When the Houston Rockets selected Jalen Green with the second overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, they may not have placed expectations on him through the media, but they didn't have to. The number two overall pick comes with massive expectations and when the draft class is as talented as it was, the hope is that you just drafted a future All-Star. Green didn't help those expectations when he said he would pursue Rookie of the Year. It's still early in the season, but thus far, he has a ton of ground to make up.

Jalen Green averages:

13.9 points

3.4 rebounds

2.6 assists

3.1 turnovers

47.0% True Shooting

To say it's been a bumpy year for the G League Ignite alum is an understatement. In comparison to some of his fellow rookies, Green looks woefully unready for the NBA game right now. He shows flashes of explosiveness for a game and then he'll have a few games in a row where he's a negative impact player. As a team, the Rockets are at a point where they need to make drastic changes, and those changes may start with Green. For Houston to finally get their second win of the season, Green may have to take a step back and come off the bench – as much as it may upset the fanbase.

Let's go over some reasons why Jalen Green should come off the bench.

Jalen Green Bench Player?

1. Eric Gordon should be starting for the Rockets

Currently, Eric Gordon is far and away the best guard on the Rockets and if the team wants to get off to better starts, it may been sliding him into the starting lineup for Jalen Green.

Eric Gordon averages:

13.1 points

2.1 rebounds

1.7 assists

62.0% True Shooting

As a player, Gordon just provides way better shooting, defense, and slashing to the rim than Green at the moment. There really isn't an argument as to who the better basketball player is. He's also considerably stronger and more decisive with the basketball in his hands. Green oscillates between aggression and tentativeness, almost as if he's trying not to step on anyone's toes. If the Rockets are to start games with the right amount of force, it probably involves Gordon in the starting unit.

He also brings a degree of floor spacing to the starting unit that it sorely needs.

2. Green gets to play against second units

There's a considerable difference between scoring against starting guards in the NBA versus bench guards. The weakest defenders tend to come off the bench, opening up an pathway for Green to attack them off the dribble. Green gets the ball stripped and poked away far too often right now, partly due to his lack of strength. These issues may still persist with Green playing against third and fourth guards, but to a considerably lesser degree.

3. Less pressure for Jalen Green

In addition to all of the pressures that come with being the second overall pick, Green was clearly thrust into the deep end before he was ready for it. It's compounded all of his issues and made him overthink things on the offensive end.

There's a certain freedom players get when they play with the second unit. There's more room for mistakes and it allows players to just play without thinking. For some reason, there's a stigma about star prospects coming off the bench and it's kind of ridiculous when you look at NBA history. Kobe Bryant, James Harden, and Zach LaVine all came off the bench in their rookie seasons just to name a few and it had virtually no impact on their star trajectory. If anything, it allowed them to develop in the background without a mountain of pressure on them.

4. Better fitting surrounding lineups for Jalen Green

Jalen Green currently has some of the worst floor spacing a player could have his first season in the NBA. The only good three-point shooter in Houston's starting unit is Christian Wood. The two big men, Wood and Daniel Theis, clog up the painted area for Green and make it really difficult to be the best slasher he can be. Houston's second units, however, are smaller, faster, and better spaced offensively. This is kind of the ideal environment for Green to play in.

It will be interesting to see if the Rockets decide to make a lineup change Wednesday night against the Thunder.