At the end of February, the Rockets seemed to be heading towards another end of the season without challenges. The defeats were piling up for Houston, which was then in 12th place in the Western Conference (25 wins – 34 losses), far from the 10th place of a Golden State team (31-27) which then seemed to be on the rise. in power.
Except that Ime Udoka's troop is the best team in March, with 11 victories in 11 outings, and 9 successes in a row!
After their last success against the Blazers, the Rockets (36-35) are breathing down the necks of the Warriors (36-34) more than ever and Jalen Green admits that he doesn't take his eyes off his prey…
“I look at the rankings every day” explains the young Texan leader. “I was watching the Warriors last night. We push. » Will he watch the next Warriors game. ” Obviously. Let's go. »
Relaunched in the second half
Boiling lately, Jalen Green had a tricky first half against the Blazers, with 8 points at 3/12 and 3 turnovers. But Ime Udoka is proud of the way he got back into the match.
“He forced a little at the beginning, he was a little anxious, then he worked, he started to take the right shots, to make the right actions”, explains the coach. “He grabbed important rebounds, he made good defensive plays and he played the right way. It was huge for him to come back in the second half like that.”
Because Portland was ahead at the break, and a much better Jalen Green in the second half, with 19 points at 6/14 shooting, allowed the Rockets to make the difference.
“He was on a big series so it’s not difficult to restart it”assures Ime Udoka. “He took the right shots at the start of the match, he forced a few. But with these failures, he remained confident. Given his current scoring, I don't think a bad half is likely to damage your confidence. In general, I think he plays very well. Tonight I really told him at halftime to let the game come to him, take the right shots, don't force anything, keep finding his teammates and play like he has been playing lately . »
