For a young player with some confounding tendencies, it’s quite comforting to pop open the hood and see that everything checks out for Tari Eason.
For the third straight season to begin his career, the Houston Rockets are much better when Eason is on the court. And he’s covered his bases, improving a bad team in 2023, a mediocre team (albeit in just 480 minutes) in 2024, and a good team here in 2025. Better yet, the Rockets improve exactly where you’d expect them to, given Eason’s play-style.
In each of the soon-to-be-24-year-old’s first three seasons, the Rockets…
- take more shots directly at the rim
- shoot more free-throws
- grab (far) more offensive rebounds
- force more turnovers
- and thus, initiate transition offense more often
…when Eason is on the court, vs. when he sits (per Cleaning the Glass).
It’s turned out be quite the marriage between team and player. On a team full of quick, long-armed athletes who struggle to shoot the 3-pointer, Eason helps the Rockets play the way they need to play. Throughout Swish Theory’s installments of Finding a Role, including my earlier introduction of this season’s crop of players, Eason may be the closest to having found a role.
Alas, some brake-pumping is required. It’ll be tough to gauge his individual offense in such a unique(-ly congested) offensive environment in these upcoming playoffs, but we should still learn much about Eason’s viability in the half-court. Despite an uninspiring 3-point shooting profile for an off-ball wing (34.6% on 5.3 largely stationary catch-and-shoot attempts per 100 possessions), there are long stretches of off-ball production.
He applies earnest pressure on the rim in his off-ball role, often turning his many cuts into offensive rebounds. Pairing quite well with Alperen Şengün’s work around the blocks and elbows, Eason is timing his movement and recognizes gaps in the defense better than ever before. The first put-back here is an absolute beauty:
His offensive rebounding game blends with his cutting in Houston’s offense. If, say, Şengün or Dillon Brooks miss him roaming the baseline, then Eason ends up on the block, in prime position to put back one of the many mid-range shots the Rockets take.
Thus, Eason is a more willing outside shooter than the raw volume suggests. He doesn’t pass up a ton of open catch-and-shoot threes, even above-the-break; in fact, he’d probably be taking eight or nine 3PA’s per 100 if he wasn’t one of the league’s more active cutters/rebounders from the wing, despite a slow release.
The bigger road-block to half-court versatility (Synergy Sports has Eason has a 22nd percentile scorer in spot-up situations) is what happens when he gets downhill. This strong, rangy Rocket has some athletic deficiencies, believe it or not. A lack of vertical athleticism and flexibility/balance often pop up on his drives. In other words, if Eason has to avoid a defender in mid-air — say on an up-and-under move — he’s likely missing that look:
Eason’s drives finish more smoothly when he gets to two feet, true of most players.
And in fairness, it seems as if he’s made a concerted effort to slow down in the lane, getting to two feet more often. After shooting 56.1% at the rim over his first two seasons, he’s at 63.9% in 2025, much more appropriate for his 6’8″, plus-wingspan frame (Cleaning the Glass).
But as I noted in Eason’s introduction, his passing is likely the key to upping his value, especially in a different team context than Houston’s. His passing numbers still resemble the head-down play-finisher he is, but the flashes don’t. This is particularly true in transition, where Eason is a threat to grab, go, and make a high-value read. In the half-court, there are more tunnel-vision moments, but still plays that resemble his transition game.
It’s not that Eason can’t make the reads. Partially evidenced by his off-ball activity, he understands pressure points and rotations, particularly in advantage situations. It’s when he’s pressed for time — attacking a crowded paint instead of dribbling the ball end-to-end — that his decision-making wavers.
Per Synergy, Eason has only attempted a dozen shots as the screener in pick-and-roll situations this season. The Rockets don’t have a ton of guards defenses need to double, but at some point, hopefully soon, he gets some opportunities in the short-roll. Blessing him with some 4-on-3 situations and more familiar floor balance than dribble-drives should provide some insight as to his play-making ceiling.
Thanks to the NBA’s publicly available tracking data, we know Eason averages 8.4 potential assists + hockey assists per 100 touches, in line with fellow off-ball wings Kelly Oubre and Dorian Finney-Smith, but higher than teammates Jabari Smith Jr. and Cam Whitmore. (For reference, Royce O’Neale, one of the NBA’s great off-ball passers, is averaging north of 20 potential assists + hockey assists per 100 touches.)
If you were completely unfamiliar with Tari Eason prior to this article, and, after reading about his offense, you now had to speculate how he plays defense … I think you could do it.
He creates chaos, with a insane combined steal + block rate a hair under 6% — to be clear, that means nearly 6% of all possessions end with him stealing the ball or blocking a shot:
Of course, Eason is prone to a high foul-rate and some overly risky moments, as with any gambler of his caliber. This is mostly fine with Houston, perpetually eager to get out in transition and avoid running their often stagnant half-court offense.
Still, experience is getting to Eason. There are plays driven by recognition and understanding that he would not have made over his first two seasons. Here, Jayson Tatum uses double-drags, with Eason’s man setting the first screen:
Eason initially switches his assignment, readying for Tatum to turn the corner, only to step back up and offer a strong contest, though Tatum makes the pull-up three anyway.
Though the Rockets are experimenting with Eason’s matchups, he seems more comfortable guarding up than down. His screen-navigation, though occasionally solid, leaves something to be desired…
…and his penchant for poking at the ball can leave him vulnerable to smaller, quicker players blowing right by him.
Conversely, Eason is comfortably boxing out bigger players down low, and even attacking ball-handlers in 2-on-1 situations. Not only can he switch onto opponents, but thanks to his improved awareness and anticipation skills, we could see some drop coverage in his future, similar to Dorian Finney-Smith moonlighting as a micro-ball 5 throughout his career.
Like the Houston Rockets as a whole, Eason’s playoff fortunes could depend largely on matchup. Teams with such limited outside shooting can’t survive any random opponent, just like modern wings. But Eason is truly finding a role, and he helps make the Rockets who they are.
Thanks to his constant pressure on both sides the ball, Tari Eason is going to force his way onto the court come late-April. How that goes, though, is anybody’s guess.
Tags:
Related Podcasts
Related Articles
