The Houston Rockets are on the brink of getting swept out of the playoffs following a 112-108 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Lakers at Toyota Center on Friday. There was plenty of blame to go around for this Game 3 loss, and Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green called out Tari Eason on Threads.
“Tari Eason didn’t want to guard down the stretch. Unnecessary switches, and then the foul with a 5 second differential. Tough.”
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Eason is a pretty good defender, but was allowing switches far too easily on the night. The Lakers were able to target Alperen Sengun and Reed Sheppard one too many times in the game, in part due to him.
Eason made some notable mistakes in overtime as well. With the Rockets trailing 107-105, he failed to box out Marcus Smart and then fouled the guard as he got the offensive rebound. Eason later fouled Smart again, with the Rockets trailing 111-108 with 24.5 seconds remaining, and that’s probably the one Green was referring to. There was close to a five-second difference between the shot clock and the game clock on that play.
The Lakers couldn’t just play keep-away and had to shoot at some point. Eason was pressuring Smart in the hopes of forcing a turnover, but ended up fouling him instead, leading to more free throws. As if all this wasn’t bad enough, the 24-year-old was a non-factor on offense as well.
Eason finished with five points (2-9 FG), four rebounds, two assists, and four steals on the night. Those steals were great, but the shots aren’t falling.
Eason went 7-7 from the field in Game 1, but has gone 6-23 since. This Rockets offense continues to struggle, and he isn’t helping matters. Now, of course, a role player like Eason isn’t the biggest reason they lost this game to fall down 3-0. It wasn’t a surprise, though, that Green singled him out. He’s had his issues with him. Back in 2024, Green mocked Eason for calling out the Warriors.
“I’m a little surprised that he hasn’t played in a game since January 1st,” Green said. “So, it’s kind of tough to come out yelling ‘Come out and play,’ and you’re not gonna play. It puts a lot of strain on your guys, and you can’t get out there and help them.”
The Rockets were chasing the Warriors for the final play-in spot at the time. Green found it funny that Eason wanted them to “come out and play” when he had been out injured for months.
Then a year later, the Warriors and Rockets faced off in the first round of the 2025 playoffs. Golden State would win in seven games, and Green mocked Eason after the series.
“Spoiled milk.”
😂😂😂😂😂😂 spoiled milk https://t.co/5E0dHKPVSd
— Draymond Green (@Money23Green) May 5, 2025
Green has since gotten into it with Eason’s outspoken mother, Teroya, as well. We might get a war of words if she comes across that post on Threads. You’d imagine Teroya would point out that her son did at least make the playoffs, unlike Green.
Getting back to this Lakers series, the Rockets have all but lost it. No team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit in the playoffs, and you wouldn’t have much trust in this lot to be the ones to make history. There will be pride at stake, though, in Game 4, which tips off at Toyota Center on Sunday at 9:30 p.m. ET.
