Jabari

Smith Jr.

Outside Amen Thompson, none of the Rockets shot particularly well in Saturday’s NBA Cup semifinal, as they made just 36.5% of their looks on the night. Smith didn’t have the best night, but the production in other categories was solid. Over the past two weeks, only two Rockets have provided top 100 per-game value in 9-cat formats: Smith and Alperen Sengun. Smith remains a late-round player in terms of value, but he’s recently made modest steps in the right direction. Houston plays two games in Week 8, beginning with New Orleans on Thursday.

Sengun lands on the injury report for Wednesday’s game, and that’s also the case for backup Steven Adams. With Fred VanVleet (knee) active, Sengun sitting could push Jabari Smith Jr. to the center position. Being the lone big on the floor may boost Smith’s fantasy value.

While his season-long fantasy value hasn’t been great, Smith has shown signs of progress recently. Over the last two weeks, he’s been a 7th-round player in 9-cat formats. Improved percentages and increased defensive production have been factors, with Smith averaging 1.6 blocks while shooting 50% from the field and 91.7% from the foul line. His opportunities to serve as an offensive focal point will be limited, which makes Smith’s efficiency and defensive production more important concerning his fantasy value.

Smith is struggling with his shot, making 41.9% of his attempts from the field. He still appears to be struggling to figure out where he fits in Houston’s offensive attack, and the third-year forward has the lowest usage of the five starters. Smith isn’t a player who should be dropped in fantasy leagues, but fantasy managers need three-block nights like Saturday to become the norm to counter the limited offensive value.

Smith Jr. struggled in his last two games with four and 10 points, but was able to put that behind him as he cruised to 23 points as the Rockets beat the Pacers by 17. He was +19 in 30 minutes, made 3-of-5 attempts from behind the 3-point line as well as all four of his free throw attempts. Smith Jr. has been inconsistent and will need to string together more performances like this if he’s going to have a good season in fantasy.

Two games ago, it seemed like Smith had figured something out. It had been a disappointing start to the year, but he had a 28-point double-double with five 3-pointers. On Sunday, he only played 24 minutes in a blowout win, but he struggled in hist 25 minutes in this game. His numbers are down across the board from last season, as are his shooting percentages. Smith has the makings of great 9-cat player, but he simply hasn’t been good this season, and the emergence of Tari Eason isn’t encouraging for his value moving forward.

Simply put, Smith has not been good to start this season. This performance raised his field goal percentage to 41.5% and his 3-point percentage to 29.7%. This was only his second double-double of the season and his second 20-point game of the year. This was a new season-high for points and steals, and he tied his season-high for triples. This is the type of player that they need him to be, and the player that fantasy managers were hoping for when they drafted him. He’ll look to keep this going in Chicago on Sunday.

Ime Udoka said that Adams will still be limited to five minute stints, which allowed him to play 14 and 10 minutes in his two other appearances this season. He’ll be back in the lineup after missing their last game, but he won’t have much of a fantasy impact, aside from limiting Jabari Smith Jr.'s minutes at center.

Thirteen of Smith’s 18 shot attempts came from beyond the arc, with the third-year forward knocking down a season-high five. Having made two or fewer 3-pointers in his first five games, Smith entered Saturday shooting 28.6%. Given his role within the offense, the 3-point accuracy has a noticeable impact on Smith’s fantasy value.

After accounting for just eight points and five rebounds in Houston’s season-opening loss to Charlotte, Smith was far more impactful on Friday. He led all players with 16 rebounds, and fantasy managers will undoubtedly take the assist and blocked shot production. The key for Smith is consistency, which was sometimes tricky last season. When you’re effectively fourth in the pecking order on offense, the key is to provide value in other areas. Smith did that on Friday.