Averaged 13+4 per game! The three-point shooting percentage exceeded 50%! The Rockets sharpshooter has emerged, and the 22-year-old forward deserves to be the starter.

Durant, the super shooter introduced by the Rockets in the offseason, shot more than 40% from three-point range last season, and another Lakers shooter Finney Smith is also the top 3D wing in the league. Finney Smith's three-point shooting percentage last season also exceeded 40%. Although the Rockets have lost two major outside threats in Dillon Brooks and Jaylen Green, their three-point shooting ability has obviously increased instead of falling.

Dillon Brooks was the Rockets' leading shooter on the front line last season. However, the Rockets' Durant and Finney Smith can completely replace Dillon Brooks and do better in three-point shooting. The Rockets have two stable shooters in Shepard and Aaron Holiday in the backcourt, and they also have tall shooters like Jabari Smith Jr. in the paint. Last season, Jabari Smith Jr. averaged 35% of his three-point shooting percentage for the Rockets. He is also the Rockets' best space power forward inside.

But now we have seen the evolution of the 22-year-old Jabari Smith Jr.. He fell out of the starting lineup for a time last season, and Smith Jr.'s starting position was replaced by Amen Thompson, a more powerful power forward. But now with VanVleet injured for the season and Jaylen Green and Dillon Brooks being traded away, Smith Jr.'s tactical status in the Rockets has been significantly improved. In the first two preseason games, the Rockets have always regarded Smith Jr. as the starting power forward. He and Shen Jing have been the best choices for the Rockets' starting lineup for the past three years.

Smith Jr. can pull up to the outside to shoot three-pointers, has extremely high maneuverability, and can protect the rim, which can make up for Shen Jing's weak rim protection ability and slow speed; while Shen Jing can score in the low post inside, which can solve Smith's lack of low-post offensive methods.

In the two preseason games, Smith Jr. and Shen Jing revitalized the Rockets' interior. In both games, the Rockets' interior scoring and rebounding were much better than those of the Jazz and Hawks, and Smith Jr.'s statistics in the two preseason games were also quite impressive. According to statistics, the Rockets won both games against the Hawks and Jazz. As the power forward, Jabari Smith Jr. started both games. He averaged 13.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. He made 10 of 19 field goals, with a shooting percentage of 52.63%, and 5 of 9 three-pointers, with a shooting percentage of 55.6%.

So judging from these two preseason games this season, Smith's three-point shooting has completely evolved. Last season, his three-point shooting percentage was only 35%, and he was not a super shooter. Now, judging from the two games, Smith's shooting percentage has soared to 55%, an increase of 20 percentage points from last season, and his overall shooting percentage has also improved.

Smith Jr. is such a tall shooter. His three-point shooting has always been the most needed skill for the Rockets, especially because it can open up space for Capela, Shen Jing and Adams inside. Smith Jr. can work with any center. It is said that the Rockets do not have a very good shooter inside, but now everyone has seen that there is a tall shooter hidden in the Rockets, and he is Jabari Smith Jr.

We also hope that the three-point shooting rate of Jabari Smith Jr. is not a flash in the pan. We also hope that he can shoot a higher three-point shooting rate in the next two preseason games and the longer regular season. Although it is somewhat impossible to continue to shoot more than 50% of the three-point shooting percentage, if Smith Jr. can perform normally, we believe that if he can shoot the same three-point shooting percentage as he did at Auburn University, then Smith Jr. can completely exceed 40% of the three-point shooting percentage in the Rockets next season, becoming another Rockets player with a three-point shooting percentage of more than 40% after Finney Smith and Durant.