{"id":66790,"date":"2024-03-09T04:35:06","date_gmt":"2024-03-09T09:35:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=66790"},"modified":"2024-03-09T04:35:06","modified_gmt":"2024-03-09T09:35:06","slug":"rockets-game-slowing-down-jalen-green","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/03\/09\/rockets-game-slowing-down-jalen-green\/","title":{"rendered":"Game Slowing Down for Rockets\u2019 Highflyer"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Houston Rockets shooting guard <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/g\/greenja05.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jalen Green<\/a> has been on a tear lately. Tallying 27 points, five assists, and two steals in a blowout win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday, he looked every bit like the player the Rockets expected to see when they took him with the second overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/WbiqGhN0ZrQ?si=D6VrnEs1ijfXiLf0\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Green has had these types of performances before. However, the overarching criticism is that he\u2019s been too inconsistent and for good reason. Nonetheless, watching him play this month, there\u2019s identifiable improvement in his mental processing and approach.<\/p>\n<p>The game finally appears to be slowing down for the 22-year-old.<\/p>\n<h2>The Game\u2019s Slowing Down for Jalen Green<\/h2>\n<p>Since Feb. 29, Green is averaging 26.6 points, 3.2 assists, and 1.8 steals per game, while shooting 46.7 percent from the field and 37.0 percent from 3 in what looks to be a sustainable style of play.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/FId3ojnOflc?si=4e2eLJ9_H8L2malE\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s been a determined finisher, getting to the basket at will. Once at the rim, he\u2019s still unleashed a flurry of acrobatic finishes, but has been more controlled. More importantly, he\u2019s recognized when to change his pace, accelerating at just the right time as he leaves his defenders in the dust. This patience has even been apparent in his playmaking, and he\u2019s had a few noteworthy dimes as a tertiary playmaker. As a shooter, he\u2019s had more balance as well, rising up vertically more often and shooting stepbacks a bit less.<\/p>\n<p>On defense \u2014on-ball, off-ball, and on the boards\u2014 he\u2019s played with pronounced effort. His athletic tools have been of better use to him at this end with his improved attentiveness and aggression. With endless critiques being levied at Green, he\u2019s met the challenge head-on, playing with a fire that has allowed the Rockets to power past their opponents.<\/p>\n<h3>The California Kid is Fired Up<\/h3>\n<p>Indeed, while the California kid has surfed through his Western Conference opponents, Houston looked like a well-oiled machine. Going 3-2 over their last five games, the Rockets\u2019 most impressive victory during this stretch came against the Phoenix Suns on Mar. 2. Their second straight game against the MonStars-esque\u00a0squad, Green was sensational with 34 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and two steals.<\/p>\n<p>Dominant in all facets of the game, it was arguably the best game of his career.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Beal hits Jalen Green twice with the ball..<\/p>\n<p>No flinch. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/RT1fH3Ybyu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/RT1fH3Ybyu<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/lmv0alE5XG\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/lmv0alE5XG<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Bradeaux (@BradeauxNBA) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BradeauxNBA\/status\/1764161784749883420?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">March 3, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>His competitiveness in-between and outside of the lines was striking as well. Frustrated by Green\u2019s defense, Suns veteran <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/bealbr01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bradley Beal<\/a> tried to get under the young star\u2019s skin. First, he attempted to get Green to flinch by faking as if he would hit the third-year pro with the ball. A move that inspired images of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/barnema02.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Matt Barnes<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/bryanko01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kobe Bryant<\/a>\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/watch\/player\/_\/id\/39676622\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">near-altercation in 2010<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/q3ASztOQK9I?si=SJzEqQ3HRRruUmU_\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>With Green nonplussed, Beal decided to actually put his hands on him. Green took exception to that immediately. Forcefully pushing Beal back, Green flexed in the 3-time All-Star\u2019s face, his passions ignited.<\/p>\n<h3>Changing the Narrative<\/h3>\n<p>If you\u2019re Green, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/02\/29\/houston-rockets-jalen-green-growing-increasingly-frustrated\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">the current narrative<\/a> about you is hard to stomach. While not considered a bust, a Sixth Man trajectory can\u2019t be what he or the Rockets envisioned for his future. Nonetheless, if Green can bottle this lightning for the rest of the season and beyond, his reputation can do a complete 180.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s going to be easier said than done. After all, the NBA hosts 450 of the top basketball players in the world. However, Green is already arguably one of the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2023\/09\/03\/top-25-nba-players-under-25-no-20-jalen-green\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">top-25 players under 25<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>As he reaches the zenith of his ability, he can climb even higher up the ranks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Houston Rockets shooting guard Jalen Green has been on a tear lately. Tallying 27 points, five assists, and two steals in a blowout win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday, he looked every bit like the player the Rockets expected to see when they took him with the second overall pick in the 2021 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5008,"featured_media":66797,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[31,1608,62],"tags":[311,3256],"class_list":["post-66790","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rockets","category-basketball","category-nba","tag-bradley-beal","tag-jalen-green"],"modified_by":"Quenton S Albertie","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66790","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5008"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66790"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66790\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/66797"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66790"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66790"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66790"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}