Zach Lowe of The Ringer Notes the Impact of Tari Eason as a Rockets Starter

Tari Eason's value on the Houston Rockets has never been a question.

There's no debate that he's a key piece for the team. He's a two-way monster who scraps, claws and hustles.

He displayed that as a rookie on a team in dire need of a culture shift. Eason doesn't back down.

He hustles. Even on the offensive glass, nabbing 2.4 offensive rebounds as a rookie out the gate, behind only Alperen Sengun.

Eason was even more motivated entering this season, as he saw essentially all of his Rockets teammates land contract extensions, while his own negotiations drug out until the ninth hour.

When it was all said and done, he was the lone exception. The Rockets and his representation failed to come to terms on a long-term extension.

The main sticking point turned out to be his availability (or lack thereof).

Which is a valid concern. He missed 85 games through his first three seasons.

Eason took the court like a man possessed in 2025-26, after a relatively poor outing in the team's opening two games.

Eason ultimately got injured in Houston's 11th game of the season, but was leading the NBA in 3-point shooting at the time.

Which is a major improvement for the Rockets wing, who has hovered around league average as a long-range shooter.

(34 percent from deep in two of his first three seasons).

Rockets coach Ime Udoka inserted Eason into the team's starting lineup, noticing how badly the Rockets needed a spark on both offense and defense.

The result was a 119-96 blowout over the Los Angeles Lakers on Christmas Day. Eason had 13 points and six stocks.

Afterwards, basketball observers noticed the impact of Eason’s presence in the Rockets' starting lineup.

Case in point, Zach Lowe of The Ringer, who shared his sentiment on the Zach Lowe Show.

"It's just so cramped that no matter how many of your own misses you rebound, it just becomes a little too tough to score.

Eason for Okogie solves that issue. Not only that, it unlocks lineups where when Amen Thompson rests and...boy was he incredible, just eviscerating the Lakers every matchup he wanted. Big, small, whatever.

When he rests, now they can play lineups with...the center is the only guy on the floor who is a non-shooter. It's like oh my God, look at all this space the Rockets have to work with.

I think Eason..his health is a big deal. Finney-Smith came back. Rounding out their team like that, don't sleep on that. That was a big deal. Huge deal."

Whether Eason becomes a permanent fixture in the Rockets' starting lineup remains to be seen. But it's worth noting that he did get the start against the Cleveland Cavaliers.