Rockets ready to face improved Wembanyama on Tuesday

HOUSTON (SportsRadio 610) - Jabari Smith Sr. was on the opposite sideline the night LeBron James made his NBA debut.

He watched as the greatest player of his generation put up 25 points, 6 rebounds, and 9 assists in 43 minutes against his Sacramento Kings.

Two decades later, his son has a similar view as another generational star, Victor Wembanyama, begins his ascent in the NBA.

"Something I'll be able to tell my kids about," the Rockets forward said Monday. "Playing against him when he first got in the league and just seeing the progression of him and all the competing against him."

Smith and the Rockets will take on Wembanyama for the third time this season when the San Antonio Spurs visit Toyota Center on Tuesday night. The first pick of June's draft averaged 18 points, 15 rebounds, and 4 blocks against the Rockets earlier this season, but it's been almost three months since they saw him last, and Smith says he's seen growth from the Frenchman.

"Just him learning the game, I feel like he's naturally going to get better. I'm sure he's definitely improved, the game's definitely slowed down for him, so he's definitely going to be a different player, better player."

Wembanyama's season averages stood at 18.8 points, on 43 percent shooting, 10.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 2.8 blocks after facing the Rockets on December 11. In 34 games since, his shooting percentage has increased to 49.5 percent, and he's averaging 22.2 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3.7 blocks per game.

"He's really initiating offense," Rockets head coach Ime Udoka said. "They're running a lot more through him. I think they've experimented with different guys at the point at times this year, (Jeremy) Sochan early, back to (Tre) Jones, and now they're going through him a lot more, so he's receiving a lot more screens and his passing has been off the charts.

"The main thing you see is him rebounding, handling, pushing the break a lot more and then receiving screens. They're using him in different actions as the initiator."

Even with Wembanyama, the Spurs will enter Tuesday's game 13-48 this season, last in the Western Conference. They are getting outscored by 7.8 points per 100 possessions, but that number climbs to 12 points when he's off the floor and it drops when to 4.8 when he's on.

The biggest impact Wembanyama has is on the defensive end of the floor, where the Spurs defensive rating is 8 points lower when he's playing, and the Rockets have managed to score just 93.5 points per 100 possessions when the 7-foot-5 center is out there and 111.8 when he's not.

"He's obviously one of the elite rim protectors just due to his size and athleticism," Udoka said. "I think he's averaging five blocks a game since All-Star Break. Most young guys grow throughout the season, and he's taken another big jump."