With six consecutive wins, the Rockets (6-3) are one of the biggest stories of the 2023-24 NBA season. After finishing at the bottom of the Western Conference in each of the last three seasons, new head coach Ime Udoka clearly has Houston on an upward trend.
Third-year guard Jalen Green, who is averaging 19 points per game on 40% shooting from 3-point range, is among the leading reasons. After struggling with defense and efficiency for much of his first two seasons, Green ranks among the league’s top-40 players, according to HoopsHype’s global rating metric.
One person who has taken notice is Doc Rivers, the former NBA coach and current ESPN analyst. Here’s what Rivers recently said about Green on “The Bill Simmons Podcast”:
Jalen Green, I’ll be honest with you, I didn’t know he could be this guy. I didn’t. The jury was still out for me; could he ever turn into a serious basketball player? … Watching him, I think he’s going to turn into what we want him to turn into.
Rivers also had kind words for Udoka as head coach.
“Listen, bringing Ime in and paying him, and I know that sounds nuts, but it’s very important,” Rivers said to Simmons. “But paying him, and giving a (four)-year deal, told every player, that not only there’s a new sheriff in town, but this sheriff has two guns.”
The complete Rivers interview can be listened to below. As for Green, Udoka, and the rest of the 2023-24 Rockets, the schedule resumes Friday night in Los Angeles against the Clippers.
