The Houston Rockets have yet to find much success on the court this NBA season as they are 1-3 in the early going. But, as a rebuilding team, this season is more about the progress that their young players are making in their development. So far, they have to be ecstatic about the progress that they are seeing from Jalen Green.
Green provided a lot of optimism for the future with how he closed out his rookie season. He was peaking toward the end of it, looking like the franchise cornerstone that the Rockets were hoping they would get when they used the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft on him.
That production has carried over into the 2022-23 season. Green has been excellent on offense, scoring from every level of the court. He is averaging 24 points per game on an extremely efficient 46.1 percent from the field. Green is actually shooting better from 3-point range, making 48.1 percent of his attempts from distance. The jump shooting is not a fluke as Green is 13-of-14 from the foul line as well.
But, what the Rockets have to be most excited about is how well that Green is performing defensively. Adjusting to the strength, physicality and speed of the NBA game can sometimes take some time, as Green experienced that the hard way as a rookie defensively.
LATEST NBA NEWS: Jalen Green & Houston Rockets Updates
This season, he has come in ready to get the job done on both ends of the court. According to StatMuse, Green is holding opponents to 28.6 percent shooting from the field as the closest defender.
While there will certainly be some regression to the mean, that just goes to show how much work Green put in this offseason to improve as a defender. Becoming a two-way player is key to unlocking that next level to superstardom.
LATEST NBA NEWS: Jalen Green & Houston Rockets Updates
Green has put himself on that path with the steps forward he has taken as a defender. Only 20 years old, the sky’s the limit for the former G League Elite standout. Next on his checklist will be continuing his improvement as a playmaker as the ball is going to be in his hands more and more as the season goes on.
