Last March, the Rockets were running at full speed, stringing together victories and rekindling interest in the play-in race with 13 wins in 15 games, including a series of 11 straight victories. Building on this very positive experience, the young Houston squad intends to once again play spoilsport in the Western Conference. With a particularly revitalized Jalen Green for his fourth return to the NBA.
“It will be easier to pick up where we left off last year,” he declares in the Houston Chronicle. “But I want to be able to contribute to the success of the team, outside of scoring. That is to say in defense, rebounds…”
Actually, it all started in December. When the young Rockets got into the habit of meeting at 8 a.m. every morning (when they are at home) at the training center, to work on their game and even ultimately organize impromptu video sessions with assistants then on deck, to debrief matches and focus on certain key actions.
This morning routine started for Green as Cam Whitmore, Nate Williams and Tari Eason, his young teammates lacking the field, or returning from injury (for the last named) also began to get into this good habit. “Oh, Jalen is a hard worker! “, Udoka confirms. “We knew he was going to be rewarded for these efforts. »
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And for good reason, last March, with nearly 28 points on average on 49% shooting and 41% on 3-pointers, plus 6 rebounds and 4 assists, Green was the leader of the Rockets throwing full ball.
“There were a lot of video sessions, one-on-one discussions with Coach Ivey,” Udoka continues. “Jalen had a lot more to deal with than before last season. He is above all a ball carrier who can create shots, especially going towards the circle. But he missed a lot of shooting opportunities. I think it was good for him to see him on video analysis to make the right reads in the game. When to step back and serve inside or when to go forward and finish at the rim. Sometimes it takes a little time. »
Already in his fourth NBA season at just 22 years old, Jalen Green has already proven that he can be a formidable scorer averaging 20 points in his career. Now he wants to demonstrate that he can do more, namely make his Rockets win.
“These extra workouts were necessary for me because I had a lot to learn last year,” concludes Green. “Ime asked me to do certain things that I didn't necessarily do before. Obviously, it takes a little time but I worked a lot with the coaches and we found the solution. »
| Jalen Green | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2021-22 | HOU | 67 | 32 | 42.6 | 34.3 | 79.7 | 0.5 | 2.9 | 3.4 | 2.6 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 2.0 | 0.3 | 17.3 |
| 2022-23 | HOU | 76 | 34 | 41.6 | 33.8 | 78.6 | 0.6 | 3.2 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 1.7 | 0.8 | 2.6 | 0.2 | 22.1 |
| 2023-24 | HOU | 82 | 32 | 42.3 | 33.2 | 80.4 | 0.5 | 4.7 | 5.2 | 3.6 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 2.3 | 0.3 | 19.6 |
| Total | 225 | 33 | 42.1 | 33.7 | 79.4 | 0.5 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 3.3 | 1.6 | 0.8 | 2.3 | 0.3 | 19.8 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
