‘Do it Earlier’: Rockets Head Coach Ime Udoka Jests about Jalen Green’s Late-Season Surge

Jalen Green ended his season on a high note, and head coach Ime Udoka acknowledged that at his end-of-season presser.

Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green saw a rollercoaster of a third NBA season.

After modest improvement from his rookie to sophomore season, many were expecting the star leap so many players before him have seen. But an output of 16.9 points on sub-40% shooting overall in his first 30 games left lots to be desired.

Still, Green pushed through, managing to show in-season development and turn his back half of the season into a drastically better product. In 24 games to end the year, he averaged 24.5 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.1 steals while shooting 45% overall and 37% from beyond the arc.

At his end-of-season presser on Tuesday, Houston head coach Ime Udoka had both jokes and praise for the up-and-comer.

"Do it earlier and we're playing right now," Udoka said while grinning. “Everyone learns and adapts to thing on their own speed. He was a guy that I probably pushed harder than most to improve all around and not just be labeled on one end of the court as a scorer only.”

In his first two seasons with the team, Green largely was unleashed, playing as the outright No. 1 scoring option. With a new coach and veterans added last offseason though, the team and scheme looked different. 

“Some things that he’s done his whole life were being challenged,” Udoka continued. “The thing about him I loved was his resiliency. He played 82 games through injury, fatigue, frustration. Never complained about it.”

“It takes time for everybody, you see the talent, you see the potential. To see him fight through that and achieve that late in the season, we’re all really proud of him.”

The Rockets made an impressive 19-win improvement from the previous season, and Green’s mid-season surge was a big part of that. Still, next season he’ll have to improve even more to take Houston to the heights they want.