The Houston Rockets were one of the biggest success stories of the season, as Ime Udoka was able to guide his young team to the two seed in the Western Conference. That fairy tale might be coming to an end early though, as they now trail the Golden State Warriors 3-1 after losing 109-106 last night. The Rockets are on the verge of elimination as they get ready to head back home for Game 5, and one thing is clear. If they hope to get back into this series, they’re going to need a lot more from Jalen Green than they’re currently getting.
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Green has frequently gotten jokes at his expense about his dramatic inconsistency. One of his nicknames, Mr. March, stems from his tendency to go on an incredible stretch in the last month or so of the season, in which he puts up awesome stats. Unsurprising for many, now that March is over, Green has struggled.
Green led the Rockets with over 21 points per game in the regular season, but he scored just eight last night, the third time in four games that he’s been held to single digits. Not coincidentally, the Rockets lost all three of those games. Charles Barkley and the Inside the NBA crew took the young star to task after the game, saying that he needs to step up before it’s too late.
“Before he can become a great player, you gotta do other stuff to help the team,” Barkley said of Green. “He gets in a fog when he’s not scoring, and he’s just out.”
Shaq tried to defend Green by pointing to his age (he’s just 23), but Chuck wasn’t having it. “He’s not that young,” Barkley said.“He had 38 a game ago. You can’t go from 38 to 8.”
Green only attempted eight shots in Game 4, and his only appearance in the box score in the fourth quarter was to commit one foul, then to be pulled with just under five minutes left. Even though the game came down to the wire, Green watched the final minutes from the bench.
Jalen Green must consistently contribute for Rockets to avoid elimination
Despite being the No. 7 seed, the Warriors were favored before the series began, and we’ve seen why. Led by Steph Curry, Draymond Green, and Jimmy Butler, they’ve played with a veteran poise, while the Rockets, who are new to this whole winning thing, haven’t been able to keep up their regular season excellence.
Kenny Smith brought a fresh perspective on what Green can do to help the cause, even if he’s not scoring at his usual rate. He talked about his own playing days and how he used to commit to always doing three things: pressure the ball on defense, push the ball upcourt on offense, and sprint to get open from three when his teammates got the ball inside.
“[Green] should come to the arena and say, ‘These three things I’m going to do, regardless of what happens,” Kenny said. The fact that he’s not doing these things is no doubt why he rode the pine in crunch time.
The lights get brighter in the postseason, but Green needs to embrace the challenge of stepping up when it matters most. “For that kid to only have eight shots, that is ridiculous,” Barkley said, before recounting a story about how Larry Bird used to tell Reggie Miller that he wasn’t having a bad game because he was 3-10 from the floor, he was having a bad game because he wasn’t shooting 3-17, meaning he needed to be shooting more, whether it was going in or not.
“You can’t be the man and only shoot eight times,” Barkley said as he pleaded for Green to get more aggressive. The Rockets need Green to be the man, otherwise they’re going to be going home much earlier than they anticipated. Game 5 is Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. ET on TNT.
