team will have that success. Making the playoffs, play-in, or whatever. Just being in the postseason. That’s my goal, ultimately.”</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Rockets’ Jabari Smith Jr. shooting for Most Improved Player award next season

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/rockets-news-jabari-smith-jr-painfully-honest-hardest-position-all-sports');   ga('set', 'title', 'Rockets’ Jabari Smith Jr. gets painfully honest on ‘hardest position’ in all sports');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Jabari_Smith_Jr._gets_painfully_honest_on__hardest_position__in_all_sports.jpg"></figure><h1>Rockets’ Jabari Smith Jr. gets painfully honest on ‘hardest position’ in all sports</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2023-07-17T14:58:39-07:00">July 17th, 2:58pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2023-07-17T14:58:39-07:00">July 17th, 2:58pm</time><address><a>Ryan Bologna</a>Ryan Bologna is an author at ClutchPoints. He studied journalism and communication at UConn.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Jabari Smith Jr. of the Houston Rockets has recently been watching the show called “Quarterback” on Netflix, and got <a href="https://twitter.com/jabarismithjr/status/1681034179113263105" rel="noopener">brutally honest</a> about the difficulty of the position in a tweet he put out reacting to the show.</p><p>“I’m watching quarterback on Netflix… quarterback is definitely the hardest position in ALL of sports. This is crazy 😂” Jabari Smith Jr. wrote on Twitter.</p><p>“Quarterback” gives viewers an inside look of what it is like to be an NFL quarterback, featuring Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs, Kirk Cousins of the Minnesota Vikings and Marcus Mariota, who was on the Atlanta Falcons in 2022.</p><p>Smith Jr. was convinced by the documentary featuring Patrick Mahomes, Kirk Cousins and Marcus Mariota that quarterback is the hardest position in all of sports. However, he pushed back when someone said that cornerback are the hardest positions to play, saying that point guard is <a href="https://twitter.com/jabarismithjr/status/1681040569584238593?s=20" rel="noopener">harder to play</a> than cornerback.</p><p>Smith Jr. is heading into his second season with the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-news-cam-whitmore-summer-league-mvp-awards" rel="noopener">Rockets</a>. His first year was disappointing, but he has a new coach in Ime Udoka taking over for his second season. The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/predictions-cavs-vs-rockets-nba-summer-league-final" rel="noopener">Rockets</a> also brought in veterans like Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks in free agency.</p><p>Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks should be helpful to young players like Smith Jr., Jalen Green and rookies Amen Thompson and Cam Whitmore.</p><p>The Rockets have a lot of young talent, and they could emerge as a playoff contender in the near future if that young talent does develop and mesh well with the veteran players who signed with the team this offseason.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Rockets’ Jabari Smith Jr. gets painfully honest on ‘hardest position’ in all sports

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/rockets-news-houston-makes-jabari-smith-jr-tari-eason-summer-league-decisions');   ga('set', 'title', 'Rockets make key Jabari Smith Jr, Tari Eason NBA Summer League decisions');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Houston-makes-key-Jabari-Smith-Jr-Tari-Eason-NBA-Summer-League-decisions.jpeg"></figure><h1>Rockets make key Jabari Smith Jr, Tari Eason NBA Summer League decisions</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2023-07-10T13:46:39-07:00">July 10th, 1:46pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2023-07-10T13:46:39-07:00">July 10th, 1:46pm</time><address><a>Jesse Cinquini</a>23-year-old aspiring sports journalist. Associate NBA editor at ClutchPoints. Staff Writer at SB Nation's CelticsBlog and The Knicks Wall.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Houston Rockets own a 2-0 record in the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rockets-summer-league-4-brandon-thompson-reactions-vegas-opener" rel="noopener">NBA Summer League so far</a>, largely thanks to the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rockets-news-jabari-smith-jr-playing-2023-nba-summer-league" rel="noopener">play of</a> forwards Jabari Smith Jr. and Tari Eason. They have been two of the top performers of the NBA Summer League so far. Smith averaged 35.5 points, seven rebounds, and four assists per game in the two wins, and Eason averaged 23 points, 9.5 rebounds, and four assists.</p><p>Jabari Smith Jr. and Tari Eason are playing so well, in fact, that the Rockets made a key Summer League decision regarding the two forwards. Both Smith Jr. and Eason are <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPointsApp/status/1678487797408100367?s=20" rel="noopener">likely done playing</a> in the Summer League, per The Athletic’s Kelly Iko.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Jabari Smith Jr. and Tari Eason are likely done playing in Summer League, per <a href="https://twitter.com/KellyIko?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KellyIko</a>. </p><p>Smith averaged 35.5 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists while Eason averaged 23 points, 9.5 rebounds and 4 assists over  the first 2 games. <a href="https://t.co/RM9oAHiaqt">pic.twitter.com/RM9oAHiaqt</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPointsApp/status/1678487797408100367?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 10, 2023</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Jabari Smith Jr., 20, has played one year in the NBA. He averaged 12.8 points per game, 7.2 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.5 steals, 0.9 blocks, 1.3 turnovers, and 2.9 personal fouls per game across 79 appearances as a rookie (all starts).</p><p>The former Auburn star struggled to shoot the ball accurately from behind the three-point arc in the 2022-23 campaign — Smith Jr. shot just 30.7% from behind the three-point arc in his maiden NBA season.</p><p>Meanwhile, Tari Eason, 22, has also played just one year in the NBA. He averaged 9.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 1.2 steals, 0.6 blocks, 1.2 turnovers, and 2.3 personal fouls per game across 82 appearances in the 2022-23 regular season.</p><p>The Rockets pulling both Eason and Smith Jr. from Summer League play seems like the right move. After all, both players showed that they were too good for Summer League. Here’s to hoping that Eason and Smith Jr. continue playing at a high level once the 2024 regular season rolls around.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Rockets make key Jabari Smith Jr, Tari Eason NBA Summer League decisions

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/rockets-news-jabari-smith-jr-appearing-to-trash-talk-james-wiseman-during-monster-game-goes-viral');   ga('set', 'title', 'Rockets’ Jabari Smith Jr. appearing to trash-talk James Wiseman during monster game goes viral');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Rockets-Jabari-Smith-Jr.-James-Wiseman-Pistons-2023-NBA-Summer-League.jpg"></figure><h1>Rockets’ Jabari Smith Jr. appearing to trash-talk James Wiseman during monster game goes viral</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2023-07-10T06:48:28-07:00">July 10th, 6:48am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2023-07-10T06:48:28-07:00">July 10th, 6:48am</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Loves Arsenal and the Los Angeles Clippers, so his loyalty can never be questioned. This guy has been through enough sports trauma for one lifetime -- so he writes about it instead as a form of therapy. (It hasn't worked though. Someday maybe it will -- especially when he's been working for ClutchPoints since August 2022.)</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Jabari Smith Jr. did not have the most seamless of rookie seasons. The Houston Rockets, as a whole, were a mess during the 2022-23 season, winning just 22 games and drawing considerable flak around the league for <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rockets-news-austin-rivers-drops-critical-houston-take-that-jalen-green-wont-like" rel="noopener">lacking the veteran presences</a> needed to help mold their youngsters into winning players. But Smith’s efficiency problems and less-than-ideal shot selection did not help matters at all.</p><p>However, Smith may be primed for a huge sophomore season, if his first two 2023 NBA Summer League performances are any indication. On Sunday night, Smith had his way against the Detroit Pistons — one of the strongest teams in Vegas — torching them for 38 points and dazzling the crowd with his improved offensive arsenal.</p><p>One play stands out in particular during his demolition job of the Pistons. With around eight minutes left in the fourth quarter, Jabari Smith Jr. took on James Wiseman off the dribble near the top of the key. Smith sized up Wiseman with a crossover and proceeded to pull up right in his face as if he wasn’t there. The Rockets forward <a href="https://twitter.com/AC__Hoops/status/1678183405127712769?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1678183405127712769%7Ctwgr%5E894a9a1f1a1c0bd58011016dd6a5ed166b03badc%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fftw.usatoday.com%2F2023%2F07%2Fjabari-smith-summer-league-highlights-rockets-pistons-james-wiseman" rel="noopener">swished the triple</a> then appeared to say that Wiseman <a href="https://ftw.usatoday.com/2023/07/jabari-smith-summer-league-highlights-rockets-pistons-james-wiseman" rel="noopener">“can’t guard him at all</a>” as he was going back on defense.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="hi">Jabari Smith Jr….sheesh <a href="https://t.co/0AAFNc96tg">pic.twitter.com/0AAFNc96tg</a></p><p>— Aram Cannuscio (@AC__Hoops) <a href="https://twitter.com/AC__Hoops/status/1678183405127712769?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 9, 2023</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>James Wiseman was simply barbecue chicken for Jabari Smith Jr. Not only did he cook him from beyond the arc, he also got by him earlier in the game, scoring an incredible acrobatic off-hand layup to draw an and-one on the hapless Pistons defender.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Jabari Smith Jr cooks Wiseman and finishes the reverse with the bump <a href="https://t.co/P2RasPxn3Z">pic.twitter.com/P2RasPxn3Z</a></p><p>— Aram Cannuscio (@AC__Hoops) <a href="https://twitter.com/AC__Hoops/status/1678181804581289985?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 9, 2023</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>So all things considered, it’s not like Jabari Smith Jr.’s taunt towards James Wiseman was unwarranted. Smith was in his bag, which should <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rockets-news-jabari-smith-jr-playing-2023-nba-summer-league" rel="noopener">bode well for his development</a> as one of the long-term cornerstones for a Rockets team that has struggled over the past few seasons.</p><p>All in all, Smith had 38 points, seven rebounds, and six assists on 13-25 shooting from the field, although he did miss seven of his 10 attempts from deep on the night. It’ll be interesting to watch if the Rockets youngster carries over his newfound efficiency from two during Summer League into the regular season, as he should be a much better sniper from three than he showed against the Pistons.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Rockets’ Jabari Smith Jr. appearing to trash-talk James Wiseman during monster game goes viral

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/rockets-news-jabari-smith-jr-playing-2023-nba-summer-league');   ga('set', 'title', 'Jabari Smith Jr’s strong take on why he’s playing in NBA Summer League will fire up Rockets fans');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/rockets-news-jabari-smith-jrs-strong-take-on-why-hes-playing-in-nba-summer-league-will-fire-up-houston-fans.jpg"></figure><h1>Jabari Smith Jr’s strong take on why he’s playing in NBA Summer League will fire up Rockets fans</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2023-07-08T10:02:09-07:00">July 8th, 10:02am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2023-07-08T10:07:59-07:00">July 8th, 10:07am</time><address><a href="https://joeymistretta.wordpress.com">Joey Mistretta</a>Joey Mistretta is a sports writer/editor who covers multiple sports. Notably, Mistretta covers baseball, basketball, and football. He is originally from a small town in Southern California. Mistretta graduated college with a degree in broadcast journalism from Biola University.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Houston Rockets will be one of the more intriguing teams during the 2023-24 season. Houston’s already made a number of impactful roster moves and they are expected to improve moving forward. Jabari Smith Jr may also <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rockets-news-jabari-smith-jr-stuns-shaedon-sharpe-blazers-with-epic-summer-league-buzzer-beater" rel="noopener">be in line for progression</a>, and he <a href="https://twitter.com/JTGatlin/status/1677666124211818497" rel="noopener">recently commented on why</a> he opted to play in the NBA Summer League, per Jackson Gatlin.</p><p>“I’m 20 years old,” Smith said. “Why wouldn’t I play Summer League? We were 22-60 last year…My rookie year wasn’t perfect, so why not get out here and get reps, play with my new teammates and coaches.”</p><h2><b>Jabari Smith Jr’s future remains bright</b></h2><p>Smith, as he stated, did not have the best rookie season. That said, he still displayed signs of potential. He finished the 2022-23 campaign with a 12.8 points per game average. However, he battled low shooting efficiency throughout the year. If he can find the bottom of the net on a more consistent basis, Smith will probably have a breakout 2023-24 performance.</p><p>Smith also helped on the glass and was durable last year, averaging 7.2 rebounds per game and appearing in 79 contests.</p><h2><b>Rockets’ 2023-24 season outlook</b></h2><p>Houston’s young players will continue to improve. Smith Jr’s ceiling is fairly high, and Jalen Green could emerge as a superstar. Meanwhile, the Rockets added established talent in <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rockets-news-jalen-green-fred-vanvleet-first-workout-as-teammates" rel="noopener">veterans like Fred VanVleet</a> and Dillon Brooks.</p><p>This Houston team is not quite ready to compete for a championship just yet, but the future is growing increasingly bright. Fans will also monitor the team’s moves as rumors continues to swirl about a potential James Harden trade.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

2023-24 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
13.7	8.1	1.6	0.8	0.7

2023-24 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
13.7	8.1	1.6	0.8	0.7

Jabari Smith

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Rockets’ Jabari Smith Jr. appearing to trash-talk James Wiseman during monster game goes viral

Jabari Smith Jr’s strong take on why he’s playing in NBA Summer League will fire up Rockets fans

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