The Golden State Warriors will be aiming to exploit Jalen Green’s shaky past when they face him on Friday night.
Green’s Previous Postseason Difficulties
Jalen Green, formerly with the Houston Rockets, struggled in his first career playoff series against the Warriors last season. This contributed to his departure from the Rockets; he and Dillon Brooks were traded to Phoenix for Kevin Durant.
Aside from Game 2 of that first-round series last year, where he scored 38 points, with four rebounds and six assists on 13-of-25 shooting, Green underperformed. Taking out that Game 2 performance, Green averaged just 9.2 points over the other six games, a drop from his 21 points during the regular season. He shot 19-of-61 (31.1%) from the floor and 5-of-26 (19.2%) from 3-point range.
Golden State were content with Green running the show at times in last year’s playoffs, rather than Alperun Sengun or Fred VanVleet. Both Sengun and VanVleet averaged in excess of 18.5 points per game in that series.
Udoka’s Response to Green’s Play
While most key players see their minutes increase in the postseason, Green was a detriment to his team. Ime Udoka benched him in some important moments, leading to him playing less in that series than he’d averaged during the regular season.
Green’s Recent Performance and the Warriors’ Strategy
Green will be motivated to exorcise those demons and help deliver the Suns to a playoff spot, but perhaps the Warriors will once again be happy to live with an offense where Green is a primary option.
Green scored 35 points in the Suns’ narrow loss to the Portland Trail Blazers in their first Play-In game on Tuesday. However, he did so on 29 shot attempts and committed five turnovers in the 114-110 defeat.
The 24-year-old ended up taking 12 more shot attempts than All-Star guard Devin Booker. This worked out for the Trail Blazers who secured a surprise road victory and booked their spot against the San Antonio Spurs in the first-round of the playoffs.
The Warriors will likely be comfortable if the Green/Booker shot attempts are similarly dispersed on Friday. A major watch will be whether the former second overall pick can atone for last season’s disappointment.