HOUSTON (SportsRadio 610)- Before Wednesday's game against the Detroit Pistons, Rockets head coach Stephen Silas showed Jalen Green a clip from Sunday's game against the Golden State Warriors when his patience resulted in a layup.
"When he's patient and lets the spacing get to where it needs to be, the gaps open up a little bit for him," Silas explained after the Rockets 112-104 loss.
After being held to nine points during the final two games of the Rockets west coast trip, Green responded by scoring 23 points in the first three quarters. It marked the third time he eclipsed the 20 point mark, but this time he wasn't as dependent on the three-point shot.
"He was attacking," Silas said.
When Green scored 30 points against the Celtics on October 24, he knocked down eight three-pointers. He drained five shots from long distance when he scored 24 points against the Lakers last week, but on Wednesday, only nine of his points came via the triple.
"I was just trying to let the game come to me," Green said. "We were all moving the ball at the beginning of the game, getting everyone involved, and I think that's what we were trying to do. I think we executed that."
Entering Wednesday's game Green was averaging two made baskets per game from inside the restricted area, but that number jumped to four against the Pistons, but the way he made those baskets was most impressive. He attacked every time the Pistons switched a big on to him, and a sign he's figuring out how to use his strengths on the floor.
"A big out above the perimeter, it's a kill zone," Green said. "They can't slide their feet, I'm too fast, so if I get to get downhill and get that switch it's either a find or a layup."
There remain many rough edges around Green's game, which is to be expected at 19-years old, but for three quarters on Wednesday he gave the world a glimpse of what could be.
