Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green made no excuses for his miserable outing during Sunday’s season-ending Game 7 loss to the Golden State Warriors.
Green had a rough showing for most of the series, aside from a 38-point outburst in Game 2. With the Rockets’ season on the line in Game 7, he managed just eight points on 3-of-8 shooting, along with four rebounds and one assist.
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Green averaged just 13.2 points per game in the series — a drop of nearly eight points from his regular-season average of 21.0. Green — the No. 2 overall pick in 2021 — faced backlash for his play after the Rockets were eliminated.
“Jalen Green is the biggest disappointment in Houston Rockets history,” one fan said.
Another added: “Jalen Green deactivated his socials and tried to go Zero Dark Thirty mode just to have one fake good game in a series that went the distance.”
Green addressed his poor play head-on after the season-ending loss.
Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green.© Thomas Shea-Imagn Images
“I gotta be better,” Green said. “First playoff isn’t an excuse.”
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Rockets coach Ime Udoka credited the Warriors for their game plan around slowing Green down.
“You have to look at it as a sign of respect, the way they went after him,” Udoka said. “Their objective was to take him out of the series. … He didn’t get a ton of shots, honestly, in the series. It’s going to sting for him to not have his best performance in this series.”
The Rockets shift their focus to the offseason, while the Warriors gear up for a second-round showdown with the Timberwolves.
Related: Rockets Send Message on Fred VanVleet’s Future After Game 7 Loss
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