Inside The Rockets

Houston Rockets' Jalen Green: NBA's Most Overrated Player?

Jalen Green is averaging 19.6 points per game for the Houston Rockets this season.

Jeremy Brener

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Houston Rockets third-year guard Jalen Green is still adjusting to life in the NBA.

Maybe because the first two seasons of his career were headlined by a whole lot of losing and very little direction. Under the tutelage of coach Ime Udoka and the guidance of his backcourt teammate Fred VanVleet, Green is playing a whole new brand of basketball ... a winning one.

The Rockets are 8-6, and Green has averaged 19.6 points per game, a smidge less than his 22.1 points per game a year ago. But considering the fact that the team is winning, that stat doesn't matter as much.

Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green
Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green / Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Despite this, Bleacher Report has named Green one of the seven most overrated players in the league.

"Still just 21 years old, Jalen Green is coming off a season in which he scored 22.1 points per game, and he's now pouring in 19.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.9 assists per contest for a Houston Rockets outfit firmly in the mix of the Western Conference playoff picture," Bleacher Report writes.

"Except...Green's 53.8 true shooting percentage and inability to play palatable defense made him a net negative as a sophomore."

Rockets LISTEN: Win vs. Nuggets Shows Major Progress

Green struggled mightily on the team's three-game road trip when they faced the Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors, but in the two games since, he's shot the ball far more efficiently, going for 50 percent or better.

The third-year guard still has some growing pains, and at 21 years old, he's allowed to have them. He is still on pace towards becoming a key piece for the Rockets as they grow into a contender.

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Jeremy Brener
JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.

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