Jalen Green’s Ranking Among Top Goalkeepers Reflects His True Potential

It’s well known that Jalen Green has talent.

The Houston Rockets guard had periods where he was simply unstoppable. We saw opposing defenses focus on him in the final moments of games, so much so that they
Made him triple team.

However, we’ve also seen him play well below his talent level, in fits and starts.

Either way, it’s clear what he can do when focused and HoopsHype’s latest positional rankings reflect that, as Green earned 12th place among shooting guards, putting him ahead of Bradley Beal, Tyler Herro, Collin Sexton, Malik Monk and Anfernee Simons, to name a few.

HoopsHype writer Frank Urbina laid out his case for the ranking.

“A torrid stretch of play from late February to early April helped former No. 2 overall pick Jalen Green climb this ranking from his place in the preseason total and even nearly allowed the Rockets to enter 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 of his shot attempts coming from the high-difficulty variety) to go with 6.1 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Houston went 13-4 during that stretch with 11 of those wins coming in a row, showing that Green’s scoring was far from empty.

If Green is able to carry this 17-game form into next season, he will undoubtedly see another improvement in his league-wide standings, as the explosive, tough guard has a very high ceiling with All-Star-level potential, if not more.

Green (and teammate Alperen Sengun) becomes eligible for a rookie-level extension this offseason, but recent buzz indicates the Rockets have not given him a new contract and have allowed him to enter restricted free agency next offseason.

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

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