HOUSTON — One thing about being young is the belief that anything is possible. There is no limit on what you will or can become if you have confidence and put in the amount of work and effort it takes to achieve whatever goals you set for yourself.
Rockets guard Jalen Green exudes that type of confidence every time he takes the court. It also helps that he stands 6-foot-6, and with one of the quickest first steps in the NBA.
Green, 20, has scored 30-plus points in his last three games, with his career-high 33 coming Friday versus the Sacramento Kings in a 122-117 loss. He joins former Rockets great Elvin Hayes as the only other Rockets rookie to have scored 30-plus points in three straight games.
Green’s 3-point shot has also been on display during the last five games. He has hit at least five 3-pointers in all of them, tied for the eighth-longest streak in NBA history. He has also made six 3-pointers in four consecutive games, which ties him for fifth-longest in league history.
Head coach Stephen Silas has watched his highly athletic rookie improve over the season by putting in the extra effort:
I knew it would come at some point. He was slowly but surely coming along. He’s a shot-maker. He can get to the rim. He can get to the free-throw line. He can shoot the mid-range. He’s making threes (pointers); 6 of 14 on threes is great. Just kind of happy for him that the work he puts in translates, and he can be further confirmed that he’s really good by working and producing and working more and producing more.
Most NBA players with Green’s skill set can tell you when everything began to click for them in the league. For the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft, his moment came after the All-Star break. That’s when he says the game began to slow down for him, day by day.
“All-Star was just a confidence builder, being in that atmosphere, playing in that (Rising Stars) game,” said Green, who also competed in the slam-dunk contest. “On top of that, me, and Luke (assistant coach John Lucas) be in the gym working, all the time. I’m just trusting my work.”
“All-Star was just a confidence builder,” said Rockets Jalen Green #Rockets #LightTheFuse #Sarge pic.twitter.com/QOTVGESNcd
— #SARGE (@BigSargeSportz) April 2, 2022
Although Green is having individual success on the court by having career-high scoring totals in consecutive games, he also knows that the attention that is given to his presence opens up the floor for his teammates to have more scoring opportunities, as well.
“I feel like I draw a lot of attention,” Green said after Friday’s game. “Last game they (Sacramento) loaded up; they didn’t load up so much tonight. When you are attacking the middle, a lot of people are going to close in, so the drive and kick is going to be there for my teammates.”
Houston (20-58) will be back in action Sunday at Toyota Center as they welcome the Minnesota Timberwolves (44-34).
