Jeff Green Needs a Go to Move

There's been a lot of talk about the inability of Jeff Green to be a Celtics' "go to" player. Although I don't believe that role should be thrust upon him at this juncture, I believe it could potentially happen in the future. But, in order for that possibility to come to fruition, I believe he needs to identify a go to move.

Think about it. One of the elements of his so-called inconsistency has been the fact that sometimes he focuses on long bombs; occasionally, he'll slash to the hoop; and he's also got an effective turnaround fallback jumper from the right side. Not to mention his athleticism as a wing on the break. But there's no one move that's his trademark. No single option that has a high probability of success whether or not he's defended tightly. I believe a go to move should be the foundation of his offensive arsenal.

I don't mean he should use that shot in every critical situation; it would be too predictable. But the confidence emanating from having an ace in the hole could very well give him more of a feeling of well-being for the entirety of his weaponry.

What should his go to move be? The three? Too low a probability of success unless the need for a three is critical at a given juncture of the game. I'd prefer something going toward the basket—especially since Jeff's a good foul shooter. In a sense, slashing toward the hoop gives him three options. If he can penetrate to the hoop for one of his patented slams, fine—even if all he does is force an opponent's shooting foul. But he sometimes gets stymied when closely guarded in a slashing situation. This is where options two or three can come into play. He can veer off outside the lane for that pretty turnaround jumper, or he can pass to a teammate after Jeff has drawn his defensive man. I like to categorize these three options collectively under the umbrella of "penetration."

One of the things I like about penetration as a go to move is that it can be initiated either from outside or from a post position. I'd like to see Jeff posting up a lot more this season. I can imagine the smile on my face when watching Sully in the low post, Jeff in the mid post, and Kelly in the high post—with all three posting and reposting in a motion offense.

The challenge for Jeff is that really good penetration requires attributes that have not been Jeff's strengths. A good penetrator must be able to handle the ball well. A good penetrator must be mindful of the position of teammates and ready to pass if he's stopped. And a good penetrator should ideally be equally comfortable slashing in from either side of the basket. Jeff needs work in all three areas.

Fortunately, he has bulked up somewhat, and that should help him overpower some defenders who would have presented obstacles previously. But his handle has to improve to the point where it will be a bona fide weapon. And he needs work on his left hand. Both are areas that can improve with good coaching and repetition. Passing is a skill that is not so easily learned, as a lot of it is instinctive. But, hopefully, Jeff's teammates will be seeking their niches just as Jeff will; and their locations and habits on the court will present increasingly predictable passing targets for Jeff.

Unlike many others, I'm just not ready to give up on this guy. And I think development of a solid go to move could be a centerpiece in his array of talents.

Go Jeff.

Sam

sam,

Jeff Green does have a "go to" move.  He gets the ball out on top, gets his shoulders past his man because of his athleticism and length and then flies in for a layup.  The reason why his go-to move has not been as effective as many, probably including Jeff Green himself, would like is because he's starting too high out on top and is often coming off a weak-side pick and is moving away from the basket as he receives the ball.  He needs to either take one more dribble or come off a curl or pick that is set lower down.  When he starts above the key, his swoop is losing steam and that makes it easier to defend.  I believe if he was just one more step closer to the basket before took off his go to move's effectiveness would increase significantly since his finish would be on the way up and not on the way down.

Is it Green's fault he jumps too soon?  No, I don't think so.  I think the offense was being set too far out for him.  I think picks were being set up at the elbow and above, which means that after he came off them he was out 20' and either taking a jumpshot or putting on the floor from there.  He needs to be 16-17' away but that requires a solid, perhaps even multiple, screens being set for him.  Brad Stevens talks a lot about putting the players in a position where they can succeed.  Well, Jeff Green is one of our best slashers.  You don't want a slasher starting that far out and you sure don't want them starting that far out and getting the ball moving away from the basket.  The difference between Jeff Green moving away from the basket and Jeff Green moving towards the basket is like night-and-day.  The difference between Jeff Green moving towards the basket from 20' and Jeff Green moving towards the basket from 16' might not be night-and-day but it is significant.  Jeff Green is very hard to stop when he's finishing strong and he finishes strong when he's jumping from closer.  Go figure, right?


Here's video of Jeff Green's Top 10 Dunks (they claim).  Not surprisingly, most of them are in the open court but the ones that are in the half court set take place when he is deep in the paint.




Here's Jeff Green's game winner against Cleveland.  He got the ball at the 3pt line but he was moving laterally, and not away, and was able to take one dribble and get to the rim.  Even then, it was more of a sneaky layup than a power one.





Here's one last one.  Note where he takes his last dribble.  It is well inside the paint and he finished strong.




At the risk of sounding like Blakely and being the Master Of The Obvious, Jeff Green finishes much more strongly when his jump begins closer to the rim.  Brad Stevens' job is to push for an uptempo style that let Jeff Green get the ball in the open floor, where he is absolutely devastating, or create half court sets where Jeff Green only needs one dribble to get to the dotted line.   If you're getting the ball at the 3pt line and you're coming away from the basket it is going to take you more than one dribble to get to the dotted line. As far as I'm concerned that's really all Jeff Green needs.  He needs to get out on the wing on breaks and he needs to get the ball moving laterally or towards the basket (NOT away from it!) and from no further than 16-17'.

Last year I was drooling over Jeff Green's possibilities and he teased me relentlessly.  This year I'm still hopeful, he still has his athleticism and has never been seriously injured (he played an ironman 82 games last year) and appears to have matured somewhat and is taking on a mentoring role with James Young.  In prior years he was either being mentored by KG and Pierce or, last year, he was struggling to put it together.  Now, he's the grown up and the kids are looking up at him and watching him.  I don't underestimate the potential impact of that role-change, I've seen the kind of effect that has had on many people's attitudes and performance in numerous non-basketball scenarios.  I know two people, both in their mid-20s, both completely tattooed and multiple body piercings, both wild things, who got married and now have two little children and they are completely devoted to each other and to their children and are exceedingly normal (just not normal looking, still).  Maybe Jeff Green's worm has turned too.


New season.  New personnel (including some more players who can set picks for Green like Zeller).  More experience for Stevens.



bob


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Toward the latter stages of last season (ironically after Rondo returned), I thought Jeff often gave up too easily when his drives were contested. Perhaps starting too far out was part of it because, in addition to any awkwardness it created in his rhythm, it telegraphed his intent rather than catching the defense by surprise. Hopefully some adjustments by Brad in the offensive patterns plus some bulk Jeff has added will make him a more consistent force in going to the hoop. The motion offense could benefit him as much as any other Celtic.

Sam

From what I've seen, working on his left hand is the key to improving his game. Part of the reason he's much better when he starts his move closer to the hoop is that requires fewer dribbles. The ability to go either way fluidly would take away a defender's ability to shade him in one direction. Hawk

Just to buttress what Sam said above about where Jeff should be shooting from, the following is what Tom Heinsohn said in a recent interview about Green:

Tommy: "The problem is that he’s playing 80 percent of his game on the perimeter. And that’s by design. His game should be one-dribble drives, but right now, the only drives he makes are on the fast break or the occasional time when someone breaks down and he up fakes and then takes it to the rim. I talked to him about it at the end of the season. I said, ‘Jeff you’re not using the best advantage you have. You’re one of the best athletes to ever play this game.' . . .

"I told him that he can jump and he’s quick. I said, “If I were you, I’d get a hold of old Paul Pierce and Reggie Lewis tapes and watch what they did when they were 15 feet from the basket and how they got a step. I told him, ‘Every time they get you the ball at 15-17 feet, you catch it and you have your back to the basket, and you’re palming the ball over your shoulder. You never face up. You never put a quick move on somebody.’ But part of the problem is that they’re not going to get him the ball 15 feet from the hoop all the time."


Regarding Jeff being the primary offensive weapon, the Cousy-Russell era Celtics didn't really have guy like that. They had 6 or 7 guys who could score in double figures every game. Certainly, there were games when Tommy scored 30 points, or Sharman or Cousy did, but they never had a player in the league's top ten in scoring. The closest they had to a Bird or a Pierce was Sam Jones, and he seemed to know when they needed him to score big and when they needed to get others involved.

In Jeff Green's defense, he's proven to be indeed a clutch scorer if/when called upon. When he made the winning, last-second basket against Miami last season, someone published a chart of players league-wide who had made such clutch shots and Jeff was in the top ten. This is such a different situation for him this year, we could finally see the golden heart in the Green jersey.

I bet Tom Heinsohn secretly says to himself, "If I had had that athleticism, I would have been the greatest player of my era, if not all-time." As it is, Heinie is tied with Sam Jones for most points per minute of any Celtic all-time.

Sam