Jalen Green Is Hitting His Stride

What’s the saying go? Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me three times, shame on both of us. Well, what’s four? Because we’re at that with Jalen Green.

He’s stringed together four straight 24+ point performances, all coming in Phoenix Suns wins. Last night’s victory against the Pacers was not just his best game of the win streak, but of his Suns’ tenure. The guard scored 36 points on 14-of-23 from the field and was tied for the team lead in plus/minus.

Is the guard hitting his stride?

When Suns GM Brian Gregory said recently that Green and Devin Booker can be the NBA’s best backcourt, a game like last night can only further his belief in the idea. The two combined for 79 points, both going for season highs and accounting for more than 64% of the team’s points.

The key for Green is that he’s deferring to Booker. During Phoenix’s four-game win streak, the fifth-year guard is taking three fewer shots per game than Booker is, and his efficiency has been the best it’s been all season. He’s shooting 50.6% from the field, doing so by taking nearly five more shots per game than his season average.

One of the knocks on Green to start his career has been about his efficiency. No season as a Rocket did he shoot better than 42.3% from the field or 35.4% from three, low marks for an undersized guard that can be a liability on offense, takes a lot of shots, and has a thin frame.

In two of his last three seasons on the Rockets, Green led Houston in points per game, and all four years he was a member of the team, he led them in shots per game. That is not his role on the Suns. It’s a fundamentally different one than the one he played with his former team, especially when Devin Booker is playing.

When he’s sharing the court with Booker, Green is not the offensive team’s main perimeter focus. He has more room to operate, as well as put less consistent tax on his body as he recovers from his multiple hamstring injuries that could impact his energy. When Booker plays, Green shoots 44% from the field and is a +75. When he doesn’t, he shoots 29.8% from the field and is a -34. When Green is playing without Booker, he reverts back to the role he played during his time in Houston, where he was often a first option.

Amid all the injuries both have had, Booker and Green have played just 13 games together. Since Booker returned from his hip injury, the six-straight games the two have played is the longest streak they’ve gone this year playing with each other, and they’re finally hitting their stride. Both playing similar positions and sharing similar skillsets, the two have needed time to find their rhythm. Booker’s was always going to come first. He’s the team’s best player and leader. Green is starting to find his.