The Houston Rockets won their Christmas Day clash against the Los Angeles Lakers 119-96. The team’s performance made for quite a present to Rockets fans. The blow-out win wasn’t even necessarily the best part of it, though. The Rockets got two much-needed reinforcements as two players returned from injuries.
Rockets Get Reinforcements For Christmas
The Long-Awaited Debut
One return from injury wasn’t actually a return per se. It was a long-awaited debut, as fans got the first glimpse of Dorian Finney-Smith in a Rockets jersey.
Finney-Smith was a free agency addition meant to shore up the Rockets’ perimeter shooting. His strong defensive reputation also fits nicely with head coach Ime Udoka’s priorities. Given that, the 3-and-D forward seemed like a strong early candidate for Houston’s fifth starting spot.
Finney-Smith played just 13 minutes off the bench in this game, though. He took a single shot – a decently open three – which he missed rather badly. His only other counting stat was a defensive foul on Luka Doncic during a botched double team.
It’s impossible to know how long it will take for Finney-Smith’s role in the rotation to settle. Even fully healthy, his playing style isn’t one that typically draws the eye. Don’t be surprised if his having a thirty-minute-a-night starter role sneaks up on you.
Eason Rocks Out In Rockets Return
The Rockets’ other returning player is never shy to make a strong impression. Six-f00t-eight wrecking ball forward Tari Eason started in his first game back after a 14-game absence. He played 26 minutes. In that time, he scored 13 points, had three rebounds, two assists, and a perfectly in-character four steals and two blocks (to go with a game-leading four fouls).
Eason wasn’t especially efficient. He rarely is. He shot 6-of-14 from the field and 1-of-5 from three. As usual, though, Eason was a jolt of energy for the Rockets. In the past, the strategy has been to reserve that burst to come off the bench. This was just his second start of the season in fourteen games. Perhaps it was decided the jolt was needed earlier due to the Rockets’ lethargic play of late.
A Sixth Man? Maybe Seventh?
Alternatively, the Rockets may feel as though they have a new spark off the bench. Sophomore Reed Sheppard has been occupying that role of late and thriving. Over Sheppard’s last eight games, he’s averaging 13.9 points and 3.4 assists on 40.7% from three. At times, he is legitimately running Houston’s offense for them. The minutes where he does so haven’t looked awful, either.
Eason is a different kind of sixth man: an energy lifter rather than an offensive focal point. If Finney-Smith can return to his 2024-25 form, shooting 39.8% from three with good defense, the Rockets could use both. The main benefit of a bench role for Eason would be hopefully preserving him somewhat, as he’s struggled with frequent injury problems.
The Last Word
The Rockets’ next game will be Saturday night against the Cleveland Cavaliers. It will be their first game back in Houston after a six-game road trip, where the Rockets went 2-4. Notably, three of those losses came against three of the worst teams in the Western Conference. Those are exactly the kinds of games the Rockets could do with an energy booster like Eason for. The Rockets’ whole identity is to out-rebound and outwork you with long, physical forwards. With these reinforcements, they can really force it now.
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