Houston Rockets Face Questions With Star Player Ahead of 76ers Matchup

Compared to last year’s run, the Houston Rockets are finding much more success this season. Under former Philadelphia 76ers assistant Ime Udoka, who took over as head coach to replace Stephen Silas, the Rockets are 15-14.

Ahead of their first battle against the Sixers this season, the Rockets are the Western Conference’s eighth seed. They could land themselves in the NBA’s Play-In Tournament this season, which is a big jump from last year’s 22-60 run, but Houston has been facing some adversity as of late.

Heading into Friday’s game against the Sixers, the Rockets are in danger of dropping three straight games. Over their last ten games, they’ve gone 5-5. As the 2023-2024 is getting challenging for a young Rockets team, there have been questions surrounding the status of Houston’s young star, Jalen Green.

The third-year guard had a promising start to his NBA career from an offensive standpoint. By year two, Green was averaging 22 points per game across 76 outings. This year, his production has seen a dip, as he’s posting lower scoring totals compared to his first two seasons in the league.

Lately, there’s been speculation about a potential move to the bench for Green, as many question his status as a starter in the NBA right about now. However, Udoka recently squashed the notion that Green could be seeing a reserve role in his future, according to the Houston Chronicle.

“Obviously, with [Green] playing that way, if he was playing the other way we obviously wouldn’t struggle as much offensively and have to lean on other guys as much or play other guys minutes,” Udoka said postgame. “We’ll continue to keep him confident, continue to [help] him improve in certain areas, and he’ll take a jump eventually.”

This year, Green has averaged just 16 points per game while shooting 39 percent from the field. Considering he was a high-end pick for a young and rebuilding Rockets team, Green was expected to develop into an All-Star caliber player for his team. Unfortunately, his production has regressed through the first 29 games of his third season.

The Rockets haven’t reached a point where they will tweak Green’s role, which would give the team a different look when they take on the Sixers for the first time on Friday night.

They’ll continue to do what they can to keep the former second-overall pick confident while the Sixers search for a second-straight win on the road in Houston.