The Rockets picked up a sorely needed win against the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday night. They’ll have the opportunity to snag another on Saturday. But the team has been struggling of late. They’ve gone from contending for the two-seed to fighting to stay out of the play-in. However, the ides of March march upon us. So… any chance of the Rockets being bailed out by another sudden burst of temporary super-stardom from Jalen Green?
Will March Jalen Green Save The Rockets?
Last March, Green memorably put together the best stretch of his career. For the month he averaged 27.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 3.9 assists on 49.2% from the field and 40.8% from three. He looked like one of the best guards in the league. Almost nobody could stop him from getting to the rim and if they did, he got the ball there on its own from anywhere on the court; he could barely miss a shot.
Green has already had some similarly supercharged stretches this season. For instance, the whole of January. Over the first month of 2025, he averaged 25.7 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 3.2 assists while shooting 46.7% from the field and 42.7% from three on 8.7 attempts per game.
In February, Green was still solid. He averaged 22.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 4.4 assists. His three-point shooting dropped to 36.4% but his attempts actually went up to 9.2. That kind of shooting at that level of volume is extremely valuable, especially to a team like the Rockets who generally rely on careening to the rim and clattering their way to offensive rebounds.
The first four games of March 2025 have been less kind to Green. He is averaging 15.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 4.0 assists for the month so far, his shooting is down to 38.6% from the field and 31.0% from three. Of course, four games aren’t much use for projecting the month overall. Even in his terrific January, one can find a four-game stretch in which Green averaged only 28.1% from three. Still, the Rockets are now fighting to stay ahead of the play-in spots in the Western Conference. Now is the time when they need the best version of Green to come online.
Green’s Fourth Rockets Season Overall
At 35.6% from three overall, Green is having the best shooting season of his career in 2024-25. It’s a hugely encouraging development for him. To ever be a truly elite offensive centerpiece, Green would have to significantly improve his vision, decision-making, and interior finishing. His decision-making will probably continue to improve over time. His interior finishing might be helped if he ever starts to dabble in the dark arts of foul baiting. But Green projects less as an offensive centerpiece and more as an off-ball play finisher. High-volume three-point shooting is exactly what he needs to be successful in that archetype.
The Rockets have a particular need for someone in that role alongside stars Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson. Sengun excels in the short-roll and Thompson can be a downhill driver or a cutter off of ongoing action. Still, with two non-shooters and the best playmaker being a post-scorer, the fit between the three of them isn’t necessarily ideal.
The Green-Sengun-Thompson trio does have a positive net rating over 764 minutes this season. +2.2 is hardly the “three stars on the court” advantage you would hope for though. Partly that’s because of Green’s inconsistency. He doesn’t appear in any of the Rockets’ top six three-man line-ups (minimum 500 minutes). But Green started the season much worse than he’s been playing recently. If he can put the start of March behind him and get back to what he was doing earlier in 2025, he can close the season as a contender for being Houston’s most vital offensive player.
The Last Word
Realistically, 2024 March Jalen Green was a confluence of factors outside the Rockets’ control. Sengun was out with an injury, the team had teetered out of the play-in race and the schedule was weak. Regardless, Green has shown that he can go on hot streaks. Whether he can put together another one or not may be the difference in the team’s late-season struggle to avoid the play-in. It could also factor into the front office’s plans this offseason. As the ides of March march upon us, all eyes are on the lookout for March Jalen Green.
Photo credit: © Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
The post Will March Jalen Green Save The Rockets? appeared first on Last Word On Basketball.