SUMMARY
- Jalen Green has been averaging much lower numbers since Alperen Sengun took over as the Rockets' first option.
- Green is a proven scorer who may not flourish on a stagnant team like the Rockets.
Jalen Green has had a fairly decent run in the NBA since starting his journey in 2021. However, the Houston Rockets haven’t necessarily been in their greatest form since before his arrival. Green was selected as the 2nd overall in the 2021 NBA Draft, just behind Cade Cunningham of the Detroit Pistons. Unfortunately, neither of them had good enough seasons to win the Rookie of the Year title.
💥 Jalen Green lobs it up to Jabari Smith… and JALEN GREEN DUNKS IT HOME! pic.twitter.com/bPdNrM169Z
— The Current Monitor (@current_monitor) April 10, 2024
Green is currently in his third season in the league and has shown great potential to be an offensive threat, especially if he’s a first-scoring option. After a decent rookie season, Green erupted as a sophomore while leading the Rockets offensively. Unfortunately, Houston still hasn’t been able to crack through the playoff seeds. Houston wasn’t able to surpass the Golden State Warriors to get into the Play-Ins this year either.
A stagnant Rockets team could keep Jalen Green away from reaching stardom
Jalen Green had great improvement last season averaging 22.1 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game. He also shot 41.6% from the field on 17.9 attempts per game. However, ever since Alperen Sengun became their first option, he’s been given more possessions to handle. He went from averaging 10.7 attempts from the field to 15.6 attempts per game. This automatically brought down the number of touches Green would usually get as well.
I asked Alperen Sengun what he thought of Jalen Green great play the last month.
“He play he leads the team. It’s great to see him like that I am proud of him”.Full video below https://t.co/u8CAb0ntGX pic.twitter.com/3wVfLAINEG
— Lachard Binkley (@BinkleyHoops) April 4, 2024
The Rockets have been severely under-utilizing Green to the point where he might have to find a new home. It seems like the Rocket is trying to give Alperen more importance while giving Green a secondary role without realizing how much they can achieve with him. Green would flourish on another team that needs a proper scorer like him. Green has also been averaging only 19.7 points per game, which is far less than what he’s capable of putting up.
Jalen Green and the Rockets could both benefit from a trade
The Rockets have been struggling on defense, and it is obvious even in their numbers. Nobody averages over a block per game while their primary center is a score-first type of player. Houston could possibly move a couple of pieces, or Jalen Green to acquire an elite defender. Sources have previously revealed that Houston showed interest in bringing Clint Capela who averages at least one block and a steal per game.
Additionally, Capela is also familiar with the Houston team. Trading away Green would also help Alperen give more importance to scoring in the paint while having a backup to do the extra rebounding for second-chance points in case of a miss.