Ja Morant, who Green has said he admired, is a useful comparison (from basketball reference). FG% by distance 0-3 3-10 10-16 16-3P 3P Ja Morant .651 .413 .435 .339 .319 Jalen Green .638 .355 .420 .375 .339 Jalen is a better ranged shooter but is worse in the floater zone, other than that they're equal. The huge difference between them is that Ja takes 33.5% of his FGs from 0-3, while Jalen only takes 22.6%. Jalen in theory has similar athleticism to Ja, but he has been unable to translate that into getting shots in the paint. He usually tries to blow by people, but he hasn't been able to use timing / power moves that disrupt the timing of shotblockers and so just bails out instead. I think what he really needs is a lot more footwork and leg strength, in addition to spending 2 hours a day playing Brooks 1v1.
This is sort of like the Framber Valdez conundrum. I don't feel comfortable at all giving Jalen a second deal with huge GTD when the 6th man role fits him best. He hasn't blossomed in the way us fans had hoped and Ime Udoka is trying his hardest to let him figure it out. This summer he's probably gone.
I don't know if 1 on 1 will help Jalen. He can get by his man easily, it's the rim protection / help defense that he has trouble with. He needs to figure out what to do once he gets by his man. As of right now he has no solutions other than try to make an acrobatic lay up or get fouled.
Ja has a much tighter handle so he can operate those spaces more comfortably than Jalen. There's a wiggle factor that Jalen (or Bari/Tari as well) doesn't have when he has the basketball. Sengun has it and Fred has it. They just are much better at understanding the cadence of the dribble so they don't lose it while theyre doing the things they do. Jalen just needs to slow the eff down.
If Jalen even makes it to prime Cat I’d be surprised. He’s a mentally soft generational athlete without the required basketball smarts and skills. Just look at the way he incoherently mumbles through simple questions. Dude has nothing going on upstairs.
I am not exactly a Jalen fan. I was neutral pre-draft. Once he's become a Rocket, I have been rooting for him to pan out as a star player. I am still emotionally neutral about him and still have not given up hope. If he turns out to be a bust, I'll be disappointed but so be it. I have been strongly against trading him now. It just reeks of sell-low kneejerk move. And I am pretty sure if the FO start making phone calls about him being available, other GMs will sense that it's a sell-low move on the Rockets part. Unlike KPJ who was cancerous to the team culture, Green is not hurting the team other than his inefficiency on the court. About his performance, most people would trust the current coaching staff to deal with. I don't see why fans should yell "trade him" when the trusted coach is still playing him a lot of minutes. Some people already pointed out that the biggest thing Jalen needs to fix is his shooting. If he can hit shots at a high percentage, everything else will be okay. So let's just sit tight and watch how he turns out. What's the hurry to dump him? Remember people thought Jabari was a bust because he couldn't hit shots last year? Of course, the difference is, Jabari had been a good shooter all his life. Jalen does not have this benefit of the doubt. That's why I had more confidence in Jabari than in Jalen turning out to be okay.
It is either trade him or bench him....the means of a fan is as you can guess limited.....or else stay radio silent.
I mentioned vs Brooks because he is a physical player. Jalen would benefit from learning post moves, which is about strength, getting your man off-balance, and countering. I can't remember seeing Green even execute a spin. That's a basic post skill that is quite useful even for dribble-drive play.
Agree. I'd say the "wiggle factor" has a lot to do with balance and being able to move when / where the defender doesn't expect it, hence the strength aspect. Not high jump strength, but strength to move in unorthodox ways. Sengun is a master of this. What I am more concerned about is that Jalen is not savvy enough to plot out the moves.
That's incorrect. He's signed for this season and next. Jalen Green Contract, Salary Cap Details & Breakdowns | Spotrac He's RFA for 2025.
I like green but I don't think he is going to be successful at the way he is currently being used based on where he is as a player currently. He is more being used like he was as a rookie in that his touches and shots are inconsistent. He is not a good enough shooter to go possession/quarter without shooting and then hit the shots he gets. He needs rhythm and flow both of which he doesn't have currently I don't blame the Rockets for this because they are doing what they think best helps them win now but as his role stands currently, he is never going to succeed. He is the 4th option on the team while being judged for his production (by fans) as if he is the first or second option. He isn't prioritized in the flow of the offense with starters (neither is Jabari smith btw) and he can't match the intensity that the bench plays with so coming off the bench might also not be the solution. Simply put, team spent last 3 years getting draft talent and are now rolling with the combo of vets and young players. Senguin and Tari are on the inside and Bari/green are role players
I voted 7, but the choice didn't really fit my outlook as my outlook is cost dependent I think Jalen Green is tracking like Zach LaVine or Demar Derozan - A fringe all-star during their late 20s/early 30s, but fairly meh early on in his career. Jalen is improving, but should not be considered part of the untouchable core or anywhere near a max guy. He could be the #1 or #2 scorer during a rockets run, but not the superstar. Think Mark Aguirre on Bad Boy Pistons teams. I hope he stays a Rocket and develops with the rest of the young core. I would be happy keeping Jalen and watching him develop if his next contract is appropriate for who he is now - that of a 6th man/2nd team bench scorer who often sits out the ends of games. 4-5 years/$16-$20 million/year extension with a player option (can't figure out whether after year 3 or 4 is when the player can have an option). Or - let Jalen go to restricted free agency and then match offers if they make sense. Jalen might make "the leap" later this year or next, but I think he is who he is. Today, his upside is less than the group that includes Ja Morant, Donovan Mitchell, and Anthony Edwards. While Jalen has straight line explosiveness, he doesn't have that other worldly body control and court awareness that the truly great NBA players possess to finish at a high percentage at the rim. Plus his shot is broken. I expect he will demand a trade or sign away during free agency. The expectations have been so high that I don't expect him to step down to 6th man from heir apparent. He has shown enough scoring ability that a lower division team might be willing to overpay.
It's the same thing that made Leo Messi a superhuman. He would always somehow stay upright and his ball control was just mind numbingly advanced. He had a low center of gravity to begin with and he just would never ever go down while dribbling the ball in between defenders. He also was a supercomputer on the field that would see things that other people couldnt see. Some other athletes that have this that I can remember were Ladainian Tomlinson/Arian Foster in football. Adrian Peterson is an example of an upright runner (which if I remember was a criticism of him coming out) but he had so much breakneck speed and power that it didn't really matter. Russell Westbrook is an example of this in the NBA. Jalen does have some acrobatics to his game though. He can contort but oddly enough....in the air only. His most awe inspiring moves all seem to happen when he's hovering around the basket trying to lay it up around a defender. It's on the ground where he has issues.
I do not have problems with him contorting in the air.....but I would prefer Wade who was a master of circus shots.
The hurry is that he is costing us games and some folks around here want to win now. While your overall opinion is the more pragmatic and sensible where it comes to our future, I am not immune to wanting to win now either.
Jalen lacks skill. He misses shots because he doesnt know how to play with pace or body control to create separation. All he does is go full tilt and he is always bordering on being out of control. He tries way too much to rely on athletic ability. Jalen still hasnt learned how to slow the game down and use his athleticism in spurts. People defend Green by saying "he can do things no one else can do". So what. Look at the best perimeter scorers in the nba. None of them have Jalen Green athleticism and they dont need it either. Jalens biggest issue isnt shot making. Well it is, but the reason he struggles making shots is that he isnt skilled enough to consistently generate easy ones. Poor handle and poor feel for the game. Disaster for a "scorer". Jalen is a michael beasley type player so i voted a 3. I think his ceiling is role player. Whether he reaches that ceiling is up to him and whether or not hes willing to accept a far lesser role in the nba. If his pride gets the best of him and hes hung up on being a star, he'll be out of the league.
You make a good point. Specifically how he's being used and what we expect. If he is indeed the "4th option" I say we move him for a legit back up for FVV and Alpi. Not that you could get both for him but maybe with a draft pick and another teams involvement. I've seen enough. Time to move him.
In the scenario that Jalen Green is replaced/traded, nobody is making the rockets win now. So the hurry to dump him is really a valid question. The team is exceeding expectations despite Jalen's struggles
