Rookie Washington likes the taste of playing meaningful minutes
PHILADELPHIA — TyTy Washington Jr. wasn’t just getting playing time, filling a significant role off the Rockets’ bench. He was not just playing more minutes than he had in any previous game this season, save a pair of recent blowout losses when benches were cleared and he finished games because someone had to.
He was playing down the stretch, against the Heat, taking big shots and picking up bigger defensive assignments.
He might not be filling Eric Gordon’s closer role, left open after Gordon was sent to the Clippers last week, at least not when Kevin Porter Jr. returns after the All-Star break. But Washington did last Friday, an indication of the improvements he has made through his rookie season.
“He’s definitely made progress,” coach Stephen Silas said. “It seemed like the game slowed down for him a little bit. He knows what shots he can get to as far as his floater and his catch-and-shoot. … And he’s doing a little bit better job organizing us.
“It’s the rookie growth that we’ve seen through the year where he played no minutes, played in the G League, now he’s getting minutes — quality minutes — during NBA games.”
Washington didn’t play at all in the previous game, Wednesday’s last-second loss to the Kings, and played just 2½ minutes in the blowout loss to Sacramento on Feb. 6 that followed his season-high 20point scoring night at Oklahoma City on Feb. 4. But his play in Miami, even when he missed all three of his 3-pointers, was more aggressive defensively and self-assured offensively.
He had six points, six rebounds and six assists without a turnover. Washington’s floater in the lane with 3:40 left was the final Rockets field goal, other than a putback off an airball, until Jalen Green finished a drive to tie the game with seven-tenths of a second remaining.
That Washington was in the game at all pointed to his solid play, with the Rockets outscoring the Heat by nine in his 8½ fourth-quarter minutes and by 11 in the 19 minutes he played in the game. On defense, where he has most often struggled and where the Heat pose a particularly physical challenge, he had perhaps his best game.
“I wasn’t really thinking about it out there in the moment. I was just out there playing,” Washington said of getting crunchtime minutes. “I just happened to be in the game at that point in time. When I was out there, I was trying to take advantage of the opportunity and do whatever it takes for us to come out with the win.
“The physicality goes up. Everything goes up. The competitiveness. The crowd is more into it at crunch time. Every play matters. Every possession matters.”
That would seem a valuable lesson, along with the Rockets learning the hard way to follow the game plan on the last possession, when Washington was not in the game, rather than set off the chain of missteps that led to Jimmy Butler’s winning dunk with three-tenths of a second left.
For Washington, however, it has been a process to become ready for minutes before games are decided.
“I keep getting more comfortable, keep growing,” he said. “I think at this point, honestly, it’s just (about) me making shots, making open shots. I think everything else has kind of gone well for me. Defending, I think I can add to that as well, just being more physical on the defensive side of the ball. Really, just making my open shots. I feel like everything else is going somewhat how I want it to go.”
As with the Rockets in general, there remains a long way to go. Washington, 21, has made 36.8 percent of his shots, 15.9 percent of his 3s, to average four points in his 12 minutes per game.
He was selected with the 29th pick of the draft with an understanding he would need time. The Rockets have seen enough flashes of the potential that drew them to him — including his 53-point performance in his final G League game before he was recalled last month — to believe.
That fits well with a rebuilding team and with the Rockets’ collection of Rising Stars: Jalen Green, Jabari Smith Jr. and Alperen Sengun. Washington plans to be in Salt Lake City during All-Star Weekend to “support some of my teammates that made it there” for the Rising Stars game and then to stick around to watch K.J. Martin in the dunk contest the next night.
He might also pick up a sense of what that experience would be like if he can progress enough to make it to the game next season in Indianapolis.
“That’s the plan.,” Washington said. “Who knows? I’m not really thinking about any of that stuff. I just want (to focus) on my development, me getting better. If that leads me to be in the Rising Stars next year, it does. But if it doesn’t, oh well.
“Let’s not worry about the start. It’s where you finish.”