Green tries to regain footing after return from calf injury
Jalen Green reclaimed his spot in the Rockets’ starting lineup Saturday, though it was not the return he hoped for, coinciding with Houston’s worst defeat of the season.
The Rockets’ 32-point loss to the Thunder was Green’s first game back after he missed the previous three with a bruised right calf, his first injuryrelated absence this season. Green was averaging 27 points on 46.5 percent shooting, 36.4 percent on 3-pointers, in his last five games before the one in which he got hurt. But against the Thunder, he scored 12 points on inefficient 4-of-15 shooting. He rebounded Monday night by scoring 27 points on 10of-21 shooting, but the result was similar, a 140-120 loss to Sacramento.
The second-year guard said the nature of the injury was such that it continues to hamper the mobility and strength of his right leg, affecting his ability to dribble and get the requisite lift in his jump shot. Although Green doesn’t expect to miss additional games, it might take time for him to return to form.
“I’ve never had a contusion in my calf, so this was really my first calf injury,” he said Monday prior to the Rockets’ game against the Kings. “It was just super tight. I couldn’t really walk or anything like that. I didn’t have, like I said, mobility in my foot like going up and down, left (and) right. Yeah, this one was very different. I’ve had hamstring injuries, knee injuries, but never calf, so this was a bit different thing.”
Green played 22 minutes in Oklahoma City and showed some signs of rust early, making just one of his eight shots in the first half. He scored eight points on 3-of-7 shooting in the third quarter before the Rockets’ starters sat out the fourth quarter of the blowout. Green showed progress Monday night by playing 33 minutes.
“It was a little shaky in that first half,” Green said. “I didn’t really stress it. My ankle’s a little weak just because I haven’t been using my foot, like really moving it like that, but it’s feeling better. That second half, I started stretching it a little more. I got my mobility back, just getting a little bit stronger.”
Green’s return also puts him back at the top of other teams’ scouting reports. Rockets center Alperen Sengun had been the No. 1 priority for opposing defenses while Green was out, but the Rockets can now resume running their offense to capitalize on the chemistry the pair has developed, mostly in high pick-and-rolls.
“It’s always a different coverage coming into every game, whether they’re in a drop or they’re blitzing or other types,” Green said. “So it’s just a matter of knowing what to do, knowing how to get out of whatever they’re going to do. Just playing smart and playing the right way.”
Even before his injury, Green’s offensive efficiency fluctuated from game to game. Between performances of 41 and 42 points in which he shot better than 60 percent from the field, he was held to 10 points on 13 shots while shooting 23 percent against Minnesota. Then, one game after shooting 15-of-25 and making six 3pointers while resetting his career high to 42 in the rematch with the Timberwolves, he went 6-of-19 with two 3-pointers in a loss to the Wizards.
“I think just finding shots in the flow of the offense,” Green said when asked how he can be more consistent.
“Offensively, not taking such bad shots and maybe slowing down. And then on the defensive side, just being more aggressive, pressuring the ball more. Have a little more effort.”