3 Disappointing stats from Jalen Green's season debut

The Houston Rockets gave Jalen Green his extension. Is he going to earn it?

The expectations surrounding Green have always been sky-high. He was the second-overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. Green's outlier athletic traits are supposed to translate into production. So far, that hasn't happened.

Every summer, Rockets fans are seduced by his potential. Green is said to be working hard. His shot mechanics look better. This is the year!

Perhaps it still is. That said, it didn't seem to be the case in the Rockets' season opener. Green was wildly inconsistent and ultimately disappointing.

Here are three disappointing numbers from his box score.

1. 15 Three-point attempts

Let's not harp on the number of makes Green had. OK, fine - it was 5. He went 5/15 from three-point range in this contest.

That's not great. Still, three-point shooting is volatile in nature. Some nights, the shot just isn't falling. The primary concern here is that Green attempted so many shots from beyond the arch in the first place.

The Hornets played plenty of minutes with Grant Williams at the 5. That's a complete lack of rim protection that Green is supposed to exploit. He should be using his speed to get downhill and finish at the rim.

Instead, he settled on semi-contested threes far too often. Shooting doesn't seem to be Green's strong suit, so why lean into it? He needs to be more aggressive in attacking the basket as the season continues.

2. 0 Assists

Zero. Zilch. A goose egg - a donut hole.

Green couldn't find one open teammate throughout this game? He often had the ball. Typically, he looked to shoot a three off of a screen when he had it, but let's stop beating that dead horse.

Partly, this points to a broader systemic issue. Ime Udoka is an incredible defensive coach, but thus far, his offense seems to lack ingenuity. The Rockets need to move the ball more in general.

Still, Green could take some initiative on that front if he's going to have the rock. Scoring guards are out of fashion in the NBA. A player who's going to have the ball is supposed to be able to both score and set-up teammates. If Green can't do both, he shouldn't have the ball:

And he typically doesn't shoot well enough to thrive in an off-ball role.

3. -11

In summary, Green didn't have a great game.

He deserves some credit. Green scored 10 points on 4/6 shooting in the fourth quarter. He tried to quarterback the squad. Green fell short, but his aggression in the final frame was encouraging.

Unfortunately, he spent much of the game shooting the Rockets out of their lead. Green can't just turn it on in the clutch - he needs to be a positive factor throughout the game. That didn't happen last night, and his plus/minus of -11 reflected that.

It wasn't exactly a performance worthy of $35 million.