After big man Alperen Sengun was lost to a potentially season-ending injury on March 10, third-year guard Jalen Green has played at an elite level for the Houston Rockets, who haven’t lost since.
But a closer look at the data suggests that Green was already on an upward trajectory prior to the loss of Sengun.
Even so, that hasn’t stopped some NBA fans and media members from speculating that Green’s improvement might be correlated with the Rockets playing without a center. Since losing Sengun, head coach Ime Udoka has turned Jabari Smith Jr. into a floor-spacing center while inserting Amen Thompson at a forward spot.
As Udoka sees it, though, that’s largely a separate issue from Green’s continued evolution into a top scorer.
In an appearance on The Matt Thomas Show on SportsTalk 790, the official flagship radio station of the Rockets, Udoka said:
I don’t think there’s a direct correlation. We were playing much faster coming out of the All-Star break. We went 4-1 with Alpi, and our pace had increased, [by] almost twice. Now we’re playing even faster.
The one thing you could say is that he may have more touches without the post presence of Alpi. But our pace was the same.
We wanted to really increase the pace and get the threes [3-pointers] up, and all those things don’t have anything to do with Alperen, except for the crowds that he attracts… and that’s a great thing.
When Jalen was struggling earlier in the year, he had the same quality looks, and Jalen started to read the game better. I think they can complement each other very well.
The complete interview can be listened to here.
As for Green and the Rockets (37-35), who have won 10 straight games as part of their NBA-best record of 12-1 in March, they will look to continue their momentum on Friday night at Utah (29-44). Tipoff from Salt Lake City is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. Central.
Ime Udoka on why Alperen Sengun being out is not the reason for Jalen Green’s resurgence:
“We wanted to really increase the pace and get the threes up and all those things don’t have anything to do with Alpi – When Jalen was struggling earlier in the year he had the same quality… pic.twitter.com/G4o33bcDxl
— Mitty (@MittyNBA) March 28, 2024
