Green in groove with range of shots
Rookie Jalen Green began the week deciding that with the Rockets’ veterans sitting out, he would step up his focus on looking for his shot.
He has produced three consecutive 30-point games, the longest streak of games scoring at least 30 points for a Rockets rookie since Elvin Hayes had a pair of four-game runs in the 1968-69 season with the San Diego Rockets.
Green, who had a career high 33 points Friday, has hit at least five 3-pointers in each of his past five games, a rookie record, and at least six 3s in four consecutive games.
His run of games with at least five 3-pointers is tied for the eighth longest in NBA history.
His streak of games making at least six 3s is tied for the fifth longest. But much of his scoring surge has come from making a wide variety of shots.
“He’s a shot-maker,” Rockets coach Stephen Silas said. “He can get to the rim. He can get to the free-throw line. He can shoot the midrange. Just kind of happy for him that the work he puts in translates and he can be further confirmed that he’s really good by working and producing and working more and producing more.”
In the three games since Green decided to look for his shot more often, he has attempted 24, 25 and 24 shots — more than he had in any of his previous 60 games. But Silas said Green has not had to force bad shots.
“The way that he’s playing, it doesn’t seem like he is going too far outside of himself as far as hunting for shots,” Silas said. “I thought most of the shots that he takes are off a pick-and-roll created by another or late shot clock or the little pick-and-roll step-up where he can get to his midrange. The quality of his shots are good.
“I think he slowed down a little bit as far as making reads. He got more comfortable within our offense as far as where shots are going to be coming from. He has continually worked on his shooting and speeding that up a little bit. His release is a little bit quicker than it was when he first came in, and he’s found success with that. And he went from 19 to 20 during the season and just got more experience and got better as the season went along.”
As a 19-year-old, Green made 37.7 percent of his shots and 28.4 percent of his 3s. In the 25 games since he turned 20 on Feb. 9, Green has made 46.5 percent of his shots and 40 percent of his 3s.
“All-Star was just a confidence-builder, being in that atmosphere, playing in that,” Green said. “On top of that, me and (assistant coach John Lucas) being in the gym working, all the time. Just trusting my work.”
Play in crunch time a key culprit in skid
The Rockets had won their share of close games throughout the season, going 13-14 in games with a margin of five or fewer points in the final five minutes before this week.
In the past three games, however, they made 23.8 percent of their shots and 16.7 percent of their 3s in clutch situations, losing the first three games of a four-game homestand. They had 3-pointers that could have forced overtime but missed at the buzzer against the Spurs and Kings before a late surge moved them to within three in the last minute of Friday’s loss to the Kings.
“We were missing a whole bunch of shots that were created by somebody,” Silas said. “They just didn’t go.”
There were issues on the other end as well. The Spurs and Kings combined to make 45 percent of their shots and 40 percent of their 3s in the final five minutes to secure the wins.
“I think it’s more getting stops than anything,” Rockets forward Garrison Mathews said of Friday’s loss. “They hit some shots down the stretch we could have played better defense. I think it comes down to us being young, learning how to finish out games, and two, getting stops on the defensive end. We have to get stops late in the game if we want to win.”