22-year old undrafted rookie point guard Ishmael Smith has been throwing up a lot of bricks so far this year as he is only shooting 38% from the floor. Smith has played in 22 games (3 starts) for the Rockets so far this year and he is averaging 13.4 minutes, 3.1 points, 1.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. With Aaron Brooks back in action and Kyle Lowry playing so well, playing time is going to be hard for Smith to find going forward. 21-year old forward Patrick Patterson has only played in 2 games (0 starts) for the Rockets so far this year and he is averaging 3.5 minutes, 1.5 points and 0.5 rebounds per game. Patterson will have to bide his time on the bench because he’s buried on the depth chart right now.

22-year old, undrafted rookie point guard Ishmael Smith is making the most of the playing time he’s getting early this year.  He has played in 9 games (3 starts) for the Rockets so far this year and he is averaging 19.0 minutes, 5.2 points, 2.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.0 steal per game.  He is 3 of 5 (60%) shooting from three point range but he’s only hitting 36.5% overall from the floor and that needs to improve.  I look for Smith to keep getting solid P.T. until Aaron Brooks returns from injury.

Chase Budinger, Jordan Hill and Jermaine Taylor all have a lot of potential to produce for the Rockets down the road. 22-year old forward Jordan Hill has the highest upside of this trio of player. Hill played in 23 games (0 starts) for the Rockets after the trade from the Knicks and he averaged 16.2 minutes, 6.4 points, 5.0 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. Hill played in 47 games (0 starts) overall last season for the Knicks & Rockets in which he averaged 13.3 minutes, 5.2 points, 3.7 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. He could be a starter soon for the Rockets. 21-year old SG/SF Chase Budinger brought instant offense off the bench for the Rockets this year which is probably his best role moving forward. Budinger played in 74 games (4 starts) for the Rockets this season and he averaged 20.1 minutes, 8.9 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. 23-year old shooting guard Jermaine Taylor could also force himself into the playing rotation for the Rockets next year. He played in 31 games (4 starts) for the Rockets this season and he averaged 9.8 minutes, 4.1 points, 1.5 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game.

Backup forward Jordan Hill has finally got into the Rockets’ rotation and he has been doing a good job. Hill has played in 12 games (0 starts) for the Rockets this season and he is averaging 16.0 minutes, 6.0 points, 4.9 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. He has a nice upside and the Rockets were smart to get him in a trade.

The Rockets now have 4 rookie players on the active roster. SG/SF Chase Budinger has played in 47 games (1 start) for the Rockets this season and he is averaging 19.6 minutes, 8.6 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. He is a solid bench player. Power forward Jordan Hill was a first round pick of the Knicks and he came over in the T-Mac trade last week. Hill played in 24 games (0 starts) for the Knicks and he averaged 10.5 minutes, 4.0 points, 2.5 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. He has yet to play for the Rockets but he has a nice upside. G/PG Garrett Temple is a undrafted rookie out of LSU. He has played in 5 games (0 starts) for the Rockets this season and he is averaging 14.0 minutes, 5.4 points, 1.6 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. Shooting guard Jermaine Taylor has played in 17 games (0 starts) for the Rockets this season and he is averaging 6.1 minutes, 2.6 points, 0.7 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game.