Beijing time on July 10, the Rockets defeated the Thunder 90-88. This summer league was the first meeting between No. 2 pick Chet Holmgren and No. 3 pick Jabari Smith Jr. Smith Jr. faced off against No. 1 pick Benqueiro. When he was completely defeated, he needed a game to prove himself. After all, he was the No. 1 pick before the draft. As a result, everyone also saw that Smith Jr. used his rough skills to continuously prove that the Magic and Thunder made the right choice, and the Rockets were miserably trapped.
In the first game against Banqueiro, Jabari Smith Jr. made 4 of 10 shots and 1 of 4 three-pointers. He only scored 10 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal, shooting 40% from the field and 25% from the three-point range; Cairo made 5 of 12 shots, 2 of 3 three-pointers, and scored 17 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, 1 steal, and 2 blocks, completely destroying him. Who would have thought that Jabari Smith Jr. would also be extremely hip-stretched when facing Holmgren.
This game should have given Smith Jr. unlimited firepower. In the first quarter, he took 6 crazy shots and only hit one goal, and was missed by Holmgren under the basket. In the second quarter, Smith made one of his five shots and scored only 5 points on 2 of 11 shots in the first half. Although Holmgren did not score more than 6 points, he made 2 of 5 and had 3 blocks.
In the third quarter, Smith Jr. made another 5 shots and hit 1 goal. He made 3 of 16 in the three quarters, 1 of 8 three-pointers, scored 7 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals and 2 blocks. There was a little improvement on the defensive end in this quarter, which was the offense. The means were too poor, and none of the technical moves were in place.
Smith blocked one of Dieng's shots in the final quarter, but was blocked by Holmgren. Smith also reached double figures after hitting the second three-pointer. He stopped the ball and pulled up one, but was blocked by Jaylen . One, Smith made 5 of 19 in the game, 2 of 9 three-pointers, scored 12 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals and 3 blocks, shooting 26.3% from the field and 22.2% from the three-point range.
As a starting fifth pick, Smith's efficiency is so low. He used to want to prove that he had the talent to be the No. 1 pick. Now he should prove that he can be the No. 3 pick. No. 4 pick Keegan Murray is much better than him. (Averaging 20 points and 8 rebounds per game in four games, shooting 51% from the field + 40% from the three-point range).
text/Yan Xiaobai’s basketball dream
