While the injury to Fred VanVleet has been rightfully in the preseason headlines, there are some more under the radar injuries the Houston Rockets are dealing with, including the longest-tenured Rocket, the 6-foot 4-inch combo forward out of Ohio State, Jae’Sean Tate.
Jae’Sean has dealt with injuries often during his Rockets career, but when he’s been available, he has been a model of consistency. You know what you’re going to get from Jae’Sean Tate. Ime Udoka will not ever have to bench Tate for
not giving consistent effort, you will never see Tate complaining about not getting playing time. He had the opportunity to leave the Rockets in free agency but decided he wanted to see the journey through to it’s completion, which he hopes, along with the rest of us, will culminate in an NBA championship. He is the ultimate “Ime Udoka Guy”.
Jae’Sean’s career production looks very close to one of the newest Rockets, Josh Okogie. Averaging 8.3 points-per-game, 2.3 rebounds, shooting 47.3 percent from the field including 34.8 percent from the three-point line. Similar to Okogie, his defense is his superpower so there is always a chance he is going to find his way onto the court. The depth of the team likely means that Tate will again be the captain of the “Stay Ready Crew”, and Rockets fans couldn’t ask for a better player to be in that position for the price that Tate commands.
The key to Tate being a contributor to the Rockets aspiration of a championship, as always, is going to depend on his health. If he can stay healthy, then he will have opportunities. Kevin Durant hasn’t played 82 games in a season since 2010. Inevitably, there will be other injuries that open up minutes for Tate and that’s why having him on the roster is such a luxury. So, if you happen to be reading this Jae’Sean… take your vitamins, drink your protein shakes, and stretch a lot… maybe some Pilates? Stay ready young man, we got a trophy to win!
