It has been well known for years now how explosive of an athlete Jalen Green is. He's an incredible leaper, very fast in transition, and he seems to have an impressive dunk every game now for the Houston Rockets. It's a big reason why he has been one of the top-rated NBA prospects in the world since high school. This is why it was incredibly puzzling to see Green not attempt a free throw for his first four NBA games.

“On the court, I probably got frustrated a couple times,” said Green at Rockets practice on Wednesday. “I understand I'm a rookie. I'm not going to get calls like that. It's a man's league anyways. I just got to be strong, keep being aggressive, and not let that get to me.”

That's a healthy attitude for Green to have. As much as observers of the NBA like to believe referees give no players the benefit of the doubt on calls, it's a naive thing to believe. It's well known that veteran players are more likely to get to the line than younger players. It's the way the league has worked for decades and Green has probably already been told this.

“You know how it is for rookies,” laughed Rockets head coach Stephen Silas. “There have been times where he's gotten hit. The dunk attempt [at Toyota Center] where he jumped borderline to the second level, he got hit in the face and it was a no-call. He's going to have to understand that he's going to get hit sometimes and they're not going to call it. But if he goes in with the intention to finish, then he will get some of those calls.”

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Fortunately for Silas and the Rockets, Green's free throw drought didn't last very long as he attempted nine free throws in a loss to the Utah Jazz the very next day. It wasn't a very good shooting night for Green (3-of-16 from the field), so he kept his head down and attacked the basket until the officiating crew finally gave him his first trips to the charity stripe.

“We were joking about it a little bit,” said center Daniel Theis when asked about Green breaking the drought. “He's got to learn to create contact when he goes to the basket — not shying away and trying to shoot just jump shots.”

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As much as Green has tried to attack, Theis has a point in that a staggering amount of Green's field goal attempts have been jump shots. Green is a capable 3-point shooter (36.5% on 5.7 attempts per game in the G League), but he's attempting over two more triples per 36 minutes in the NBA. The Rockets are obviously asking less of Green as a ball handler and scorer than his high school and G League career, but it seems like a less than optimal use of his explosiveness to stash him on the perimeter as a catch-and-shoot player.

“He's got to go in [the paint],” continued Theis. “He can learn a lot from Eric [Gordon] with the way he goes to the basket. He looks for the contact and finishes. It's a process for [Green]. I think he's going to learn a lot from tonight.”