The Houston Rockets tied up their first-round series 1-1 on Wednesday night. A major ingredient in doing so was the offensive explosion from Rockets star and playoffs debutant Jalen Green. There are at least three games left to play in this series, probably more. Can Green use those playoff games to prove he can be the build-around talent the Rockets hoped for when they selected him second in the 2021 draft?
Can Jalen Green Prove He’s a Franchise Cornerstone?
A couple of Green’s draft classmates have reached impressive heights in 2024-25. The first pick, Cade Cunningham, is a lock for All-NBA after averaging 26.1, 6.1, and 9.1 while leading the Detroit Pistons to 44 wins. Meanwhile, the third pick, Evan Mobley, was just announced as the Defensive Player of the Year. His versatility and rim protection helped lift the Cleveland Cavaliers to the top of the East.
But Green was no slouch in 2024-25 either. After a slow start, he wound up as the leading scorer on Houston’s 52-win squad. In particular, he had a career year from three (more on that later). The team’s only All-Star spot, however, went to yet another 2021 draftee in Alperen Sengun. Sengun has been excellent so far in the early goings of the Rockets’ playoff bout with the Warriors. In Game 1, Green struggled to perform as a worthy costar, his 3 for 15 from the field contributing to the Rockets’ loss.
Houston has three theoretically “build-around”-level players. The fit between All-Star Sengun and soon-to-be first-team All-Defense member Amen Thompson is a little clunky, though. That’s because neither of them is remotely close to being a shooting threat. That places a lot of the shooting burden on Green. He handled it admirably on Wednesday night.
Green and the Rockets’ Playoff Adjustments
Green took a whopping 18 three-pointers in Game 2 against the Warriors. Impressively, he made 8 of them for 44.4% and finished with 38 points. The adjustment from Houston since Game 1 was twofold. Part of it was simply putting the ball in Green’s hands more instead of Fred VanVleet‘s. FVV’s poor shooting in the series continued in Game 2. Golden State is keen to turn Houston’s scarce ball handlers into shooters. If VanVleet can’t find his range, it will continue to be a problem for the Rockets. It’s clearly less of a problem, however, when he goes 1 for 7 from three instead of 2 for 13.
Then, when Green did get the ball, he took the open threes Golden State was giving Houston’s ball handlers instead. As the game went on, and it became fully evident he was feeling it, he even looked to create them. In short, Green was everything you’d want from a build-around player. Useful Golden State youngster (and not 1920s aristocrat) Quentin Post may not see the floor much more in this series with the way that Green exploited him in mismatches.
The Series Going Forward
On the other hand, the Warriors may not wish to overreact to Green’s big night. Many of the shots Green created were high-degree-of-difficulty attempts. Green has improved as a shooter in 204-25. He achieved a career high 35.4% on a likewise career high 8.1 attempts per game. However, he still only managed 31.6% on pull-up threes this year. Green opened Game 2 with a successful drive into a dump-off pass to Thompson. He finished with 6 assists in total. That seems like a more sustainable approach for Green to potentially dominate this series than expecting him to light up the court from the three-point line every game.
Of course, if Green does happen to have it going from deep, then there’s no reason not to make use of it. If Green can continue to showcase that kind of versatility, it would inspire a lot of front office confidence in him this offseason. It remains to be seen if Green’s on-the-fly decision-making capabilities will be sufficient when his shot isn’t falling, though.
The Last Word
Regrettably, a significant factor in the series going forward will be the health of Warriors star Jimmy Butler. An MRI did rule out any fractures, so it’s likely he’ll at least be available at some point in the series, if not 100%. Still, these playoffs remain a major opportunity for Green and the Rockets. The inconsistency he’s become known for in his young career would seem irrelevant if he comes through in the biggest moments. Those big moments are exactly what teams are always building toward; when the lights are brightest, the fans are loudest, and the atmosphere is at its most electric. And if there’s one thing Green does well, it’s get the whole building cheering around him.
Photo credit: © Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
The post Can Jalen Green Prove He’s a Franchise Cornerstone? appeared first on Last Word On Basketball.