Golden State Warriors\’ Draymond Green dunks the ball against the Houston Rockets during the second half of Game 7 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Sunday, May 4, 2025, in Houston.
It’s no secret that Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green was mostly an on-court disappointment against the Golden State Warriors, but that trend has spilled into his off-court performances as well, namely his trash talk about Draymond Green.
After a Game 3 scuffle between the two players, where Draymond made fun of Jalen’s painted nails, the 23-year-old took some shots at the veteran Dubs forward in a postgame interview when he was asked about the confrontation.
“Just talking,” Jalen said. “He can\’t really do much of anything else, so talking is his only way.”
The young guard’s comments were never going to age well once the Warriors won Game 7 on Sunday, 103-89, but they look even worse because of the stats both players put up since those comments.
In the subsequent four games, Jalen managed to outscore Draymond by two points (39 to 37). But that was the only statistical category the Houston player had any sort of advantage over the Golden State veteran. The 35-year-old forward shot better from the field (44% vs. 34%), from behind the arc (32% vs. 24%), dished out more assists (15 vs. 7), got more steals (3 vs. 0) and more blocks (5 vs. 2). They at least tied with 20 rebounds each, but for a player that supposedly “can’t really do much of anything else,” it’s a rough look for the 23-year-old.
Even the fact that he just narrowly outscored Draymond is a tough stat because Jalen was Houston’s leading scorer throughout the regular season, averaging 21 points a game. However, that average dipped to 13.3 ppg in the playoffs, even with a 38-point explosion in Game 2. Draymond’s scoring average also fell between the regular season and this first-round series, but his fall was a lot less precipitous — a 9 ppg average dropping to 8 ppg.
But the cherry on top to all of this is that Draymond stepped up on offense when it mattered most in Game 7. The Dubs veteran doubled Jalen’s scoring on Sunday, scoring 16 points to the Houston guard’s eight.
Despite what some have said, Jalen could very well have a bright future in this league given what he’s shown he’s capable of throughout this season. But the first step in that journey would be to, at the very least, outscore the 13-year veteran best known for his defensive skill set — and will make $8 million less in salary next season — in a series-deciding Game 7.