‘Desperate mindset’: Jabari Smith Jr. wants Rockets to get tough
Houston (44-29) wants to be a tougher team, and Jabari Smith Jr. set the tone with 21 points and a season-high 16 rebounds in Friday’s win at Memphis.
With a 68-43 advantage, the Houston Rockets dominated the rebounding battle in Friday’s 119-109 road victory ( box score ) over the Memphis Grizzlies. It was very much by design. “I just came out with a desperate mindset, crashing,” said Jabari Smith Jr.
, who finished with 21 points (43. 8% FG), 4 assists, and a season-high 16 rebounds in Memphis. “The energy needs to be there all the time,” Smith added.
“I was making an emphasis on boxing out. My boxing out been pretty bad lately. My rebounding numbers were pretty low, so I’m just trying to make an emphasis on it.
” Smith has averaged 14. 0 rebounds over his last two games. In his previous 12 outings, he had averaged just 5.