Amidst the Houston Rockets’ ongoing eight-game winning streak, no player’s improved output has stood out more than young shooting guard Jalen Green’s. Ever since the 6’5″ wing out of the soon-to-be-defunct G League Ignite was selected with the second pick in the 2021 draft, he struggled to string together much consistent ouput for Houston. But the winning streak has worked wonders for his game (as has the absence of center Alperen Sengun).
During that eight-game run, he’s averaging 29.3 points on .525/.453/.773 shooting splits, 6.1 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.5 blocks a night. That includes not one but two 40+ point games last week. The team has reconfigured its offense with Sengun shelved, and its more fast break-oriented approach has greatly benefitted Green’s scoring punch.
Now, one hoops expert seems to think Green’s revamped play boasts elements of the play that made a certain 18-time All-Star an intriguing Hall of Fame talent. In the latest episode of his eponymous The Bill Simmons Podcast, The Ringer’s Bill Simmons sees traces of a young Kobe Bryant’s dynamic pre-dynastic game in Green. That’s quite generous praise!
“I’m gonna say this very carefully, and I know what’s at stake, and I know he’s not gonna be this person, but when I watch him, he reminds me — this version of the attacking the rim and then the jump shooting — reminds me a little of young Kobe,” said Simmons. “Not like three-rings-in-a-row Kobe, but that late ’90s Kobe, where it was like, ‘Man, there’s a lot here. What’s goin’ on here?’ And watching him the last couple weeks, it’s like, man, if you were just drawing a 2-guard from scratch, from a scoring standpoint, what kinda move or shot doesn’t he have?” Bryant won three straight titles from 2000-2002 alongside LA center Shaquille O’Neal, and then two in a row from 2009-2010.
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Having played all 70 games for the 35-35 Rockets this year, Green is averaging 19.5 points on .426/.334/.806 shooting splits, five rebounds, 3.4 assists and 0.7 steals. Houston is currently the No. 11 seed in the Western Conference. The Rockets are one game behind the reeling Golden State Warriors. Should Green keep up this run for long, the team seems liable to make the play-in and give the 2022 champs the boot.
Green has always been a prolific scorer in the NBA, but now he’s plying his trade on a solid club in a loaded conference. The young swingman is eligible for a contract extension of his rookie-scale salary starting next season, as is Sengun. Time will tell how Houston opts to move forward.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.