Washington finding comfort zone
TyTy Washington checked off milestones, but a foreign feeling remained.
Even after his NBA debut on Nov. 14 against the Clippers, even after he scored his first NBA field goal in his next game Dec. 8 against the Spurs, the Rockets’ rookie guard and first-round pick still found himself doing something he had never done before.
“Just out there just playing not to make a mistake, really,” Washington said. “Growing up, my whole life, I never played basketball that way. So there have been some times out on the court where I’m just second guessing myself and stuff like that.”
Houston’s coaching staff is encouraging him to get out of his head and back to his old ways.
“The coaching staff and everybody was telling me, ‘Do what you did to get you to this point,’” Washington said. “At first I was kind of like, just out there nervous just trying to fit in and stuff like that. And they just told me, ‘You never fit in your whole life. Do what you did to get you here.’”
He feels the pressure lifting, gradually. A larger role has afforded him the ability to relax some. Washington recently usurped second-year guard Daishen Nix as the Rockets’ backup point guard, and is typically the first guard off the bench to replace starter Kevin Porter Jr.
In his first 94 minutes of NBA playing time, spread across nine games, Washington committed just one turnover. He also dished 14 assists for an average of 1.6 per game, along with 3.9 points per game on 38.5 percent shooting.
“Of course, with a role, he’s finding a little bit more comfort,” Rockets coach Stephen Silas said. “Before he was kind of trying to find his role and trying to find where he fit, and now he has the backup point guard role and he’s doing a good job with it.”
In his lone college season at Kentucky, Washington was second on the team in scoring with 12.5 points per game on 45 percent shooting. He did that while logging starter’s minutes, 29 per game, and mostly playing off the ball.
Although Washington is not a high-volume scorer at the NBA level, the Rockets don’t need him to be one. The rookie is developing chemistry with both the first and second units, often playing alongside guard Jalen Green, the team’s top shot-taker, as well as forwards KJ Martin and Tari Eason, who are both adept at cutting to the rim.
Washington excels as a distributor but is also more frequently creating shots for himself, the result of both increased playing time and confidence. His floater is deadly in its consistency, and his 3point shot is showing up more often, too. One of his best performances came last week in Boston, when he played a season-high 20 minutes and scored a season-high 10 points on 4of-10 shooting, including two made 3-pointers.
The self-doubt Washington described before? Well, it makes sense that a 21-year-old would want to make a good impression in his first season, not knowing whether his newfound role will shrink or expand in the coming months. But right now, he knows the only thing holding him back are the limitations he imposes on himself.
“Probably just too much pressure,” Washington said. “My dad, my coaches, everybody tells me at the end of day, it’s just basketball. So just take a deep breath, relax. You know you’re a good basketball player. You go out there and show it.”
As far as reaching the level of comfort he had in college, “I don’t think I’m that far,” Washington said.
The perfectionist in him might be tough to tame. Washington will keep trying. In the meantime, with every passing day, he feels more at ease than ever.
“Every day when it’s time to wake up for a game,” he said, “I’m just ready the moment I open my eyes.”