Prior to Friday’s late game in Golden State, Houston Rockets head coach Stephen Silas was asked one more time about his decisions late in Wednesday’s close victory at Utah.
Specifically, the choice in question was playing reserve sharpshooter Garrison Mathews — who clearly had the hot hand, with five 3-pointers and a team-high 23 points — for 19 straight minutes to end the game.
The starter who stayed on the bench to make room in the closing lineup was rookie guard Jalen Green, and at face value, the decision made perfect sense. Green was struggling, scoring 7 points in 23 minutes on 3-of-13 shooting (23.1%), while Mathews was hot. In the short-term, the move clearly worked out, as Mathews scored in double figures in the fourth quarter alone, sending Houston to a third win in four games.
In the longer-term, though, it’s a bit more debatable. Even with the recent surge, the Rockets (14-32) still have the Western Conference’s worst record and appear quite unlikely to make the playoffs. Moreover, as the No. 2 overall pick from the first round of the 2021 NBA draft, Green is clearly at the top of the list when it comes to the younger prospects that Houston is attempting to develop in this rebuilding season.
Stephen Silas to @JTGatlin on sitting Jalen Green late in Utah:
"Jalen understands. I talked to him, and he's good. No big deal."
"You can't take one game and say, 'He's not learning from this.' Maybe he is learning from being on the side and watching. It's a delicate balance."
— Ben DuBose (@BenDuBose) January 22, 2022
But as Silas sees things, it’s just one regular-season game out of 82, and development doesn’t always have to occur on the court. Silas noted in Friday’s pregame session that he had spoken to Green about it, adding that the rookie understood the decision. He elaborated on the dynamic:
Last game, we just went with the group that was playing well. Obviously, Garrison played 19 straight minutes. That wasn’t ideal for him, but he was playing so well, and I felt like the group deserved for him to be on the floor.
As far as Jalen is concerned, Jalen understands. I talked to Jalen, and he’s good. He understands that over the course of an 82-game season, there’s times that he’s going to be featured at the end of games, or maybe he won’t be in the game at the end.
You can’t just take one game and say, ‘Oh, he’s not learning from this experience.’ Maybe he is learning from being on the side and watching, or learning from being out there and being a big part of what’s going on. … It’s a delicate balance.
That was just the way the game was going, the way the group was playing. We had an opportunity to win that game, and I went with my gut. But Jalen is good, as far as the conversations that we’ve had afterward, and the work that he’s put in today. He’s in a good place. No big deal.
Asked Stephen Silas about not playing Jalen Green late against the Jazz:
"It's a delicate balance. Jalen understands. I talked to him, and he's good. No big deal." pic.twitter.com/PDJzu761Pf
— Jackson Gatlin (@JTGatlin) January 22, 2022
For the 2021-22 season as a whole, Green is averaging 14.8 points and 3.3 rebounds in 30.0 minutes per game. As expected, he returned to the starting lineup on Friday versus the Warriors in San Francisco.
Green and the Rockets will resume play Tuesday versus San Antonio in the start of a four-game homestand at Toyota Center.
