Kevin Porter Jr. #3 high fives Jae’Sean Tate #8 of the Houston Rockets during the second half against the Boston Celtics (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
Goals for the Houston Rockets young core: Kevin Porter Jr.
Kevin Porter Jr. was traded to the Houston Rockets last year and immediately blossomed into a young star. He’s looked great throughout his time in H-Town and will likely be a part of their future core.
One of the main draws to his game is his passing abilities. However, so far this season, he’s only putting up 5.0 assists per game, when last year, he averaged over six.
Now, his assist totals this year are still good enough to lead the team, but he has plenty of room to improve. In addition, he’s actually averaging 12.7 potential assists per game, alongside an assist percentage of 29.4.
These numbers are actually great, but it would be nice to see those assist totals take another jump. Porter Jr. is doing everything right in the passing game, but continuing that improvement will be key.
Goal: Continue to improve as a playmaker
Goals for the Houston Rockets young core: Jae’Sean Tate
Jae’Sean Tate was one of the biggest surprises for the Houston Rockets last year. He burst onto the scene as an undrafted free agent and played some big-time minutes for them.
This season, his minutes are down a bit, but he’s still playing a big role for the team. However, the one area where he needs to improve is his three-point shooting.
Tate projects to be a solid 3&D player in the league, but he needs to improve upon the shooting part. The defense is already there, now he just has to become a reliable three-point shooter.
He’s shooting a measly 18.8% from deep this season, a number which is well below league average. If he wants to be respected as a shooter, he needs to get that up to at least 30%.
Goal: Improve his three-point shooting
Houston Rockets</a> are not going to sniff the playoffs this year. Based on how they have played to start the season, that much can be assumed.</p>
<p>Most people could have guessed this before the season even started, but that doesn’t mean that there’s nothing to look forward to. This is a fun, young team that has plenty of room to grow.</p>
<p>After the 2021 NBA Draft, a lot of fans pegged the Rockets as the winners of the night. Even past that, though, they have some great young talent who could be ready to take that next leap.</p>
<p>What should the Houston Rockets be expecting out of their young guys this year? What’s one goal for some of the top young players on their roster?</p>
<p>Players left out of this list include Josh Christopher, Kenyon Martin Jr., and Armoni Brooks. The reason behind that is because the main goal for each of them should be to improve as three-point shooters and become more consistent from that range.</p>
<h2>Goals for the Houston Rockets young core: Jalen Green</h2>
<p>Jalen Green was <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/11/02/houston-rockets-goals-young-core/2/"http://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/24/houston-rockets-nba-draft-mobley-green/">Houston’s top pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.</a> They took him second overall and have high hopes for him moving forward, as he’ll likely be their franchise player.</p>
<p>So far this year, Green hasn’t gotten off to the hottest of starts. His shooting splits are pretty ugly, despite the fact that he’s putting up a decent amount of points.</p>
<p>His goal for this season should be to turn things around on that front. Green’s goal is to try to at least average respectable shooting splits for a rookie, which is likely around 40 percent from the field and 32% from deep.</p>
<p>Green has plenty of time to turn things around in this regard. That’s the main thing he should be working on throughout the course of this season.</p>
<p><strong>Goal: Improve his shooting efficiency</strong></p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/11/02/houston-rockets-goals-young-core/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Kevin Porter Jr. and Jae'Sean Tate </a>
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<img class="size-full wp-image-437408" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/11/02/houston-rockets-goals-young-core/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2021%2F11%2F1348814182.jpeg" alt="Houston Rockets" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2021/11/1348814182.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2021/11/1348814182-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">Kevin Porter Jr. #3 high fives Jae’Sean Tate #8 of the Houston Rockets during the second half against the Boston Celtics (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>Goals for the Houston Rockets young core: Kevin Porter Jr.</h2>
<p>Kevin Porter Jr. was traded to the Houston Rockets last year and immediately blossomed into a young star. He’s looked great throughout his time in H-Town and will likely be a part of their future core.</p>
<p>One of the main draws to his game is his passing abilities. However, so far this season, he’s only putting up 5.0 assists per game, when last year, he averaged over six.</p>
<p>Now, his assist totals this year are still good enough to lead the team, but he has plenty of room to improve. In addition, he’s actually averaging 12.7 potential assists per game, alongside an assist percentage of 29.4.</p>
<p>These numbers are actually great, but it would be nice to see those assist totals take another jump. Porter Jr. is doing everything right in the passing game, but continuing that improvement will be key.</p>
<p><strong>Goal: Continue to improve as a playmaker</strong></p>
<h2>Goals for the Houston Rockets young core: Jae’Sean Tate</h2>
<p>Jae’Sean Tate was one of the biggest surprises for the Houston Rockets last year. He burst onto the scene as an undrafted free agent and played some big-time minutes for them.</p>
<p>This season, his minutes are down a bit, but he’s still playing a big role for the team. However, the one area where he needs to improve is his three-point shooting.</p>
<p>Tate projects to be a solid 3&D player in the league, but he needs to improve upon the shooting part. The defense is already there, now he just has to become a reliable three-point shooter.</p>
<p>He’s shooting a measly 18.8% from deep this season, a number which is well below league average. If he wants to be respected as a shooter, he needs to get that up to at least 30%.</p>
<p><strong>Goal: Improve his three-point shooting</strong></p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/11/02/houston-rockets-goals-young-core/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Alperen Sengun and Usman Garuba </a>
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<img class="size-full wp-image-437409" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/11/02/houston-rockets-goals-young-core/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2021%2F11%2F1348799877.jpeg" alt="Houston Rockets" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2021/11/1348799877.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2021/11/1348799877-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">Alperen Sengun #28 of the Houston Rockets reaches for a loose ball against the Boston Celtics (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>Goals for the Houston Rockets young core: Alperen Sengun</h2>
<p>Going into the NBA Draft, most people were either really high or really low on Alperen Sengun. He ended up falling to the Houston Rockets at pick 16, and he has been great for them so far.</p>
<p>He’s the team’s fifth-leading scorer and averaging 2.5 steals per game (good for sixth in the entire NBA). Sengun is still a fairly raw prospect, but he’s shown a ton of potential.</p>
<p>There are a lot of little things he could be working on, but the main one has to be his defense. He’s a very smart player, but improving his body and overall athleticism would go a long way</p>
<p>His defense was the main knock on him coming into the league. If he can continue to improve on that, he has the chance to be a really good player in this league.</p>
<p><strong>Goal: Better his body to improve on defense</strong></p>
<h2>Goals for the Houston Rockets young core: Usman Garuba</h2>
<p>Speaking of raw prospects, Usman Garuba might be one of the rawest prospects in the entire league. He’s an athletic freak, but that’s about all that can be said about him.</p>
<p>Garuba hasn’t earned much playing time with the Rockets this season, but the potential is clearly there. His defensive field goal percentage is absolutely ridiculous at 30.0 percent.</p>
<p>Despite all this, Garuba needs to find a role within the offense. As of now, he doesn’t really know what to do with himself on that end of the floor.</p>
<p>Even if he can improve as a cutter and a screener it would be a major improvement to his offensive game. Those are the things he needs to be working on this season in his limited minutes.</p>
<p><strong>Goal: Find a role within the offense</strong></p>
<div class="fs-shortcode" data-type="StoryLink" data-theme="dark" data-text="3 Rockets players most likely to be moved by the trade deadline" data-url="https://hoopshabit.com/2021/10/26/houston-rockets-3-players-trade-deadline-2/" data-call-to-action="Next"> <div class="story-link-next"> <a class="story-link-next-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="story-link-next-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/11/02/houston-rockets-goals-young-core/2/"https://hoopshabit.com/2021/10/26/houston-rockets-3-players-trade-deadline-2/"> <span class="call_to_action">Next:</span> 3 Rockets players most likely to be moved by the trade deadline </a> </div>
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