Rockets guard Jaylen Green tried to emulate the rise of Jay Morant and lead the Rockets to the playoffs.
When Memphis Grizzlies' superstar guard Ja Morant spoke at the Toyota Center on Saturday, it was clear to everyone that the stunty player was starting to win again, as his excellent shooting and jumping abilities allowed him to excel in numerous NBA games.
Some would say that if he hadn't had a knee injury in Game 3 of the 2021 NBA Western Conference semifinals against the Golden State Warriors, he might have led Memphis to the NBA Finals. In this game, he averaged 38.3 points per game.
So when the Houston Rockets opener at home on Saturday, fans at Toyota Center sat in their seats, knowing what Morant would expect and expecting him to do it regularly. Sure enough, Morant scored 49 points and eight assists and didn't disappoint.
Rockets head coach Stephen Sellars spoke about Jaylen Green's performance against the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday and couldn't be more proud of what he did.
However, home fans also saw their team's future, with second-year guard Jaylen Green performing well in the first quarter, scoring 14 points (62.5 percent) on 5-of-8 shooting. In the end, the 20-year-old finished with a team-high 33 points.
Green had been attacking the box, and when the Memphis Grizzlies put multiple players in the box to stop him, he showed off his improved 3-point shooting on 4-of-5 shooting (80.0 percent). Green made it to the NBA Rookie First Team Selection between 2021 and 2022, scoring 30 or more points. Green scored eight times as a rookie, including seven in his final 17 games.
Rockets coach Stephen Sellars thought Green was fantastic because he was efficient on 13-of-21 shooting and focused his defensive energy on Morant, who was exhausted by the defensive work Green did.
Green shot just 35 percent from the field in Thursday's Atlanta Hawks opening game and is currently shooting 61.9 percent in 35 minutes. This may be because he improved his strength when he played against Goofy Morant.
In his postgame press conference, Green praised Morant and his efforts to win the team, but also elaborated on his efforts to raise his game to the level of 2021-2022.
Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said he believes Green has the potential to have the same conversation with his superstar guard. He believes Green has a huge passion in the game and is one of the fastest players in the league in terms of the way he breaks through defense and how quickly he can break through.
Green went from one end of the floor to the other and changed direction so quickly at half-time that it made defending very difficult. When he is able to break through the defense, he can go in any direction the way he enters the box. He put a lot of energy into three-point shooting and tried to be an offensive playmaker for the Rockets.
Green's hard side in the offseason is his ability to handle the tough times of the season as the Rockets continue to rebuild with such a young team. Hopefully, Green can continue to be efficient in Game 3 against the Bucks.
