Rockets shooting guard Jalen Green has arguably been the NBA’s best player in March. After a slow start, he has helped Houston (35-35) win eight consecutive games while climbing within reach of a play-in tournament berth in the Western Conference.
Many will look at how efficiently Green has scored during the Rockets’ current eight-game winning streak. However, his on-court presence is also helping generate better looks for teammates.
Green, 22, has scored at least 25 points in the past five games, and his 172 points are the most by any Rockets player over a five-game span since James Harden. Yet, the most significant dynamic in Houston’s resurgence has been the attention he draws from defenders.
Against the Bulls last Thursday, Green shot 67% (4-of-6) from the field in the first quarter, while teammate Dillon Brooks scored 11 points while making 5-of-6 shots (83.3%). It was a direct product of Chicago defenders following Green and trying to prevent one of those double-digit first quarters, which he’s become known for.
“He has been the key to everything,” said Houston Rockets guard Fred VanVleet about Jalen Green’s play over the last month opening scoring opportunities for the rest of the team. #Rockets #Sarge @TheRocketsWire pic.twitter.com/LCwT7u7hWt
— #SARGE (@BigSargeSportz) March 24, 2024
The pattern continued when the Rockets hosted Utah on Saturday (a blowout win). Green went 6-of-8 (75%) from the field in the first quarter, scoring 13 points, while point guard Fred VanVleet hit five out of the six 3-point shots he attempted for 17 first-quarter points.
“He has been the key to everything,” VanVleet said postgame regarding Green. “Our confidence, our pace, our spacing, his guarding, and when he is on like that, it is another nuclear weapon to have out there that can go and get you 30 or 40 [points] at any given time.”
“It changes the way the defense is guarding,” VanVleet said. “It changes the coverages and matchups. He has been huge for us, obviously. It is just a testament to him staying with it and working through what has been an up and down year for him, but he is finding it.”
What has helped Green’s evolution is his ability to quickly read what opposing defenses are trying to do to him, and attack first. He did not do this in February, when he averaged 15.8 points on 36.8% shooting from the field (and 26.3% from 3-point range) in 12 games. It was easy for teams to push him out of his preferred spots.
“Hopefully, I am the main focus over there,” Green responded when asked about his presence, drawing attention and opening the court for his teammates. #Rockets #Sarge @TheRocketsWire pic.twitter.com/udOMTxRUTe
— #SARGE (@BigSargeSportz) March 25, 2024
Yet, all that has changed. On Monday, as Green enters his 12th game of the month against the Portland Trail Blazers, the reigning Western Conference Player of the Week has increased his scoring to 27.8 points per game. His 51.4% field goal percentage and 41.7% clip 3-point range have led to the Rockets applying significant pressure on the Golden State Warriors (36-34) for the final play-in spot.
“Hopefully, I am the main focus over there,” Green said of his on-court presence and opening the court for teammates. “They are loading up on defense, so once I drive, it is easy for kickouts.”
Ime Udoka, head coach of the Rockets, also recognizes that teams are starting to notice how aggressive his third-year shooting guard has become. That has especially been the case over the last six games, given the injury losses of offensive weapons Alperen Sengun (right ankle sprain) and Cam Whitmore (right knee sprain).
“You have to game plan differently,” Udoka said. “At times when you would help off of certain guys and take away certain things, I think him playing at that level and Fred shooting it the way he does, you have to try and take away something. That opens up other things.”
“So, him being on a hot streak, the defense has to get a little higher, and they don’t go under as much, so he can get downhill,” Udoka said of the ripple effects of Green’s surge. “I think that, as well as his rim reads and finding his outlets, that has impacted our team hugely.”
