With a 10-1 record in March and eight consecutive wins, the Houston Rockets (35-35) are back in the Western Conference play-in tournament race and are the NBA’s hottest team.
The biggest individual reason, of course, is Jalen Green. Since losing Alperen Sengun to what could be a season-ending ankle injury on March 10, Green has been electric in a 5-0 stretch for Houston.
In those games, Green is averaging 34.4 points and 7.4 rebounds per game while shooting 56.5% from the field and 50% on 3-pointers. He’s the reigning Western Conference Player of the Week, and the talented 22-year-old could be poised to win it again on Monday.
So, how did Green get to this point after head coach Ime Udoka hinted in mid-February that he might lose his starting spot?
In postgame comments after Saturday’s win, Udoka credited Green for his resiliency and confidence. Among those comments:
He’s on a hot streak, obviously. Just like people have slumps at times, people can go on runs like this. But the main thing is he’s stayed resilient and continued to be confident when things weren’t going great. And all it takes for a really good scorer is to see a few go through. Run off a game or two of hot shooting and it can kind of snowball like this.
I’m proud of the way he fought through some adversity. It’s not easy with a newer team and some different demands from a coaching staff and doing different things to always stay the course and fight through it. And he’s done that. Great to see him come out on the other side.
Green and the Rockets will look to build on that momentum in Monday’s home game versus Portland, and Udoka appears hopeful.
“I’ve coached a lot of high-level scorers,” Udoka said of Green’s ongoing hot streak. “This is right up there with them.”
Ime Udoka says he's proud of how Jalen Green stayed resilient and fought through adversity, dealing with different demands from a new coaching staff.
"I've coached a lot of high-level scorers," said Udoka on the streak he's on right now. "This is right up there with them." pic.twitter.com/7ZdNw0dFpN
— ClutchFans (@clutchfans) March 24, 2024
