Houston Rockets: How Gerald Green has regained his shot

Despite shooting less than 30 percent from distance to start the season, Gerald Green has recently found a way to help the Houston Rockets turn the tide.

Throughout the first two months of the 2018-19 regular season, Houston Rockets forward Gerald Green appeared to be on the eve of producing one of the worst shooting campaigns of his career.

The 33-year-old veteran — who served as a key piece on Houston’s 65-win squad last year — shot 37.8 percent from the field through his first 17 games of the season, all the while averaging just seven points per game on a career-low 29.5 percent from 3-point range. Needless to say, the former Slam Dunk champion and journeyman wing found himself in the midst of a dreadful funk.

"“I keep trying to hammer it home to him,” Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni said per Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle in the midst of Green’s rough stretch early on. “It has nothing to do with making or missing shots.”“We need his athleticism. And we have to find ways to keep him on the floor, no doubt.”"

Now, Green appears to have officially broken out of his early malaise, as the man who was once sitting at home — and playing one-on-one games against his dog — has recently provided his hometown unit with an instant offensive spark for the second straight season.

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Since the beginning of the new year, Green has displayed several signs of returning to his old form, averaging 11.8 points per game on an improved 42.3 percent shooting mark from the field over his last 29 outings.

"“I’ve just been trying to take what they give me,” Green said to reporters last month. “James [Harden] right now is causing so much attention on the court. Now, we got CP [Chris Paul] back. I think it’s really easy playing with those two guys.”“If I miss a shot, it’s about how I missed it. Is it a good shot? Did I force it? It’s more mental. If I keep staying locked in at the moment, not too high, too low…that’s been working good for me.”"

Although the player known by many as Money Green can be regarded as a streaky shooter, the 6’7″, 205-pound swingman has managed to shoot his way back into the spotlight by generating a slew of buckets in bunches against opposing teams becoming a vital component to Clutch City’s success over the last month and a half.

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Since Eric Gordon’s insertion into the Rockets starting lineup, Green has become Houston’s leading scoring threat off the bench — averaging 12.2 points per game over his last 15 games — en route towards helping a red-hot Rockets unit secure wins against several teams in the process, as the former high-flying act proved to be one of the heroes in a road matchup that took place North of the Border against the Toronto Raptors.

On a night where James Harden and Chris Paul shot a combined 7-for-31 through three-quarters of action, Green would catch instant fire when his team needed him the most by knocking down three consecutive triples that would come to kick start a run in front of a national audience.

"“He just does what he does,” D’Antoni told members of the media when asked about Green’s most recent contributions earlier this week. “And he’s very valuable when he does it. He gives that instant offense…he’s very good at it.”"

He scored 11 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter to help guide Houston to a 107-95 win against in Toronto on March 2, another example of the added impact he’s brought to the table late in the season.

Green and the Rockets will seek to capture their eighth win in the last nine contests, as they get prepared to take on rookie sensation Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday.