The Sixers are back in action on their home floor Wednesday night, hosting a young and exciting Houston Rockets team on the second leg of a road back-to-back. Joel Embiid, Paul George and Kyle Lowry will all be in street clothes for a Sixers team that continues to play while undermanned.
Here to get us up to date on all things Rockets is Armin Khansari, who writes for The Dream Shake. Let's talk to Armin:
AA: One of my favorite NBA players to watch this season has been Tari Eason, who is becoming a game-wrecker for the Rockets. Eason has always posted intriguing numbers, but he really seems to be putting it all together in his third NBA season. What has enabled his breakout season in 2024-25?
Armin Khansari: The number one thing has to be health. Eason played in all 82 games as a rookie, so obviously hopes were high going into last season that he would make a leap. After all, Rockets head coach Ime Udoka’s defensive scheme seemed tailor-made for Eason. Unfortunately, he dealt with a shin issue that eventually needed surgery and limited him to only 22 games. And while the stats didn’t look terrible last season, it was clear he was playing well below 100 percent.
That’s not the case this season, as Eason has started getting recognition on the national stage for his tenacity and defense. Along with Amen Thompson (they’ve been dubbed the “Terror Twins” but I’m not sure I love the nickname), he’s made life miserable for opposing guards and wings. Several of Houston’s wins this season have come thanks to the bench, and Eason is unquestionably the leader of that unit. The next step for him is to improve his 3-point shooting. He’s a career 34.6 percent shooter from deep, which certainly isn’t horrific by any means, but if he wants to enter the upper echelon of 3-and-D players, that has to improve.
AA: Sixers forward KJ Martin got his start in Houston, where he spent the first three years of his career on rebuilding Rockets teams. What do you recall about Martin's seasons in Houston as he got his feet wet in the NBA?
AK: It has to be the ridiculous amount of athleticism. There are few players in the NBA more gifted in the air than Martin, and his inclusion in the dunk contest a few years back was well-deserved.
Martin was a bit unlucky to have been on a Houston squad that was in transition. That Rockets squad only had James Harden for a few weeks before he was traded to the Brooklyn Nets and was also working with a new coach in Stephen Silas. However, Houston wasn’t fully committed to the tank yet. Instead, they were trying to ride Christian Wood, Victor Oladipo, and John Wall to relevancy (yes, I can hear your laughter from here). So, there was a bit of a missed connection there early in Martin’s career. I think he could have played really well as a pick-and-roll option with Harden, but it wasn’t to be.
Eventually, Martin did get to play more consistent minutes with Houston and started 49 games in his third season. By then, the Rockets were looking for core pieces moving forward and Martin just didn’t fit the bill. There were some whispers that his father believed he could be producing more on another team, though it’s hard to know how much of that was the talent around Martin and how much of it was the system of former Rockers head coach Stephen Silas that has pretty thoroughly been proven to be…let’s just say, “bad.” I don’t think there are hard feelings towards Martin from Rockets fans. Most probably want to see him play well in every game that he isn’t playing against Houston.
MORE: Martin talks NBA upbringing, first full season with Sixers
AA: Because of their abundance of talented young players, treasure trove of draft picks and obvious desire to compete, many have identified the Rockets as a team that could eventually make an "all-in" trade for a high-profile player. Finish this sentence: if the Rockets consolidate their young core in order to trade for an established star, the one player they absolutely cannot include in the deal is...
AK: Alperen Şengün. I think if you polled Rockets fans, the votes would be split among Şengün, Eason, and Thompson, probably from highest to lowest. For my money, there aren’t many players that can produce at the level that Şengün can at the center position, and most that can aren’t going to be on the trade block anytime soon.
Şengün can also play with any sort of lineup thanks to his vision and newly-improved defense. In years past, the knock on him was that he could anchor an offense, but he would give it all back on the defensive side of the ball. And in fact, he started off this season pretty poorly on both ends and was benched in a loss to the Spurs in which he seemed listless. It’s been all uphill since then, and he’s up to third in defensive win shares and contesting shots at the rim at a much higher rate than last season. No one expects him to win Defensive Player of the Year or ever lead the league in blocks, but it’s nice to see a player get a big contract extension and then show marked improvement in one of their areas of deficiency. His three-point shooting could become a weapon if he can improve it to league-average, but for now he’s Houston’s best player and only 22 years old.
MORE: Can the Sixers keep their 2025 first-round pick?
More Sixers-Rockets information
• Date/Time: Nov. 27, 7:00 p.m. EST
• TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
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