But there are hopes the 22-year-old can be even more.
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In Tuesday’s win over Toronto, which returned Houston (40-24) to the No. 3 spot in the Western Conference standings, Smith finished with an efficient 23 points while hitting 8 of 14 shots (57.1%) and 3 of 7 from 3-point range (42.9%). Only All-Star Kevin Durant had more points for the Rockets.
“When it’s aggressive, we’re a different team,” head coach Ime Udoka said after the game. “Amen (Thompson), Alperen (Sengun) and Kevin are going to have the best defenders, usually, so we want him or Reed (Sheppard) or Tari (Eason), whoever, to dominate those matchups.”
Udoka noted that Smith also had “some good drives.” After criticizing his team’s apparent lack of physicality in Sunday’s loss in San Antonio, it was a much different story against the Raptors.
“It wasn’t just our defensive physicality, it was also the attack,” Udoka said.
As Smith explained, aggression means “making the right play” and “not just looking to score.” But if defenders devote resources to Houston’s All-Star duo of Durant and Sengun, that often leaves scoring opportunities elsewhere.
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“He’s just another threat on the court,” Smith said. “We can attack that mismatch. They usually put weaker defenders on me and I think that opens the floor. The ball explodes more, and I think when I’m aggressive, the floor is open for guys like Alpi and KD. They have open shots.”
“It’s just a completely different look when everyone is aggressive.”
Looking ahead, with 18 games left in the 2025-26 regular season, the question is whether the Rockets will be able to take that approach more consistently. That starts Wednesday night in Denver (39-26), where the Rockets will play the second night of a back-to-back split.
Kickoff is at 9:00 pm central time, and the game will be televised and broadcast regionally on the Space City Home Network and nationally on ESPN.
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“Just being the same team every night.” Smith said of Houston’s approach down the stretch of the season. “If we’re physical like we were tonight, if we fly like we were tonight, I think everything else comes into play.”
Further: Rockets 113, Raptors 99: Kevin Durant leads 40th victory with maximum efficiency
This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: Ime Udoka: Rockets are a ‘different team’ with aggressive Jabari Smith Jr.