Awesome post. Some people really need to see things with more perspective. I was never the biggest Green fan but no matter the outcome, whether he ends up THE GOAT or a bust, he's gonna suck a loooot of games this year. My advice to all the rational humans out there is to just ignore all the Jalen Green Chicken Littles and appreciate the growth because history has shown that this board tends to be myopic.
Yep 6'11 with a Freakin 7'4 wingspan!!!!!!! He can dribble! He has good shooting mechanics! He's tall!
How did he look absolutely awful? Did you literally just look at shooting splits? Like he literally was our best pg yesterday which is surprising and sad at the same time given his lack of experience. He was the best player at setting up teammates and had zero turnovers. He also looked far more aggressive attacking the paint. The only part that was bad was his outside shooting which is something I expect to be better as the season progresses.
I thought Green after GLeague route would be far more advanced than College players but both Mobley and Cade looking more developed than him
Wanted Mobley at #2. But Green is better than I expected. I actually saw great potential this last game. Give it 2-3 years. He’s going to get stronger and be at least a good player.
Did you even see him last game? He had issues on defense and his outside shooting was bad so far but other than that he was actually surprisingly great as a primary ball handler and getting into the paint and setting up teammates or finding the roll man on a pick. I mean he was our best pg last night which I wouldn't have expected. Zero turnovers also.
He couldn't hit a shot, he got himself blocked like 5 times, and he played the worst defense I've ever seen before. Making a couple solid passes doesn't make up for that.
It's just one game. And it's also unrealistic to expect a rookie dominate right way. From all the threads this past summer, one personal takeaways I got from the board was that if Rockets chose Green over Mobley is that relatively speaking: there was supposed to be some instant gratification of Green's offense over Mobley's defense. At least this is what I tell myself, if Rockets chose Green. This is something I'm looking for from him in his rookie season. I don't need him to be ROTY, but I hope as season progress, we see improvements even if incremental. Does the offense translate from g-league to nba. On other side of coin, Alperen was kind advertised on his offense somewhat, and scouts weren't sure about his defense in the NBA. Now that he's here, his defense while not elite, seems to be ahead of schedule. I'd be lying if I didn't imagine if Rockets could have its twin towers in Mobley and Sengun. Mobley at the last line of paint defense, something we're not getting from Wood nor Theis. Am hoping Green succeed irregardless how Mobley does. One thing lot of teams seems to do to this young Rockets (not just Green), is physicality. They seem to do that against KPJ, Green and Wood. I've no clue if waiting to bulk up is the answer. For all the talk about Mobley being skinny pre-NBA, is this our current problem? If it's physicality, is KMJ, Garuba, Nawaba, Tate, Sengun the answer? Silas talk about 'play with pace'. Rocket fans are being sold on high energy, fast pace basketball, but if the offense is not being delivered, then should we the fans be demanding a defensive identity. Cause I don't know what kind of offensive team this really is.
It's not right to judge the man with a single game but it seems like he needs to find his shooting rhythm as soon as possible. It's frustrating to see a player whose shots are marketed as his strongest point can't shoot properly. Also unfortunately, this has nothing to do with the game plan and tactics.
Yeah , Green was pretty solid when he did handle the ball last night. That pick & roll with Theis was nasty. Had a couple other nice assists too. I did like that he was aggressive going to the rack .... his game will come along. Not looking like they solve the point guard problems via the coming draft (if KPJ doesn't figure it out) , there's really none in the top 12 prospects , whole lot of bigs and wings.
He handled the ball pretty much the same amount as KPJ and Augustine and had 0 turnovers. That says a lot. And it wasn't jus ta couple of passes. He was reading the roll man very well the entire game. You can't judge the quality of a player's game from a bad three point shooting night. His defense was as bad as everyone elses. He was by far the most competent ball handler on the team last night and that quote frankly surprised me as I thought that was his weakness. And no need to exaggerate. He got blocked twice from my recollection. He also was getting into the paint far more often than the preseason games which is a good sign.
So you are saying we should have taken mobley. The one thing that was really eye-poppin about green was how bad he was defensively.
The other eye poppin thing was his competence as a primary ball handler and playmaker last night. Zero turnovers for the amount he went into the paint and setting up teammates last night is impressive for a first NBA game ever.