The Houston Rockets shockingly defeated the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday, and it was a statement victory by the rebuilding organization.
On a long-term basis, the Rockets may prefer losses over wins so they can be more firmly in the race for coveted prospect Victor Wembanyama. But being such a young team, they also need victories like what they earned on Sunday to grow and develop.
This was a particularly important game for Rockets rookie Jabari Smith Jr., who stripped and blocked Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo on back-to-back defensive possessions in the third quarter.
Best sequence of the #Rockets season so far. Just watch Jabari Smith Jr. pic.twitter.com/Koe4zT3cW5
— Alykhan Bijani (@Rockets_Insider) December 12, 2022
This game likely served as a massive confidence booster for Smith, who was selected No. 3 overall in the 2022 NBA Draft.
Smith went toe-to-toe against Antetokounmpo for the entirety of the game, defending the Milwaukee superstar for 44.2 partial possessions. That is the second-most possessions any player has guarded Antetokounmpo during the 2022-23 campaign, trailing only PJ Tucker on Nov. 18.
He's called the Locksmith for a reason 😤
📊 3 STL 1 BLK 10 REB pic.twitter.com/2ybGiPY8d4
— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) December 12, 2022
The results for Smith, who is still only 19 years old, were astonishing.
Antetokounmpo was 4-for-13 (30.7 percent) when defended by Smith on Sunday, per PBPStats. Some of his all-around defensive highlights against the six-time All-Star were as good as it gets:
He's called the Locksmith for a reason 😤
📊 3 STL 1 BLK 10 REB pic.twitter.com/2ybGiPY8d4
— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) December 12, 2022
When including data from last season, there are 31 games in which an opponent defended Antetokounmpo for at least 10 attempts from the field. Only two held the two-time NBA MVP to a lower field goal percentage.
Meanwhile, there are 48 games so far this season in which an opponent defended Antetokounmpo for at least 10 possessions. Only three of those defenders have held Antetokounmpo to a lower scoring average (18.1 points per 100 possessions) on those opportunities than Smith did.
Antetokounmpo finished the game on Sunday scoring just 16 points in 36 minutes, which is among his lowest points totals since 2017-18.
Giannis Antetokoumpo only had 16 points in his 36 minutes..
That’s the 2nd time Giannis has been held to 16 or less in that many minutes since the 2017-2018 season.
JABARI SMITH JR. 🔒🔒🔒🔒 pic.twitter.com/0T9OI0zwdm
— Bradeaux (@BradeauxNBA) December 12, 2022
Smith was drafted by the Rockets largely because he is 6-foot-10 and still managed to shoot 42.0 percent on 3-pointers during his freshman season at Auburn.
But his defensive upside is clearly very high as well, and that’s great news for the Rockets, who had the worst defensive rating in the NBA last season.
