There are generally two ways star prospects go through their rookie year. The first way is the consistently-good-out-of-the-gate player like Evan Mobley who may not put up star stat lines, but you can tell they're a couple of years away from happening. The second is the player who shows flashes of something special, but can't seem to find consistency in the NBA. This roller-coaster approach is clearly how Jalen Green's rookie year is going to go as the Houston Rockets shooting guard scored 24 points in a rematch against the Los Angeles Lakers that went down to the wire.

“I just didn't like how I came out and how we played as a team in the first game,” said Green on his performance. “I feel like we could've done a lot better on offense. Just they're all vets. We're young and we got a lot of quickness. So I think we played to our strengths today.”

As a collective, the Rockets did seem to have some extra juice to start the game. Without Daniel Theis, rookie Alperen Sengun stepped into the starting lineup and Houston scored 35 points in the first quarter, recording nine assists and shooting 5-of-10 from 3-point range. Green started to heat up at the end of the first, scoring his first 12 points and doing it within the flow of Houston's offense.

“He's super competitive,” said Rockets head coach Stephen Silas. “That's one thing. He is a really good learner. He's quiet, but he has a swagger about him that is a little different from most guys — especially young guys. But as far as his game, he knows when to pick and choose his spots and he's starting to learn that more and more as we go along.”

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As mentioned before, it has been up and down for Green, but his confidence level hasn't wavered. He has also seemed to get more comfortable in the NBA as time has passed by. For example, Green wasn't hitting 3-pointers his first two games in the NBA, but he has the shot the ball 36.6% from deep since. He also hadn't attempted a free throw for the first four games of his career and since has attempted over five per game. It may not look like it on a game to game level, but every few games have been better than the ones before it.

“That's why I put the work in for,” said Green. “All the countless hours in the gym. My teammates trust in me too. I heard Tate after the first 3-pointer I hit say, ‘See, this is a learning experience. During times like this, you gotta come get the ball.'”

After scoring 18 points in the first half, Green was pretty quiet for most of the second half. However, in the final minute, Green put the team on his back and nearly won them the game with his 3-point shooting.

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“This game today was actually super fun even though we lost and we wanted to win badly,” said Green. “It was neck and neck in this game, everybody was loud in there, and then as soon as we hit shots, it got quiet. So it was a real high-low type of situation.”

Because of his shooting struggles, Green has the tendency to make some Rockets fans panic about the team selecting him at No. 2, but games like this are a reminder of why he was such a special prospect.