Kevin Durant is already a tough guy to guard even if opponents already studied him on. What more for a guy who is just totally unpredictable? That’s what the Houston Rockets star think of the new guy that coach Ime Udoka suddenly in the starting line up.
Udoka decided to insert Tari Eason in the first five to replace second year guard Reed Sheppard. He explained that it was meant to bring energy in the second unit.
He got more than what he is looking as Eason turned out to be a perfect match with the likes of KD, Alperen Sengun, Amen Thompson, and Jabari Smith.
He adds more dimension to their offense, according to Durant. The two-time champion thinks scouting Eason is going to be hard for opponents.
“(Tari) just finds his way to the basketball. Finds his way into the play. He just makes something happen. He just impacts the game,” he said after their win over the Indiana Pacers.
“You can’t pinpoint exactly how he’s going to impact the game each night, but it’s going to happen. Being unpredictable like that is tough to scout for. You never know if he’s going to make four or five threes, cut to the rim (or) post up.”
Eason started in the last three games, starting in win over Los Angeles Lakers on Christmas day, and they all led to victory. They lost the last two before those with Josh Okogie being the fifth starter.
Ime Udoka says Eason is still adjusting
Eason, who is now on his contract year, was among the options as a fifth starter at the starter when Fred VanVleet went down with a season-ending injury. He was competing against Reed Sheppard and Steven Adams,
However, he suffered an oblique injury that made him miss 14 games. He returned to the line up last week but he is still adjusting according to Udoka and in the next few games, he will get more touches.
“He’s very unique and he impacts the game even if you don’t call plays for him all the time,” the coach said.
“We’re starting to add him to more things, whether he’s a (ball) handler or a screener. He’s going crash the glass at a high level, like a lot of our guys. He’s shooting the ball extremely well, so the spacing is going to be good with him.”
Rockets will be on the road for the next two games to face the Brooklyn Nets and the Dallas Mavericks.
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