Year three for Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green is a season that he would like to forget from an individual standpoint. While most fans have partially accepted the reality that he might not be a star, most NBA players still believe his potential. For any player looking to get out of a prolonged funk, it always takes one game to turn things around and stay consistent. In the last two games, this could be what's happening for the 2021 2nd overall pick.

Expected to make a significant leap with a new coach and revamped roster, Green has arguably suffered the most. In 44 games, the 21-year old averages 17.8 points per game on a low 40.7% shooting and 31.4% from deep. His shot making is poor, his layups aren't consistent, and most of all, he isn't benefitting the most of what he is known for: scoring at will. Often Green gets benched during clutch situations because of his liability on the court.

Jalen Green turning the page?

Jalen Green Houston Rockets

However, in the matchups against the Portland Trailblazers and Charlotte Hornets, that was a different story. The 21-year old looked more like the player the Rockets envisioned upon drafting him. While the Blazers game did end up in an embarrassing loss as a team, Green did most of his part, scoring 29 points on 12-of-24 shooting and 2-of-7 from deep. Most of his points came from the first half of the game, where he led the Rockets with nineteen points on 7-of-14 shooting.

Looking at the numbers, did he taper off? Sure, you could say that. But if you watch the second half, he wasn't given ample opportunities. Most of his touches were taken away by Fred VanVleet, who on a rarity, didn't facilitate the basketball as well as he usually does. Houston's offense as a whole took a nosedive in the second half and into overtime. Lethargic possessions, poor decision making transitioned into Portland taking over momentum. In addition to VanVleet's touches, he also played a total of 45 minutes.

Green not given the chance

Green was still solid, but wasn't given too many chances to score the basketball. Much like NBA2k, if a player is in takeover mode and you take the basketball away from them, it defeats the purpose of said takeover mode in the first place. Green shot an efficient 4-of-7 in the second half, but had limited opportunities compared to the first half. Still, a stat line listed below is extremely promising, given his season struggles. If any player on the team is hot, Ime Udoka needs to right the hot hand and not stick to regularly scheduled programming.

The Green sequel

Based on his 2023-2024 track record, a Jalen Green performance like this is very limited this Rockets season. The following matchup against the Charlotte Hornets illustrated a similar start of his performance against Portland: Nineteen points with 6-of-12 shooting in the first half. After halftime, he was just warming up. Seemingly out of nowhere, Green unleashed a seventeen-point barrage in the third quarter, hitting 6-of-6 from the free-throw line. Coach Udoka's decision to rely on Green's hot hand proved to be the right move.

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In total, Green scored 36 points in just 28 minutes of play. His final shooting stat line showcased 12-of-20 shooting, including 11-of-13 on two-pointers and 11-of-12 from the line.  While he did shoot 1-of-7 from deep, his ability to get to the line displayed his tenacity on the court. Throughout this season, his aggressiveness is often erratic, leading to turnovers, double teams, and lousy shot creation. That was not Jalen Green on Friday night. Aggressiveness is needed, of course, but it needs to be controlled. Methodical. Confident. Overall, that's what we have seen from Green over the last two games.

The question remains: Will Green's offense continue on Saturday's game against the Brooklyn Nets and beyond? Luckily, the Rockets early third quarter blowout resulted in him resting the entire fourth quarter. Back-to-back games in the NBA are tough to overcome, and resting your starters in a blowout win instills confidence in them as well as your bench unit.

We've seen this same song and dance before: the small offensive explosions in just two games followed by disappointing predictability. If Green continues to show Udoka confidence as the main scoring option on a consistent basis, the negative trade talk from his critics may be hushed for now.