DALLAS, TEXAS - APRIL 07: Head coach Ime Udoka of the Houston Rockets and Fred VanVleet #5 talk ... [+]
It has been a rollercoaster in recent weeks for Ime Udoka’s Houston Rockets. After a January 27 win at Boston, on the heels of sweeping a back to back against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Rockets held a firm grasp on the second seed in the Western Conference, ranking as high as second in some league-wide power rankings. Since that point, they’ve completely collapsed, in some part due to injuries, going 3-7 over the ensuing two weeks. Heading into All-Star weekend, the Rockets now occupy fourth in the West, at 34-21, just percentage points ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers. They are 2.5 games back of the second seeded Memphis Grizzlies.
Houston went 2-1 this past week, stopping the bleeding momentarily on a six game losing streak, winning 94-87 on Sunday over the Toronto Raptors, and then 119-111 on Wednesday over the Phoenix Suns. On Thursday, in their last game before the break, the Rockets lost 105-98 to the Golden State Warriors in a game which saw a cast composed of some of the team’s third stringers claw its way all the way back from a double digit deficit to almost steal the victory. Now the Rockets will wait until next Friday to take on the Minnesota Timberwolves at home while center Alperen Sengun represents them in Sunday’s All-Star game. Sengun is the team’s first All-Star since James Harden and Russell Westbrook in 2020 and its first homegrown All-Star since Yao Ming.
To say the break is much needed would be an understatement. While Sengun is back, the team is still playing without starting point guard Fred VanVleet and starting power forward Jabari Smith Jr. Udoka hopes to have both players back in the lineup very soon after the break.
Green Struggles Continue
Once again, it felt as though starting shooting guard Jalen Green had finally turned a corner and once again, as has plagued Green his entire career, he has plummeted right back down to earth. Over Green’s last fourteen games, spanning from January 20 to February 13, Green has shot just 39% overall from the field and just 31.4% from long distance, on 8.4 attempts per game, averaging 20.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 4.0 assists. Before that stretch, in the eight games prior, spanning from January 3 to January 18, Green had shot a blistering 54.1% from the floor and 51.3% from long distance, on 9.8 attempts, averaging 30.8 points per game, 4.1 rebounds, and 3.0 assists. It felt as though something had finally clicked in Green’s game, coinciding with the insertion of forward Amen Thompson into the starting lineup in place of the injured Smith Jr. But it would appear that the hot-cold volatility is just the latest data in a four-year career marked by inconsistency for Green.
Green signed a three-year, $105.33 million contract with the Rockets this past summer, which could keep him with the team through 2027-2028, if Green exercises his player option. But if the inconsistency continues, it’s difficult to conceive of Rockets general manager Rafael Stone not making a change. Green will be much easier to trade this offseason, when poison pill restrictions on his contract will be alleviated. Rumors have swirled surrounding Houston’s interest in Phoenix shooting guard Devin Booker. Could a match finally be made?
