Gerald Green is providing a boost for the Houston Rockets
After being signed just over a week ago by the Houston Rockets, Gerald Green has provided a much-needed boost for a team dealing with several injuries.
Raise your hand if, as recently as a few weeks ago, you expected Gerald Green to be playing 34 minutes in a Houston Rockets game. Obviously I can’t see who raised their hand, but I’m sure very few, if any of you, actually did. That is because Green came out of nowhere (or more specifically, free agency) to explode onto the scene for the Rockets.
Signed just over a week ago, hours before the Rockets faced the Boston Celtics, Green just played in his fifth game for Houston, a 124-114 loss to the Golden State Warriors. In that game, Green put up 29 points, shooting 9-of-16 from the field and 8-of-15 on 3-pointers.
And that was coming off a game against the Orlando Magic the night before in which Green had 27 points and six rebounds, shooting 7-of-10 on 3-pointers.
All in all, Green is averaging 16.8 points per game with the Rockets, hitting 56.8 percent of his shots beyond the arc. In fact, Green became the first player in the team’s history to hit at least seven 3-pointers in consecutive games!
Green’s rise is unexpected, but much-needed for a shorthanded Rockets team that is missing James Harden and Luc Mbah a Moute. Green is able to lessen Trevor Ariza‘s minutes load, while providing excellent shooting on the wing alongside Chris Paul and Eric Gordon.
After being released by the Milwaukee Bucks just days before the 2017-18 regular season began, Green hadn’t received any interest from other teams before the Rockets reached out and ultimately signed him on Dec. 28.
While Green’s defense leaves a lot to be desired, he is a natural scorer and above-average 3-point shooter, making his fit with the Rockets nearly seamless.
Because of his hot shooting (and the lack of healthy wings on the roster), Green’s contract will be guaranteed for the rest of the season. Over the next couple of weeks as Harden and Mbah a Moute continue to be out with injuries, Green should continue to receive around 25 minutes per game, depending on his shooting. If he is hot (like he was against the Warriors), he will play upwards of 30 minutes.
The Rockets are glad that Green was available and has stepped in to fill a much-needed role right away with excellent shooting. While you can’t expect his shooting to maintain at this level (he currently owns a 77.7 True Shooting Percentage), if he can maintain above-average shooting for the next couple of weeks, he will carve out a nice role in the Rockets’ shortened rotation.
Ultimately, when the team is fully healthy, Green will often find himself on the bench for games, as he is most likely a ninth or 10th man in the rotation when Houston is fully healthy. However, down the stretch of the regular season, the Rockets may rest some players or simply need a scorer to go out and get buckets, thereby providing some playing time for the 32-year-old.
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But the focus is on the short-term, and more specifically, weathering the storm of injuries the Rockets have faced (and will continue to face in the coming weeks). Let’s worry about March and April when they come. For now, let’s all appreciate the fact that Gerald Green is back in the league getting buckets.