After suffering a knee injury in Game 5, Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green will play in Game 6 against the Golden State Warriors on Friday. The Rockets beat the Warriors 131-116, keeping their season alive amid the Warriors' 3-2 lead in the best-of-7 series. However, Green shared his honest take on his production throughout Houston's first-round series.

Green hasn't been at his best throughout the opening-round series' first five games. But he is hopeful that will change in Friday's Game 6 matchup, per The Athletic's Kelly Iko.

“I don’t think I’ve played good at all, for real. I had one game at the crib, which was pretty good, but overall, I haven’t really been myself,” Green said. “But that’s okay. First time experience, just gotta get back to being aggressive and stop overthinking.”

Green finished with 11 points on 3-of-8 attempts, including 2-of-4 from deep, eight rebounds, and a pair of assists in Game 5. Throughout the first five games of the Rockets' postseason, he's averaging 14.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 3.2 assists, which, scoring-wise, is a far cry from the 21.0 points he posted throughout the regular season.

The rest of the Rockets' starters scored 15+ points, including Fred VanVleet's team-high 26 points. Amen Thompson finished with 25 points, five steals, and three blocks. Dillon Brooks added 24.

Perhaps Jalen Green will turn in his best season performance in Game 6 as the Rockets will look to force a do-or-die Game 7 series finale against the Warriors.

Dillon Brooks sounds off on targeting Stephen Curry accusations

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The Houston Rockets invested heavily into Fred VanVleet during the 2023 offseason. Houston gave the point guard a three-year, $128 million deal in a move that was meant to turn the Rockets from a rebuilding team into a championship contending one. The signing did just that, as the Rockets finished the 2024-25 regular season as the two-seed in a stacked Western Conference. VanVleet was the veteran presence and 3-point shooter that the team desperately needed, and he still might have a role with the Rockets going forward. Houston has a team option on his contract for next year, and they very well may pick it up. The Wichita State product reportedly wants to stay in Houston, but the point guard would be set to make over $44 million next season under his current contract. The Rockets and their guard recently pushed back the deadline on Houston's decision with VanVleet, and although reports suggest that they are interested in writing up a new, long-term deal, it isn't necessarily a guarantee that VanVleet will be playing for Houston next year. The Rockets blew him away with an offer he couldn't refuse back in 2023, and another team could so the same when/if he hits the open market this offseason. If VanVleet does become an unrestricted free agent, which teams outside of Houston would make the most sense for him to sign with? 1. Orlando Magic Jalen Suggs and Franz Wagner recently signed big deals with the Orlando Magic, and Paolo Banchero will be getting a mega contract extension here soon. Because of that, the Magic no longer have money to blow like they have had in recent years. That will make a deal for another big ticket free agent hard to pull off, especially considering the team signed Kentavious Caldwell-Pope last year. If Orlando can make the money work, though, then Fred VanVleet would be a great fit with the Magic. The Magic finished dead last in 3-point shooting this season, and VanVleet has made at least 2.5 deep balls per game in every season since 2018-19. VanVleet can hit shots form behind the arc off of the bounce or in catch-and-shoot situations. The Rockets were heavily reliant on his shooting expertise, so the guard would have plenty of familiarity getting up deep shots with high volume if he signed with the Magic. While undersized, VanVleet is a pesky defender, so he'd fit right in with a Magic team that has one of the best defensive units in the league. VanVleet could play alongside Suggs and give opposing teams fits. Ultimately, though, the Magic just need more shooting to get to the next level, and VanVleet is arguably the best shooter who could be available on the open market this offseason. 2. Brooklyn Nets A more realistic option for a VanVleet destination would be the Brooklyn Nets. The Nets are set up to have the most cap space this offseason, and they have a major need at point guard. With D'Angelo Russell and De'Anthony Melton hitting free agency this offseason, the Nets don't have a true point guard under contract for next season. Brooklyn needs to spend big this offseason, and they'd be smart to offer VanVleet a contract big enough that he'd have no choice but to leave Houston. VanVleet averaged 14.1 points per game last season, which was his lowest mark since 2018-19. He is trending the wrong way, but he still has enough left in the tank to give the Nets a few good seasons. 3. Portland Trail Blazers In the same way that the Rockets were looking to take the next step in 2023, the Portland Trail Blazers could use VanVleet's presence to get over the hump. The Trail Blazers have plenty of big man depth, as centers Deandre Ayton, Donovan Clingan, Robert Williams, and Duop Death are all under contract next season. Portland also has a lot of wing depth. Deni Advija started to look like a star late this past season, Toumani Camara is an elite defender, Shaedon Sharpe is a freakish athlete, and Jerami Grant is a proven scorer. The team is thinner in the backcourt, though. Anfernee Simons is a solid scorer, but Scoot Henderson has looked like a fringe draft bust since being drafted third overall. Portland shouldn't give up on Henderson completely, but there wouldn't be any harm in signing another guard. Like the Magic, the Blazers were one of the worst 3-point shooting teams in the NBA. VanVleet would improve that weakness, and in a stacked Western Conference, Portland needs all of the help they can get if they are to compete for a playoff spot.
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Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) drives in against Houston Rockets forward/guard Dillon Brooks (9) during the third quarter of game four of the 2025 NBA Playoffs first round at Chase Center
Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images

Rockets guard Dillon Brooks will always look for an advantage on the defensive end of the floor. However, purposely hurting an opponent isn't what he's trying to do after fighting off accusations of attempting to hurt Warriors All-Star Stephen Curry.

After Game 5, Brook explained the difference between being a tactical defender and deliberately trying to harm Curry, per Oh No He Didn't's X, formerly Twitter.

“I've been playing the game,” Brooks said. “If I had an injured ankle, I would attack that ankle every single time. So, whatever they're saying on the broadcast, they can keep saying it.”

Curry is playing with an injured thumb in his shooting hand, which he has been dealing with throughout the Warriors' first-round series against the Rockets. Curry finished with 13 points on 4-of-12 shooting, including 3-of-9 from deep, but is averaging 23.4 points on 48.8% shooting, including 39.6% from deep throughout the series.

It was undoubtedly Curry's worst shooting performance in his last five games, but he could bounce back in front of his home crowd in Game 6.