The Houston Rockets are hoping for a breakout season from shooting guard Jalen Green. The former No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 draft has slowly improved over his first two seasons in the league, but many think Green has the opportunity to become a star this year.
The Rockets have assembled plenty of young talent including Green, Jabari Smith Jr., Amen Thompson and Cam Whitmore. After finishing second-last in the Western Conference last season with a 22-60 record, Houston is looking to win. The Rockets have now had three straight losing seasons where they've finished with either the worst or second-worst record in the West. They are going to have to start winning now that they've had plenty of time to build up the roster.
Houston think Green will be a leader for the turnaround they need. Prior to the start of the 2023-2024 season, Rockets general manager Rafael stone spoke on the incoming third-year pro.
“This is a huge year for him,” Rafael Stone said. “It's on him to really put together all the things he's worked on. You see individual games where he's locked in — whether it's on-ball defense, help-side defense, making the right reads in the pick-and-roll. And then there are other games where he just kind of let go of the rope. He's a bucket. It's about all the little things,” via ESPN's Zach Lowe.
In Jalen Green's second season, he averaged 34.2 minutes per game and 22.1 points per game. He will not only work to improve those numbers this year, but turn them into wins as well.