MEMPHIS (SportsRadio 610)- During his first three seasons in the NBA, Alperen Sengun knew if he had the ball he could always rely on Jae’Sean Tate to cut to the rim, but on one possession Thursday night in Memphis Sengun called for Tate to cut, but it didn’t happen.
“He’s a shooter now,” Sengun joked after the Rockets beat the Grizzlies 119-115 at FedEx Forum. “Now he doesn’t cut anymore. He waits in the corner, and I find him- he makes the shot.”
Sengun found Tate for three open threes on Thursday night. He missed from the left corner in the first half, only to convert on a pair of right corner triples in the third quarter. The Rockets needed both on their way to improving 25-12 and increasing their lead over the Grizzlies for second place in the West to two games in the loss column.
Tate is six for his last 14 on three-point attempts and he scored 12 points on Thursday.
“I spent a lot of time on that. My teammates trust me to shoot it and continue to shoot it, and hopefully they keep going in,” Tate said.
But Thursday was about a lot more than Tate’s three-point shooting.
Already shorthanded without injured Jabari Smith Jr and Tari Eason, Tate was pressed into duty after Amen Thompson picked up his fourth foul less than three minutes into the third quarter. The Rockets needed Tate to against Grizzlies All-Star Jaren Jackson Jr. and the veteran came through.
“It was good to bring him in and be the third defender on Jackson after Dillon (Brooks) and Amen,” Rockets head coach Ime Udoka said. “Another versatile wing that can guard inside out. Jaren Jackson got his numbers overall, but just 21 (points). I think we did a great job in the second half slowing him down.”
The longest tenured Rocket has had a renaissance of sorts over the last three weeks. After playing sparingly the first 27 games of the season, Tate has played at least 15 minutes in 10 of the last 11 games. An illness kept him out of the 11th game.
“For him to wait his turn and be patient with it until Tari had the injuries and guys were out, banged up a little bit show the professional that he is,” Udoka said.
“He’s been huge, a pro’s pro,” Rockets guard Fred VanVleet said. You gotta give that guy so much credit. He started for us last year, to being out of the rotation.
“We got so many talented guys on the back end of this team with Jeff (Green) and Jock (Landale) and Tate, and guys that can probably play on other teams, but they never hang their heads. They work every day, and he was ready for his opportunity. So just super happy for him that he's able to come in and contribute.”
To a lot of fans Tate is nothing more than an expiring contract who can be used to help land a splashy trade piece before next month’s deadline, but to his teammates he’s far more important.
“Since I came to the team, he’s always been a dog,” Sengun said. “He was always guarding the best player on the other team, so that’s what he is, and that’s what his character is. We love him. He’s a great teammate. He's always been a great teammate to me, especially when I'm down, he always texting me, calling me, he’s a big brother to me. I will always protect him as he does for me.”
There’s no telling when Eason will return from his leg soreness, and Smith is a week removed from fracturing the fourth metacarpal on his left hand, which Udoka called a 4-8 week injury, so Tate is sure to play an important role for the foreseeable future.
“It’s definitely always fun to play, but at the end of the day, we want to win as many games as we can,” Tate said. “We are dealing with a couple injuries right now, and we just have to have that next man up (mentality) until we get our guys back. So, until that happens, I'm ready, and we'll see what happens.”