After Ime Udoka became head coach of the Houston Rockets last year, he asked his athletic scoring guard Jalen Green a question: How would he impact the game in different ways?

Green impacted the game in a different way in his 91-90 win over the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Cup quarterfinals on Wednesday night. With the Rockets up 90-89 with 3.5 seconds left, Green stole a bad pass and was fouled by Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga. Green made two free throws that sealed the Rockets’ victory and secured their trip to Las Vegas for Saturday’s NBA Cup semifinals.

Green recalled to Andscape that Udoka told him in their meeting to “be able to hit the ball and be on defense.” If the shots aren’t falling, how can you play the game any other way impact, be it through a steal, a blocked shot or a play defense? Things like that.”

Green came to Houston as the No. 2 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft and had a reputation as an electric scorer after playing for G League Ignite.

Green averaged 17.3 points as a rookie in the 2021-22 season and quickly built a reputation as one of the most intimidating NBA dunkers. In his sophomore season, the slim 6-foot-1, 178-pounder averaged 22.1 points on 17.9 attempts while shooting 41.7%. Although his scoring average was high, he had a reputation for taking questionable shots.

The Rockets struggled in Green’s first two seasons. The team won only 20 games in the 2021–22 season and 22 games in the 2022–23 season. Green realized he needed to do more than just “go to the lab” to improve his game. The Merced, California native described his first two seasons as tough and described needing to improve.

“Growth. I trust my teammates. Taking the right shots. Not just constantly taking bad shots. Taking an open stance and being aggressive when necessary,” Green said.

On April 26, 2023, the Rockets hired Udoka as their new coach after he coached the Boston Celtics to the 2022 NBA Finals. Udoka was a skilled NBA player known for his defense and toughness. Udoka said during his press conference that with Green, center Alperen Sengun and forward Jabari Smith, the Rockets have “an enormous amount of young talent and the sky is the limit.”

Udoka met with Green shortly after his hiring and pushed to add depth to his game on both ends. Udoka wanted him to take better shots, read defenses better, make his teammates better, and use his athletic talent to contribute to the defense.

“Coming in, obviously watching a lot of film and playing against him, he had really good natural points (skills),” Udoka told Andscape. “That’s what they called him and that’s what he focused on and that’s what he should be here, a direct scorer. “My thing for everyone is to become more versatile.

“For him, a guy with his athleticism, who can get to the rim at will with his first step, just became a more well-rounded player. A lot of it was read on the edge and guarded like the defense. He’s one of our shot creators and needed to be able to both distribute and score.”

The Rockets added 2022 NBA All-Star guard Fred VanVleet and plucky winger Dillon Brooks to the team in free agency in the summer of 2023. VanVleet is a 2019 NBA champion known for his scoring and defense, while Brooks is one of the toughest defenders in the NBA. The Rockets also signed 17-season veteran forward Jeff Green, who won an NBA title with the Denver Nuggets in 2023.

Aside from being pushed to grow by Udoka, having respected veterans has also helped Green.

“If they helped me, that’s situational. Be aggressive. What there is to see out there. What you should pay attention to. Get the dog out of there,” Green said.

Green’s scoring average dropped to 19.6 points in the 2023-24 season with VanVleet and an improved Sengun. But Udoka noted that Green struggled with injuries last season en route to playing all 82 regular-season games. The Rockets also reached .500 (41-41) for the first time since the 2019-2020 season.

Udoka believes Green’s overall improvements have been overlooked. Green’s defensive rating in the 2022/23 season was the worst value of his career at 122.5. Under Udoka, he had a rating of 114.7 last season and has a career-best rating of 107 this season.

“Just because he’s petite in stature and not known as a defensive player per se, I think people underestimate his toughness and competitiveness,” Udoka said. “He makes his biggest progress defensively. Not only does he embrace the individual challenge of 1v1 defense, but he’s not a guy that teams chase and pick on. The numbers showing him defending 1v1 are pretty good.

“On offense it’s just a matter of continuing to grow and not just looking at the basket to score every time. The most important thing for me was that I became rounder. When you arrive at your seat every time, you must be able to do the right reading. He’s gotten a lot better at knowing how teams are protecting him and not being able to force shots over two or three people, which was one of his weaknesses early on when I got here.”

Despite last season’s improvements, Green and the Rockets hadn’t made much noise in the difficult Western Conference entering this season. However, Houston entered Friday with the second-best record in the West (17-8). The Rockets also have a chance to show they mean business after reaching the NBA Cup semifinals Saturday night in Las Vegas, where they will play the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Before the team qualified for the semifinals, Green told Andscape it would “mean a lot” for the Rockets to make a statement to come to Las Vegas.

“I’m sure they had their doubts because we’re a young team,” Green said. “That’s OK. We don’t worry about what other people think. We worry about what we have to do and how we’re going to do it. We’re all dogs. Everyone on the team is a dog…

“Some nights I’ll have it. Other nights someone else will have it. We have such a talented team. An extensive squad. Guys coming off the bench. Our starting five can all get it.”

Green plans to dispel doubts that he will live up to the hype of being a No. 2 draft pick. He’s gotten off to a slow start offensively, averaging 19.2 points on 39.7% shooting from the field, but he’s also averaging a career 1.2 steals on arguably the NBA’s best defensive team. Green is also only 22 years old and a game is still in development.

“People underestimate me,” Green said. “You’re in the NBA. Talented guys. You’ll score, but it won’t be as easy as having me as a non-couple…

“I was under pressure (to be a star). This is something I want to achieve. I’m still young. This is my fourth year in the league. One day everything will sort itself out.”

As Green continues to become more versatile and a defender, fans attending the NBA Cup will certainly be looking for highlight action in Las Vegas. Udoka has played with athletic Hall of Famers such as former San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili and Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant. He sees some similarities between Green and those players athletically, but wants him to have the same passion for defense.

“He certainly has some things that can’t be taught,” Udoka said of Green. “Obviously the athleticism stands out the most. His first step is crazy. I always say, ‘These athletic guys with physical attributes, how can they not be good defenders with all those skills?’ It’s a mentality thing.”