Tari Eason had a brutal first night of the 2025-26 season. The Rockets forward, who broke out last season but couldn't reach a contract extension with the team in the offseason, went 1-6, scored 5 points, grabbed 5 rebounds, and had 3 turnovers in the Rockets' opening night thriller against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
With Dorian Finney-Smith — a player who does a lot of the same things Eason does — set to return in the (hopefully) near future, and now the unease of contract negotiations hanging over Eason next summer, it looks very early on that the Rockets opting to let Eason play out this season without an extension might be the correct call.