Jalen Green emerged as one of the top players during the Las Vegas Summer League and the second overall pick continued that strong play on Tuesday in the Houston Rockets’ preseason opener.
Green produced 12 points, six rebounds and two assists in 27 minutes of work during a 125-119 victory over the Washington Wizards. He struggled to shoot, though, converting on just 4-of-14 from the field while missing all six 3-point attempts.
Rockets head coach Stephen Silas believes his shot will come to him.
“As he learns and grows, he is going to be pretty good,” Silas said. “He gets the ball in the open court and he is a blur. He is so athletic getting to the rim. He can shoot the ball. He didn’t shoot it great tonight but that will come with being more comfortable on the floor. He looked pretty comfortable tonight but there are still areas on the floor he can get to and reads that he can make that he will get by experience.”
Green looked to be the fastest player on the court at times and used that quickness to blow past defenders and get to the rim. On one sequence, he used a couple of dribble moves and his quick change of direction on Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma to get his first points of the preseason.
Overall, Green believed he was very aggressive in getting downhill.
“It was fun. It was exciting,” Green said. “We got out and ran. Everything we said that we talked about before for our first game, all happened. We gotta put it all together.”
Jalen Green to the rack for his first #NBAPreseason points! pic.twitter.com/d9h7qKISWT
— NBA (@NBA) October 6, 2021
Green seemingly stays in attack mode on every play, often looking to create for himself or his teammates. He nearly posterized a couple of Wizards players during his aggressive drives to the basket, likely a sign of things to come this season.
The 19-year-old is viewed as perhaps the best player in the draft class this year and it is easy to see why is so highly touted. Once the game slows down for him, Green has the ability to be one of the most electric players in the NBA. That could be scary for the rest of the league.
This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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