Rockets' Jalen Green continues to puzzle fans with dominant performance

The Houston Rockets don't always know who will contribute to their wins.

This is a team that relies on depth. The Rockets don't have one player whom they know they can rely on, but they do have a lot of players they can reasonably hope to rely on.

Will the formula hold up under playoff scrutiny? Time will tell. Some will argue that in the postseason, teams need a consistent half-court creator to win more than a series. Plenty of Rockets fans are still hoping that the creator could be Jalen Green.

In Tuesday's win over the Hawks, he inspired more of those hopes.

Rockets get star performance from Green

Green was transcendent against the Hawks. He was utterly dominant.

He had 32 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 assists. That's an outstanding line in its own right, but there's context that makes it even more impressive.

Firstly, Green was primarily defended by Dyson Daniels. He's quickly emerging as one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA. If Green can serve Daniels with this many buckets, he should be able to score against anyone.

Secondly, Green was 1/7 from downtown. That's not good, but his 14/24 mark from the field overall was excellent. Any Rockets fan knows that generally, Green struggles when his three isn't dropping. Against Daniels and the Hawks, he relied on rim pressure to generate offense.

That should be a more transferrable means of scoring. Green is an inconsistent shooter, but he's the fastest player on the floor on almost any given night. The more often he can get to the rim, the better his overall shot profile ought to be.

So, this was an encouraging performance. Rockets fans got a glimpse of the Green they want to see on a nightly basis.

Is there anything negative to say about his performance?

Rockets need Green to shine against toughest competition

Well, the Hawks, at the risk of being reductive, are the Hawks.

Sure, Daniels is a stalwart defender. The Hawks' Defensive Rating of 114.4 ranks just 17th in the NBA. This isn't one of the league's worst defensive teams - Atlanta's mediocre offense has been their biggest issue in 2024-25 - but the Rockets will likely face stiffer competition in the playoffs. They'll need Green to rise to the occasion.

So, Rockets fans should celebrate Green's Tuesday performance. It's indicative of a player who can still be an NBA star. They shouldn't mistake it as his initiation into true NBA stardom. The Rockets need Green to put up big numbers when it counts the most:

Until he can, they won't count on him to contribute.