Can Rockets Jalen Green Crack Top-10 At His Position In 2023?
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HOUSTON — Jalen Green did not end the 2021-22 season with Rookie of the Year honors. But Green may have the highest expectation of any player of his draft class entering his sophomore campaign.
HoopsHype released their ranking of the top 25 shooting guards on Monday, which featured the Rockets' rising star ranked as the 15th best player at his position.
HoopsHype based their ranking of Green following his impressive on-court performance during the second half of his rookie season.
After leading the Rockets to a nine-point overtime victory against the Los Angeles Lakers on March 9, Green closed out the season by averaging 22.8 points on 47.6 percent shooting from the field during the final 17 games.
“He has great shot-making ability," LeBron James said after Green scored a then career-high 32 points against the Lakers on March 9. "Everybody looks at his athletic ability, but his ability to make shots, he’s been doing this for quite a long time now, going back to high school.
"I feel like he’s just getting better and better, and the great thing about him being (in Houston) is they’re a super young group besides a few guys. It’s allowing him to make mistakes and learn on the fly, and that’s gonna benefit him.”
Green scored 20-plus points in 17 of his final 25 games, including a rookie season-high seven straight from March 25 through April 5. He had at least 30 points in each of the final five games of that streak, marking the second-longest stretch by a rookie going back to 1971-72.
Should he sustain his level of play throughout his second season in the league, Green could be considered a top-10 player at his position by the end of his sophomore year.
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