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Through his first 30 games played (Oct. 21 to Feb. 10), Tari Eason was shooting 47.1% from 3-point range. That figure put the fourth-year Houston Rockets forward among the NBA’s top three shooters, statistically, for the 2025-26 season.
Over his first three NBA seasons, Eason had shot a combined 34.5% from deep.
Unfortunately, from Feb. 11 onward, it seems the LSU product is going through something of a regression to the mean. In those 16 games, Eason is shooting just 14.5% on 3-pointers, and he is just 1-for-28 (3.6%) during nine March games.
That March total includes seven straight games without a single 3-pointer made, and it has lowered the 24-year-old’s season-long clip (37.3%) to a mark only slightly ahead of his career average.
To no surprise, that downturn by Eason appears to be correlated with team performance. The Rockets were 19-11 in that first 30-game sample, but they are just 8-8 in his 16-game funk.
That 8-8 record includes another loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night, which dropped the Rockets (41-27) to the No. 5 spot in the Western Conference standings. Should that hold, it means Houston would open the 2026 playoffs without home-court advantage in the first round.
Eason missed all three of his 3-point attempts in each of Houston’s two losses to the Lakers (44-25) this week, and the Rockets averaged just eight 3-pointers made during those games.
For the month of March, Houston currently ranks dead last among the NBA’s 30 teams at 8.9 makes per game from 3-point range, and they are second-to-last in attempts (29.1) and accuracy (30.5%). From a math perspective, that’s a hard formula to win with versus playoff level opponents like the Lakers, San Antonio Spurs, and Denver Nuggets, who the Rockets are 0-4 against over the past 11 days.
“It is what it is,” head coach Ime Udoka told Rockets Wire’s Brian Barefield, who asked if there was a reason behind Eason’s slump.
“He’s getting open looks, so you can’t ask for much more than that. It’s like what it was with Jabari (Smith Jr.), earlier this season. You’ve got to work your way out of it. Same with Alpi (Sengun), at times this year. You have to figure out other ways to impact games. Teams are going to make you prove it, if you’re in a slump. Some of the doubles (double teams) have come off of him.”
The next opportunity for Eason to shoot his way out of this prolonged slump will come in Friday’s home matchup versus Atlanta, with tipoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m. local time from Toyota Center. The game will be televised and streamed regionally on Space City Home Network and nationally via NBA TV and NBA League Pass.
The Hawks (38-31) enter with an NBA-best winning streak of 11 games, so the Rockets will likely need at least a decent night from 3-point range to have a realistic chance to win.
It is worth noting that as a 6-foot-8 wing player with strong defensive versatility, Eason still provides value on that side of the court. That could be important versus an Atlanta team that is averaging 124.0 points per game during its current streak.
But for a Houston squad that has struggled offensively at times this season, and particularly in halfcourt situations late in games, the Rockets need Eason to be able to shoot and space the floor. Ultimately, that could ease some of the defensive pressure that gets put on the All-Star duo of Kevin Durant and Alperen Sengun.
And for Eason, who is entering restricted free agency in the 2026 offseason, making more 3-pointers and becoming a so-called “3-and-D” role player would put him in a better position to earn the contract that he wants in July.
It’s simply up to Eason to go out and do it. And from the perspective of both the player and his team, it needs to happen sooner rather than later.
More: Tari Eason sticks with Rockets ahead of pivotal 2026 offseason
This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: Tari Eason’s shooting slump continues as Rockets fall to No. 5 in West
Continue reading...
Over his first three NBA seasons, Eason had shot a combined 34.5% from deep.
Unfortunately, from Feb. 11 onward, it seems the LSU product is going through something of a regression to the mean. In those 16 games, Eason is shooting just 14.5% on 3-pointers, and he is just 1-for-28 (3.6%) during nine March games.
That March total includes seven straight games without a single 3-pointer made, and it has lowered the 24-year-old’s season-long clip (37.3%) to a mark only slightly ahead of his career average.
To no surprise, that downturn by Eason appears to be correlated with team performance. The Rockets were 19-11 in that first 30-game sample, but they are just 8-8 in his 16-game funk.
That 8-8 record includes another loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night, which dropped the Rockets (41-27) to the No. 5 spot in the Western Conference standings. Should that hold, it means Houston would open the 2026 playoffs without home-court advantage in the first round.
Eason missed all three of his 3-point attempts in each of Houston’s two losses to the Lakers (44-25) this week, and the Rockets averaged just eight 3-pointers made during those games.
For the month of March, Houston currently ranks dead last among the NBA’s 30 teams at 8.9 makes per game from 3-point range, and they are second-to-last in attempts (29.1) and accuracy (30.5%). From a math perspective, that’s a hard formula to win with versus playoff level opponents like the Lakers, San Antonio Spurs, and Denver Nuggets, who the Rockets are 0-4 against over the past 11 days.
“It is what it is,” head coach Ime Udoka told Rockets Wire’s Brian Barefield, who asked if there was a reason behind Eason’s slump.
“He’s getting open looks, so you can’t ask for much more than that. It’s like what it was with Jabari (Smith Jr.), earlier this season. You’ve got to work your way out of it. Same with Alpi (Sengun), at times this year. You have to figure out other ways to impact games. Teams are going to make you prove it, if you’re in a slump. Some of the doubles (double teams) have come off of him.”
The next opportunity for Eason to shoot his way out of this prolonged slump will come in Friday’s home matchup versus Atlanta, with tipoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m. local time from Toyota Center. The game will be televised and streamed regionally on Space City Home Network and nationally via NBA TV and NBA League Pass.
The Hawks (38-31) enter with an NBA-best winning streak of 11 games, so the Rockets will likely need at least a decent night from 3-point range to have a realistic chance to win.
It is worth noting that as a 6-foot-8 wing player with strong defensive versatility, Eason still provides value on that side of the court. That could be important versus an Atlanta team that is averaging 124.0 points per game during its current streak.
But for a Houston squad that has struggled offensively at times this season, and particularly in halfcourt situations late in games, the Rockets need Eason to be able to shoot and space the floor. Ultimately, that could ease some of the defensive pressure that gets put on the All-Star duo of Kevin Durant and Alperen Sengun.
And for Eason, who is entering restricted free agency in the 2026 offseason, making more 3-pointers and becoming a so-called “3-and-D” role player would put him in a better position to earn the contract that he wants in July.
It’s simply up to Eason to go out and do it. And from the perspective of both the player and his team, it needs to happen sooner rather than later.
More: Tari Eason sticks with Rockets ahead of pivotal 2026 offseason
This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: Tari Eason’s shooting slump continues as Rockets fall to No. 5 in West
Continue reading...
