Jalen Green Scouting Report

By: Layth Dahman

Name: Jalen Green

Draft Position: Drafted 2nd overall by the Houston Rockets

Age: 19 years old

Height: 6 feet 6 inches

Weight: 186 pounds

Position: Guard

Future Projection: Superstar, best scorer in the draft, best player in the draft, number 1 option on a championship team, and potential top 10 to 15 player in the future.

G-League Player Stats:

Minutes Per Game: 32

Points Per Game: 17.9

Field Goal Percentage: 46.1

3-Point Percentage: 36.5

Free Throw Percentage: 82.9

Assists Per Game: 2.8

Rebounds Per Game: 4.1

Turnovers Per Game: 2.7

Steals Per Game: 1.5

Blocks Per Game: 0.3

Skills That Will Translate to the NBA:

Green has the most experience and success out of most prospects before playing at the NBA level. He was one of the few prospects who went to the G-League and didn't struggle. He played against older and more experienced players who play with a chip on their shoulder and are looking to make an NBA roster. By doing this, Green is likely to be the most NBA-ready player out of any prospect in this draft and can make the largest impact in his rookie year. He knows the pace of game and officiating better than any other prospect.

Green plays well off the ball. He is constantly moving around and get high-quality catch-and-shoot threes. He has a quick release and a fluid jump shot making it hard for opponents to alter or block his shot from three. When opponents close out on him from the three-point line, Green has a quick and explosive first step to the rim allowing him to blow by the defender and attack the rim.

Green will be an elite isolation scorer in the half-court at the NBA level. He can create his own shot from inside, mid-range, and three-point range. He does well getting to his spots and making tough contested shots. Green creates space from his defender with his step-back and his side-step jumpers. He has range and can make deep three-pointers opening a lane to attack the rim when opponents close out on him. Green has the speed and quickness to blow by his defender and score at the rim. He is explosive and draws fouls when driving to the rim. He can also make tough turnaround jumpers. His ability to score in many different ways in half-court offenses will make him a great go-to scorer. This season on isolations, Green shot an efficient 44.1 percent from the field and had an effective field goal percentage of 50 percent.

Green is an efficient transition player. A lot of Green's transition points come as the leak-out man and not the ball handler. He fills the lane well and has quickness allowing him to outrun his opponents and get easy fast-break dunks or layups. Green is most effective off the ball in transition but is also able to operate as a ball-handler in transition and is able to push the pace off an opponent's miss or steal and attack the rim aggressively. He is able to finish around the rim from the right-wing and left-wing efficiently and effectively. Green from the right-wing shot 88.9 percent and from the left-wing 85.7 percent. In the G-League, Green was one of the best and most efficient players in transition and shot an efficient 78.8 percent from the field.

On the defensive end, Green is able to get into passing lanes and get steals which allows him to create offense from his defense and get easy fast-break opportunities.

Green is a willing passer in transition rather than forcing his shot in transition. He is able to find the open man in transition creating easy fast-break opportunities for his team. He is quick to pass to the leak-out man, which allows his teammates to push the pace and set them up for high percentage shots at the rim in transition.

In the half-court, with his quickness, explosiveness, and frequency attacking the rim, Green is able to set up his teammates for high-percentage open three-point shots off dribble penetration.

Skills That Need to Improve:

Green has the potential to be a threat as a pick and roll scorer as a ball handler. In this draft, Green is one of the quickest and most explosive players coming around screens and attacking the rim. He has the potential to come around screens and create his own shot from inside, mid-range, and three-point range. Green is able to create separation when coming around screens but needs to improve his shot-making. He is creating space and getting open high-quality looks, but he is rushing his shots. If the defender is able to get through the screen, or if a help defender switches onto Green, he is able to create separation with his step-back jumper. Green needs to play more poise and patience as a pick and roll ball-handler. As a pick and roll ball-handler, Green shot an underwhelming field goal percentage of 28.6 percent and had an effective field goal percentage of 32.7 percent. He also had a score percentage of only 26.2 percent.

Green struggles on the defensive end. He was one of the worst defenders in the G-League. Opponents shot an efficient 45.2 percent from the field and had an effective field goal percentage of 55.6. Green made the G-League Ignite a slightly worse defensive team. When Green was on the floor, the G-League Ignite allowed 1 more point per 100 possessions. Even though the pick and roll ball handler only has a 35.4 score percentage when defended by Green, Green needs to improve his pick and roll defense. Green struggles to get through screens on the defensive end. He doesn't give much effort and gets stuck when opponents set screens on him. He relies too much on switches and help defense, which leads to a big switching into an unfavorable matchup against a guard, leading to the guard getting a high-percentage shot. If the switch doesn't come in time, Green's defensive assignment will have a high-percentage open shot from mid-range or three-point range. This will lead to the big having a heavy defensive load and responsibility. Green also struggles to defend against off-ball screens. He is slow getting through off-ball screens which leads to an efficient three-point shot for his matchup. He also relies on switches on off-ball screens. When opponents force Green to guard off-ball screens, they have a high effective field goal percentage of 76.5 percent. With Green’s scoring ability and upside, he doesn't need to be an elite defender, but he needs to be a serviceable or average defender and give more effort on the defensive end when coming around screens. Green also would have a small defensive role and guard a role player with a small offensive responsibility.

Green needs to improve his playmaking in pick and roll situations. When he is the pick and roll ball-handler, he is quick to hit the big man rolling to the rim which results in turnovers. He needs to play with more patience and poise as a pick and roll ball-handler and with better timing when passing to the player rolling to the rim.

Player comparison: Zach LaVine

Jalen Green has been most compared to Zach LaVine, which is a good comparison. They have a similar playstyle and are close to the same size and build. Green, like LaVine, is an elite scorer. They can both create their own shot from inside, mid-range, and three-point range. They can also make tough contested jumpers. Both are dynamic and can play off the ball and can operate in catch-and-shoot scenarios. They move well without the ball and have deep three-point range. When an opponent closes out on them from a three-point line they both have speed, explosiveness, and a quick first step to attack the rim. Green, like LaVine, can get out in transition and score as the leak-out man. They fill the lane well and finish at the rim in transition. The difference between Green and LaVine in transition is that Green is a more willing passer. Green is able to set up his teammates in transition for high-percentage shots at the rim. He is quick to pass to the leak-out man which allows his teammates to push the pace and get easy fast-break opportunities. Unlike LaVine, Green needs to improve his pick and roll scoring as the ballhandler. Green has the potential to be a pick and roll ball-handler scorer like LaVine. He needs to improve his shot-making in the pick and roll as the ball handler. For Green to improve his shot-making he needs to play with more poise and patience. He is creating separation from his defender with his quickness and explosiveness, and he is getting high-quality open looks, but he hasn't been able to convert them.