After an on-court altercation with Utah Jazz guard Kris Dunn on Saturday, Houston Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr. was suspended for one game.
The scuffle occurred early in the second quarter after the two got physical at the top of the key as the Rockets brought the ball up the court. Dunn threw the first punch aimed at Smith and Smith returned with one of his own, though neither of their punches landed. After teammates and officials broke up the fight, both players were ejected.
Smith Jr. will miss the Rockets' game against the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night, and his head coach Ime Udoka had a message for him, per Adam Spolane of Sports Radio 610:
“Rockets head coach Ime Udoka on Jabari Smith Jr.'s 1-game suspension for throwing a punch at Kris Dunn: ‘If a guy grabs you, you're gonna react, but the throwing punches is the thing, so he'll learn from that. If you're not gonna land the punch you might as well not throw it.'”
This is a bit of a convoluted way by the Rockets coach of saying “don't throw punches unless things get heavy.” Ultimately, that's the difference between a technical foul or even no punishment and a suspension.
Udoka is likely okay with his players playing scrappy basketball or even getting under opponents' skin. The Rockets, after all, feature one of the best villains in the current NBA in Dillon Brooks. But the line needs to be drawn where actions end up hurting your team.
Jabari Smith Jr's season for the Rockets
Smith, a second-year player out of Auburn, is averaging 13.3 points and 8.5 rebounds per game for the Rockets. Houston currently sit in 11th place in the Western Conference at 35-35 and are fighting for a spot in the play-in tournament. Having a key starter out will make that quest more difficult during a time when every game counts, even one against a struggling Trail Blazers team.
After what Smith considered a “learning” rookie season, in which he averaged 12.8 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, the 2022 NBA All-Rookie Second Team selection was looking to build on the momentum he enjoyed over his last 20 games. During that stretch, Smith shot 47.2% overall and 36.5% on 3-pointers.
This offseason, Smith has trained with the likes of future Hall of Famer Kevin Durant — now with the Phoenix Suns — and Smith is hopeful that it will help his personal growth. On paper, the lanky forwards have some physical similarities between a clear height advantage and a skillset to quickly shoot over smaller opponents.
While Smith was projected to be an automatic bucket when he joined the Rockets from Auburn, it hasn't quite worked out that way yet. But he continues to build his game under Udoka's tutelage.
Now, if only Smith Jr. can learn to decide when and when not to throw punches in an altercation, Udoka will feel a whole lot better.
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