Life as a perfectionist can be challenging. That’s especially the case when you are fully aware that you will never be perfect if you consistently need to do the same things, repeatedly. Mistakes will be made, no matter how often you try to avoid them.
Many older, big-name entertainers have cited the fact that although they have starred in many movies or have produced multi-platinum records, they believe they have never done a perfect project.
Now, imagine being a 19-year-old teenager during his rookie season in the NBA with the mindset that everything has to be perfect. That’s currently in the mind of Jabari Smith Jr. of the Houston Rockets.
“I feel like when things don’t go your way, you start thinking a lot,” the 6-foot-11 forward said after Wednesday’s practice.
“That can affect your play,” said Smith, who has often struggled with his shot as a rookie. “It wasn’t necessarily the confidence, but just the overthinking. Luc (John Lucas) says I try to be perfect sometimes, so I am not trying to be too hard on myself and keep trusting me.”
“Luc (John Lucas) says I try to be perfect sometimes, so I am not trying to be too hard on myself and keep trusting me,” said Rockets forward Jabari Smith on keeping his confidence up this season. Smith scored a career-high 30 points against the Indiana Pacers on Thursday. pic.twitter.com/BWee94rtGP
— #SARGE (@BigSargeSportz) March 10, 2023
On Thursday, the Rockets found trust in the NBA’s No. 3 overall draft pick from the 2022 first round. In a 134-125 overtime loss at Indiana, Smith finished with a career-high 30 points and came up huge for the Rockets when they needed him at the end of regulation.
Houston trailed Indiana by three points with seven seconds left on the fourth-quarter clock. The original play was designed to get the ball in the hands of Jalen Green, but the Pacers were well aware of whom the Rockets wanted to take the last shot.
With Green unavailable to receive the pass, Smith called for the inbounds pass from teammate Jae’Sean Tate. Once the ball was in his hands, he reached the 3-point line and hit a beautiful turn-around jumper to tie the game. While the Pacers were in position to defend the shot, Smith used his lanky frame to shoot over the top
“When I caught it, I wasn’t in a shooting mindset; I was thinking pass,” Smith said postgame. “I just trusted myself and let it go.”
One final look at @jabarismithjr's big 3⃣ at the end of regulation on the way to a career high 3⃣0⃣ points@HoustonRockets back in action Saturday against the Bulls#Rockets on AT&T SportsNet pic.twitter.com/ejcocLlgq0
— AT&T SportsNet™ SW (@ATTSportsNetSW) March 10, 2023
Even though the Rockets have lost back-to-back games and still own the league’s worst record, Smith is starting to show signs that he is finally learning the intricacies and nuisances of the NBA game. In many ways, it’s similar to the leap Green made after the All-Star break last season. In his last two games, Smith has shot 50% overall and from 3-point range while averaging 22.5 points per game.
Though he’s struggled as a shooter at times this season, scouts expect Smith to develop into an elite NBA shooter over time, just as he was in college. Smith has remained confident on that end of the court.
Going forward, his goal is to become one of the NBA’s best two-way players. As a perfectionist, he takes pride in knowing that it is all coming together for him, especially on the defensive side.
“Just knowing where to be on defense and knowing different rotations,” Smith said about becoming a better all-around player. “A lot of teams run a lot of different sets, but a lot of it is similar. So, just learning different defenses, learning where to be on different rotations. I feel like defense is more than just guarding the ball.”
Career high 3⃣0⃣ points for #Rockets Jabari Smith Jr tonight against the Pacers
Including a 3⃣-pointer to send the game to OT@jabarismithjr met with the media after the game@HoustonRockets pic.twitter.com/NCPGX3MvIv
— AT&T SportsNet™ SW (@ATTSportsNetSW) March 10, 2023
Over his last four games, Smith is averaging 17.0 points (53.3% FG, 47.1% on 3-pointers) and 6.5 rebounds in 33.1 minutes, and the rebuilding Rockets have gone a very respectable 2-2 over that period — with one of the only two losses coming in overtime.
After a brief visit to Indiana, the Rockets return to Houston to begin a six-game homestand on Saturday night against the Chicago Bulls. Tipoff from Toyota Center is set for 7:00 p.m. Central.
