Not worried about him, Green I still think is the most talented player in his draft class with highest ceiling. Possibly the only player in his draft class with super star potential. He unfortunately came into the league with a similar coaching staff to him, raw and inexperienced. There is a lot of pressure on his shoulders right now because of the expectations his talent has given people. Once he starts to get stronger he will be a league lead scorer and nearly unstoppable. To get there thou will take time. Not too much time thou..... Patience is the key with Green and I think Silas is the right man for the job.....
Think about it this way. If coaches keep only praising your work ethic, it means that your present work is bad. It's the kindergarden equivalent of "plays well with others".
Ryan Hollins put it best when he said on Twitter spaces , "If you teach winning you get winners, but if you teach losing you get losers." The bottom line is that if someone else on the roster is better than the rookies, they should be starting. The rookies need to beat out the other guys on the team to earn their roster spot. Being a first-round pick shouldn't guarantee someone minutes if they are not performing well.
Not in every scenario, The Green case is very different. Mainly because its not that Green is guaranteed his starting job because he was a 1st round pick but because you can see the franchise attempting to adopt him as our new franchise player. Its about having faith in this kid, he is not stupid. He see's JC outperforming him. He sees Matthew's hustle and Sengun's skill. He sees the guys that are playing better than him, giving up on him early in a season where wins don't matter one bit is a mistake that could hurt his growth and cripple The Rockets future. Because right now, the future is Green...
I don't care if he comes off the bench or starts - but needs to play next to a shooter more often rather than being a run to the corner shooter and with more players who can try to set him up.
One of my favorite convos tbh - but in short yes, absolutely. The biggest energy black hole is a person who constantly needs to be inspired and motivated externally. It's a drain on the person and a drain on everyone around them. A person who has the ability to self-discipline (i.e. work hard now for future gains) in a field that they love needs nothing but mentorship and access to resources. For example, look at Pat Beverley and PJ Tucker who have no business being in the NBA but carved out careers, contracts and even a ring. I believe I read a stat that says no one fails at a business more than 7 times. So if you never quit and have the resources, you will eventually get what you want if you want it. Eric Gordon is the best player in his draft class right now, and that class includes Derrick Rose, Kevin Love and Russell Westbrook. He just knew what he wanted and kept at it. All of them had injuries, but just the fact that Gordon kept working on his 3pt shot and kept playing defense has made it so that any of those teams would swap those guys for Gordon today if salaries/everything equal. It's a quality that all players with long-term success share. Some people may value money or family more than basketball (see: Westbrook) and here you see that it's not even a nefarious thing. Sometimes people value things over basketball that SHOULD be valued over basketball. In our case we have a guy who by all accounts - ex and current coaches, players, friends and execs - has always worked hard and chose the more difficult route to the NBA (actually learn how to play NBA basketball without the fame and popularity of NCAA). He puts basketball first, even though he's a 19 yr old charismatic #2 pick. It looks and sounds to me like he wants it. What makes me sure he'll be great is his first step and his soft touch on the jumper along with non stop energy when he's playing that poor defense. He seems to have ADD much like Harden and Kobe, these guys simply struggle to focus when they are not the center of attention/usage on the court much like a kid with ADD struggles when he's just listening to someone yap on and isn't asked to talk/egage. This is why you could never isolate Harden or Kobe one on one as defenders and abuse them like a Steph Curry, however they always give up points on help defense. Hopefully Jalen doesn't have it as bad as them, but it is what it is, some people are like that and it doesn't necessarily stop greatness. Green is a star scorer in his character. These guys need the ball, the belief of the team and a cast built for their unique skills in order to see their optimum value (creatives don't react well to incentivization, so the "earning it" idea is irrelevant here). Green is being made to play a Klay Thompson role right now and I think many many many star scorers would struggle in this role, just like Klay would suffer in a Harden-like role. Some people are among the best at contested shots and below average on wide open shots. However, I believe we are doing what we have to do. We must show him that these things are important and that you owe it to your teammates to be as useful off the ball as possible. He must know HOW to do them at least, because these guys can typically muster up 3-4 minutes of attention in the end of an important game if needed. There's no denying he's a hard worker at this point. There's no denying he has a killer first step, good at generating FT's and transition game. He's extremely quick too. He has shown flashes of magic and charisma, many non-Rockets articles relaying that. Even while he's horrible at finishing and shooting now, I believe we are lucky with this combination of raw skills/talent he has. He has an NBA team telling him everything he should've learned before. If he works hard, there's a LOT to work with here. My 2 cents. I always bet on a consistently self motivated person with access to resources engaging in something they want, even if they start with a disadvantage.
Damn thanks dude. Also just to be a f*cking fan of a hard working kid who plays for OUR team, you know? Jalen believes in his higher self (i.e. he's a fan of himself), that's why he treats the off court work like an investment rather than an expense. I know that people who deep down don't like themselves very much (like me for much of my earlier life tbh) won't see it in him and won't understand the value of that. I can talk **** to him all day courtside, that kid is going to the gym after the game and if I'm his opponent/enemy I hate to see it or I ignore it. Actually, thank YOU man, this convo made me feel better about this terrible game he had. All part of a hero journey though.
respect! I wish Jalen makes it big not only for the Rox, but for the emotional reward that a crazy devoted fan like you will get. We are very different - I am the analytical, cynical, skeptical, detached type - but glad we have each other’s respect, despite differences.
I remember some of us warning people that the Gleague doesn't mean much. But people kept saying he was the most 'NBA ready' player since he proved it in the gleague. Yeah. About that. The main thing Green has going for him is he's 19 though, he's a kid, he has the ceiling of a perennial all-star, I do believe that, but it's going to take a few years before he gets there. He's not Doncic or Morant or even Zion. He's more of a guy that will have to grow into his stardom if it comes. I do think he's gotten better in multiple areas of the game but getting better isn't always going to show in the stats or every game. I just do want to caution people about the next guy we draft too. I keep warning people the draft doesn't guarantee a damn thing.
