There's still hope for Houston Rockets' Jalen Green

Houston Rockets fans have suffered at the hands of Jalen Green.

It has not been easy. Every time Green gives us a glimpse of potential, he follows up by falling off. The only aspect of his game that's been consistent has been his inconsistency.

If you've given up on him, you're not alone. A lot of folks have written off Green. That's not a case of fair-weather fandom. Abandoning hope in Green's case can be justified as pragmatism.

Yet...there is still hope.

Green showing potential in preseason for Rockets

Yes, it's preseason. Thanks for the helpful reminder!

If you've been watching this preseason, you understand that this caveat doesn't hold as much weight as it has in the past. There seems to be an emerging trend - teams are playing their starters against their starters, only to gradually insert reserves. Green is doing his damage against NBA starters.

On that note - he's doing considerable damage. Green is averaging 17.3 points in just 22.6 minutes per game across three preseason contests. He's connecting on 37.5% of a whopping 8.0 three-point attempts per game.

Green's production has always been contingent on his three-point shooting. He is possibly the quickest player in the NBA - Green can get to the bucket. That said, his lack of strength makes it difficult to finish if the defense collapses. To thrive as a three-level scorer, Green needs defenses to respect his shooting.

That combination of accuracy and volume will demand respect. Can Green sustain it?

Green needs to carry success to regular season

That's to be determined.

Green has had hot streaks before. We harken back to March of last season far too often. To be the player the Rockets drafted him to be, Green needs to perform at a high level for more than a month in 2024-25.

If he can't, the situation could get messy. Green is due for a rookie scale extension soon. The Rockets can't afford to pay him if he's a part-time performer. Granted, inconsistency is typical of volume scorers. Green can have down nights - just not nearly as regularly as he has throughout his NBA career.

Let's try to give him a blank slate. Last year was Green's first season in a truly structured NBA environment. He's a product of a G-League Ignite program that doesn't seem to have been effective in developing prospects. Jonathan Kuminga only started coming around last year, and Scoot Henderson looks to be further behind the eightball than Green's ever been.

So, there's still hope for Green.

If he's going to make good on it, the time is now.