Jabari Smith Jr. Aims to Improve his Ball Handling Skills

Jabari Smith Jr. is known as the Houston Rockets ’ “Swiss Army Knife” for his versatility. He is an elite defender and can guard any position. Whether he is guarding the perimeter or protecting the paint, he consistently disrupts the opposing team’s offense.

Last season, he totaled a career-high 71 total blocks. He also had 56 total steals, earning himself a 114.2 defensive rating. These impressive numbers represent how crucial a role he played for Houston’s defense, which had the third-best-ranked defense in the entire NBA.

On the offensive end, he is a solid spot-up shooter. Last season, he averaged 15.8 points per game, while shooting 45%  from the field and 36.3% from deep. However, his ball handling skills were one of his weak spots.

An important metric to represent this weakness is by looking at his field goal percentage after x amount of dribbles. He shoots at 44.8% when he is in a catch-and-shoot motion (0 dribbles). There is a major dip when he has two dribbles before shooting, as his field goal percentage then drops to 36.5%. His field goal percentage drops even further to 28.9% when he takes three or more dribbles before shooting.Improving in this area would surely elevate his game, and he is committed to doing so.

He recently stated: "I definitely want to get better and more comfortable at handling the ball this year. Being able to handle and relieve that pressure from Fred (VanVleet) and the other guards who have to handle the ball the whole game. I’m trying to improve every aspect (of my game), but I feel like ball-handling is the area where I can take the biggest jump. I’m trying to just get stronger with the ball. Not necessarily doing a million moves, but being strong with it and being able to get to my spots. I think that’ll open my game up a lot."

Smith is still very young at 23-years-old, so he has a lot of time to improve his ball-handling skills. He has a great coaching staff to teach him, and his potential is sky-high. If he truly commits and puts in the effort, he will not only elevate his own ceiling, but will also improve Houston’s offense, which was lackluster at times last season.

If he can become a better ball handler, he will be one step closer to being a dominant player on both ends of the court. How soon can we expect to see improvements from the promising young forward?

Indexed and credited by AIPROPX. Originating outlet: Yahoo Sports. Open at source →