Green Could Be a Problem This Year

But not for us...Written by an NBA.com writer. We're getting noticed. There's video at the link, I can't copy it, where Dennis Scott and Kendall Gill discuss our depth.


http://hangtime.blogs.nba.com/2012/10/23/green-could-be-a-problem-this-season/



HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS – Jeff Green never makes it into the frame for the photo-op with the Celtics’ revamped Big 3 of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo.

Spending a season in street clothes away from the court and the
public consciousness has a way of forcing a player, even one as talented
and accomplished as Green, into the background.

Green spent all of last season recovering from heart surgery, missing
out on the Celtics’ run to the Eastern Conference finals and the
Celtics’ missed out on all that the dynamic hybrid forward brings to the
party.

He’s back now, in a major way. Anyone who has seen the Celtics during
the preseason has seen it. He’s flying around on both ends of the floor
and making plays at the rim (check out that block above) and in
transition in ways that no other player on the Celtics’ current roster
can.

A 6-foot-9, 235-pound forward with the length and athleticism to
match up against power forwards and the range and ballhandling skills to
work on the perimeter as well, Green brings another dose of firepower
to the Celtics’ attack (along with newcomers Courtney Lee and Jason Terry) that was lacking last season.

We’re not saying that a healthy Green pushes the Celtics past the
Heat in that conference finals clash last season, but you never know …

Green’s teammates, particularly Garnett, might feel otherwise.

There’s no doubt they love having him back now, as Garnett made clear to Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald in assessment of Green’s play to date:

<blockquote>The 6-foot-9 multipurpose weapon, nine months removed
from heart surgery, was a wonder in the preseason as he went for 13.9
points on 49.4 percent shooting. But there’s more to it than merely
numbers, even the eight blocked shots. Green took hold of the different
tasks he was given and showed himself to be a large and athletic force.

In sum, he has been what the Celtics hoped they were getting when Kendrick Perkins was sent to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the controversial February 2011 trade. (The C’s also got a draft pick that turned into Fab Melo.)

So when Kevin Garnett compares Green to Hall of Famer James Worthy and gushes, “Jeff’s a lot more aggressive than I can remember, man,” well, there are circumstances in play.

“Look, when he came from Oklahoma City he was 24 and a three-year
starter who was playing 35 minutes a game,” Celtics president of
basketball operations Danny Ainge said. “That’s really
valuable experience that’s hard to get in our league. And we thought
that Jeff was continuing to improve and was on a good track getting
better and better. And I don’t think that this procedure that he went
through, the surgery, was going to prohibit that at all and limit him in
any way, other than just the time off the court and needing to get back
in shape and all that. But Jeff is a player that’s still improving. I
don’t think he’s reached his full potential yet.”

He showed an occasional sign of things to come during the last few
months of the 2010-11 season, but this is clearly a better Jeff Green.

“I think that’s a function of his team and his role,” Ainge said. “You know, when Jeff was playing with Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant
(with the Thunder), I mean, they’re obviously the focal point. Then
when he came to Boston, he was a guy that was trying to fit into a team
that had four All-Stars on it.

“So I don’t see what’s happening now as just a function of, ‘Oh, I’m
going to be more aggressive.’ I mean, when you’re in a certain role,
it’s tough to just take that initiative on yourself. That has to be a
function of the team and your role within that team, how your coach sees
that role. So I just don’t think that it’s that simple.”
</blockquote>
What’s simple is the fact that the Celtics, despite not having the
overflowing resources to do so, have once again found a way to reshape
their roster in pursuit of the top spot in the Eastern Conference (and
by that standard, the Heat).

How much the Celtics, and specifically coach Doc Rivers, relies on Green this season remains to be seen. As TNT’s David Aldridge pointed out in this week’s Morning Tip,
that seemingly odd mix of players Rivers was forced to use last season
because of injuries and other issues, will probably change this season
now that the ranks have been replenished.

Green gives Rivers options he simply did not have last season, an
X-factor, so to speak, that his coaching counterparts around the league
would love to have. And in turn, Green gets to play the role he was
destined for all along, before the heart surgery and before he faded
from the minds of so many in Boston.

He’s going to be a problem for the opposition this season, though. You can count on it!



bob


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