Subscribe
Follow Us
The Houston Rockets have gotten off to an exhilarating start in the 2024-25 campaign, racing out to a 15-8 record that has them in fourth place in the gauntlet that is the Western Conference. Despite the team's strong start, though, Jalen Green has taken a concerning step back.
The second overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft has seen several of his per-game stats take a step back, and his efficiency has plummeted. While a lot has gone right in Houston so far, the team has to be concerned with Green's early-season woes.
Jalen Green has been the Rockets' biggest disappointment
Jalen Green is a player that the Rockets had high expectations entering the year, with the hope being that this could be his true breakout campaign. Early in his career, Green had drawn lofty comparisons to NBA legends such as Kobe Bryant because of his high-flying athleticism and breathtaking explosiveness.
In the pre draft process, Green demonstrated the ability to split defenders, hang in the air, and finish through contact at the rim while also being able to knockdown a bevy of midrange and three-point shots. Unfortunately for Green and the Rockets, he has not lived up to expectations so far. Green has certainly showcased flashes of this potential, and there's a world where he manages to turn himself into one of the top offensive players in the league.
The problem, just like it has always been, is that Green’s flashes of excellence are just that; flashes. Green is maddeningly inconsistent, and when he isn’t producing, he can be a drain on his team. At his worst, Green turns into an inefficient shot-chucker who kills his team's offensive momentum and doesn’t play winning basketball. He simply isn’t a player who can be relied on as a star right now.
Green’s efficiency has taken a hit this year, somehow getting even worse than it was in the past. He struggles to score effectively from anywhere on the court, and he has been particularly bad from the midrange while also struggling from behind the three-point line.
Green's efficiency from three-point range was always going to be the swing skill that would determine whether he would be a superstar or just a star. If he is losing ground elsewhere without making substantial improvements from beyond the arc, that has to be very concerning for the organization.
It’s bad enough that he hasn't developed the rest of his game to be effective when his threes aren't falling, but if he's unable to consistently sink shots from deep, it’s going to always be an uphill battle for Green to be a star in this league.
The Rockets need a player of Jalen Green’s archetype
Every team in the modern NBA needs an explosive player who can create his own shot at will, hit jumpers consistently, and score at a high volume with overall efficiency. This player must have excellent ball-handling, top-tier athleticism, and elite shot-creating abilities.
Late in the fourth quarter when the referees are more hesitant to blow the whistle and potentially impact the outcome of a game, every team needs somebody who can take the ball and put it through the net. Green was supposed to be that player for the Rockets, and they desperately need him to step up into that role.
Fred VanVleet isn’t it, as he is older and doesn’t have the size or explosiveness required. Alperen Sengun is an excellent young player, but he is a big man. Joel Embiid should serve as a cautionary tale that it’s difficult for big men to be effective closers in today’s NBA.
The hope in Space City was that Green would become their team's version of Jimmy Butler or Tyrese Maxey and fill that closer responsibility. Unfortunately, with his struggles, there’s no way that they can rely on Green in crunch time, or any other time for that matter.
There’s still some hope for the Rockets and Jalen Green
All is not completely lost yet, however. Green still has flashes where he shows the potential to be the guy that the Rockets envisioned when they drafted him. A perfect example of this is the team's recent game against the Philadelphia 76ers.
In a head-to-head duel against the aforementioned Maxey, Green held his own and actually outplayed the Sixers’ star guard for much of the game. He recorded 41 points and showed sophisticated shot creation to go along with the ability to score at will. He was able to pull up from beyond the arc and drain threes while also getting to the rim and finishing around, above, or through Philly’s defense.
The player who showed up against the Sixers is exactly what the Rockets need, and that’s the reason why Green’s inconsistency is frustrating. If the team could rely on him to be even 75% of the guy that he was against Philadelphia, it would go a long way toward solving the team’s biggest problem.
The hope was that he would take a step closer to realizing his full potential this year, but, with the exception of his performance against Philadelphia, and a few other tantalizing moments, he has largely failed to take a step forward, as he's actually taken a step backward instead. And unless that changes soon, Green is going to remain Houston's biggest disappointment for the foreseeable future.
