After scoring in double figures in 6 games, the 24-year-old Rockets forward hit 21 three-pointers! Can’t keep him with a 100 million contract? Stone miscalculated

Last season, the Rockets were one of the best defensive teams in the league. The two young forwards, Amen Thompson and Ethan, together became the Rockets' "goalkeeper combination." The two players are not only strong defensively, but also have strong rebound protection capabilities. They also have their own unique skills in steals and blocks. But now, Amen Thompson has become the main point guard of the Rockets. After switching to the No. 1 position, although his rebounds and blocks are much lower than before, his assists have increased.

Although the Rockets' 24-year-old Tali Eason has been serving as a substitute, in recent games, he has become the main scoring point of the Rockets' second team. Together with Sheppard, he supported the Rockets' perimeter. The two players performed very well in three-point shooting. Not only did they hit more three-pointers, but their shooting percentage was also quite high. Sheppard's current three-point shooting percentage has reached 48%, and Rockets forward Tali Eason's three-point shooting percentage this season is as high as 51.2%.

Although Ethan failed to make a three-pointer in the previous game when the Rockets defeated the Bucks, in the 6 games before the game against the Bucks, Ethan performed at the star forward level, and he also became a super shooter for the Rockets. In the Rockets' 6 games against the Nets, Raptors, Celtics, Mavericks, Grizzlies and Spurs, Eason scored in double figures in each game, and he made a total of 21 three-pointers in 6 games.

The 24-year-old forward was not an excellent three-point shooter last season. His three-point shooting rate was only 34%. Although he could make three-pointers, his shooting rate was not high and he did not have many shooting opportunities. Ethan is more often based on the Rockets' second team with defense and offensive rebounding. Now, Ethan's defensive ability and rebounding ability have not declined, but his three-point shooting ability has been fully developed. Not only is his three-point shooting rate as high as 51.2% this season, but he has scored in double figures in 6 of the last 7 games.

In these 6 games, Ethan made a total of 21 three-pointers. He has also become one of the Rockets' best outside shooters. In fact, Eason did not perform well in the first two games against the Thunder and Pistons at the beginning of the season, scoring only 7 points in the two games. At that time, he was affected by the failure to renew his contract with the Rockets in advance. He felt quite disappointed and could not accept it for a while, which affected his game state.

Now, Ethan has become the main scoring point and top shooter of the Rockets' second team in the game. Coupled with his excellent defensive ability and offensive rebounding ability, it can only be said that the $100 million early contract extension offered by the Rockets to Ethan is now unlikely to be able to keep him. Because judging from Ethan's current performance, his contract will definitely be much larger than what was previously negotiated. If Raphael Stone, the general manager of the Rockets at the time, could make one more concession and add some money to Ethan, maybe the two parties could complete the signing.

But now that Ethan is performing too well, his contract value will definitely increase rapidly. Therefore, if the Rockets want to keep Ethan, they can only invest more salary space. Moreover, judging from Ethan's current performance, he will definitely be robbed and raised by many teams during the offseason next summer. If the Rockets want to keep him, they will probably have to match the big contracts offered by other teams, otherwise Ethan will become a free agent and leave the Rockets. Failure to renew Ethan's contract at that time was also Stone's mistake.