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Rockets’ Jalen Green reacts to minutes restriction in return from injury

cody taylor
·2 min read
Rockets’ Jalen Green reacts to minutes restriction in return from injury

Houston Rockets rookie Jalen Green on Thursday returned from a 14-game absence due to a hamstring injury and scored 20 points in a loss on the road to the Indiana Pacers.

Green finished the contest by shooting 7-of-14 from the field, including 6-of-9 from 3-point range, during the 118-106 loss. He returned in a limited role, logging 25 minutes of work on a strict time count set by the team after missing the past month.

Rockets head coach Stephen Silas liked how Green performed in his return.

He was really good — quick decisions, shot his catch-and-shoot. I think we saw less isolation, dribble, dribble, dribble, which is great. It’s definitely something to build on. To get 20 points in limited minutes in his first game out there is good.

Green felt as though the game had slowed down for him a bit. He had the opportunity to watch from the sidelines and see the game from a different perspective. The things he learned while out of the lineup helped him during his return.

The second pick felt no discomfort with his hamstring afterward. The team will monitor the injury over the next few days but, with no games until Monday, Green will have the opportunity to continue to rehab and rest. He understood why the team placed him on a minutes count.

However, he still didn’t want to leave the game when his time was up.

We had a timeout or something like that and Coach is like, ‘Your minutes are up.’ I said: ‘Damn!’ We had like four minutes left and I was like, ‘Damn!’ But, it’s all part of the plan. We’re trying to make sure I’m 110%.

The Rockets certainly made sure Green took his time during his recovery and it appeared to pay off as he returned to form on Thursday. The injury enabled him to continue to work on his overall game and decision-making, something that was almost a blessing in disguise to a degree.

Green showed why the Rockets took him with the second pick during his return and the team is certainly happy to have their franchise cornerstone back on the court.

This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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