Jalen Green's Ranking Amongst Scoring Guards Reflects True Potential

Can he put it all together, from start to finish?

Apr 14, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green (4) moves the ball against the Los Angeles Clippers during the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports / Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

It's well-known that Jalen Green has talent. 

The Houston Rockets scoring guard has had stretches in which he's simply been unstoppable. We've seen opposing defenses key in on him in the waning moments of games, so much so that they've 
triple-teamed him.

However, we've also seen him play well below his talent level, in spurts.

Regardless, it's clear what he can do when he's focused and HoopsHype's latest positional rankings reflect that, as Green landed 12 amongst shooting guards, placing him ahead of the likes of Bradley Beal, Tyler Herro, Collin Sexton, Malik Monk, and Anfernee Simons, to name a few.

The writer, HoopsHype's Frank Urbina, stated his case for the ranking.

"A torrid stretch of play from late February to early April helped former No. 2 overall pick Jalen Green rise in this ranking compared to his place in the preseason aggregate and even nearly got the Rockets into the Play-In Tournament after a somewhat slow start to the season.

Over those 17 games, Green averaged 28.0 points on 47.9 percent shooting, 39.4 percent from three (many shot attempts coming of the high-difficulty variety) to go with 6.1 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.2 steals per contest. Houston went 13-4 in that stretch with 11 of those victories coming in a row, showing that Green’s marks were far from empty.

If Green is able to carry that 17-game form over to next season, he will undoubtedly see another bump in his ranking league-wide, as the explosive, tough-shot-making 2-guard has a very high ceiling with All-Star-level potential, if not more."

Green (and teammate Alperen Sengun) becomes eligible for a rookie-scale extension this offseason, but the latest buzz has the Rockets not giving him a new deal and allowing him to enter restricted free agency next offseason. 

The 22-year-old guard averaged 19.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 42.3 percent from the field, 33.8 percent from deep, and 80.1 percent from the foul line in his third season.

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