Tari Eason has taken the court like a man possessed through his first three seasons in the NBA. The man plays with heart and has a relentless motor. His hustle is quite literally like none other. The only
issue has been his availability, or lack thereof. Which is a big issue. Let’s not downplay that. As the old adage goes, the biggest ability is availability. Or something like that. But seriously, the 24-year-old Eason has missed 85 games in the last two seasons combined. Yikes. Eason is in a contract year, however, and players tend to remain healthy when vying for a new deal. Bones tend to remain intact, as do joints and ligaments alike. Call it added motivation. But it’s not like Eason hasn’t played a full 82-game season before. It’s just been awhile. Two years, to be exact, dating back to his rookie season. And he was absolutely sensational that year, ranking second on the team in offensive rebounds (2.4), despite playing just 21.5 minutes per night, while also averaging 9.3 points and 6 boards. Okay, back to the added motivation now. Eason will have a ton of that. Houston’s brass appears primed to allow him to hit restricted free agency — an action that would go against their standard operating procedure. They didn’t do that to Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun, or Jabari Smith Jr. All of them landed rookie-scale extensions when they first became eligible. Houston did the same to Kevin Porter Jr., who they had a litany of issues with. Eason was also omitted from ESPN’s Top 100 list, which he admitted bothered him, during Houston’s Media Day. “I believe I’m a top 100 player in the NBA. I think my numbers speak for that. I think the things and the numbers I’ve put up in the minutes that I’ve shown that I’m a top 100 player.” Eason could be the first wing off the bench for the Rockets this season, especially while Dorian Finney-Smith recovers from his lower leg injury. DFS has actually been bothered by this same injury for several seasons now, which could prompt the Rockets to load manage him throughout the season. Which would mean more opportunities for Eason. (If he’s healthy). Last season, Eason averaged 12 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and nearly 3 stocks per contest. His shooting took a dip, from 36 percent from three to 34.2 percent from deep, however, his attempts increased from 2.3 to 3.2. It went back up in the Rockets’ postseason series against the Golden State Warriors, to the tune of 36.8 percent on 2.7 attempts. Eason could immensely help the Rockets in this department, as they ranked 22nd in three-point field goals and 21st in three-point percentage, yet failed to add surefire snipers over the summer, in spite of all of their summer acquisitions. Eason’s minutes have increased year-over-year in every season of his career and I’d bank on that trend to continue again. There’s been speculation that Houston could use Eason as a trade asset to land a replacement for the injured Fred VanVleet, however, that would be ill-advised. The Rockets need Eason’s 3-and-D skillset. We also shouldn’t ignore Kevin Durant’s injury history. He missed 20 games in 2024-25. and it’s not like that was an outlier. Durant missed 37 games in 2020-21, 27 games in 2021-22, and 35 games in 2022-23. Again, more opportunities for Eason.
