The Perplexing Jeff Green

His NBA team wasn’t good in his first year, but your points are well-taken.

I’ll suggest that time is an issue as well. Adding offensive schemes or plays at this time of the year is difficult, especially when you can’t even count on your expected starting 5.

Saying that…Doc’s ‘easy fix’ is having Green run out front in transition to get him some baskets and put pressure on defenses to get back. It gives him a (simple) role in an otherwise established offense.

Celtic defenses and offenses can both be more complicated than many teams if all the players understand the variations they can/should run. Defense particularly depends on team work, but offense is also based on the established Celtics getting the ball where they are strongest or most comfortable.

It is a bit of a problem with newbies you are counting on for bigger roles. That said, they should be trying to find a better fit for Green.

though in addition to the Pierce + Green configurations I want to see a lot of the Ray+Green configurations.

The 5-man units that have worked the best for Green have been with him at SF with Ray:

unit                              minute ORtg    DRtg   +/-

Rondo-Allen-Green-Garnett-Krstic  10.62  138.10  68.42  +69.67

West-Allen-Green-Davis-Garnett    14.17  145.46  92.00  +53.45

West-Allen-Green-Davis-Krstic     15.87  117.39  95.83  +21.56

Rondo-West-Green-Davis-Krstic     16.77  110.00  93.10  +16.90

Basically, I don’t really like Green at the 4. Yes he has speed, but today’s PFs – especially in the playoffs – tend to have too much size over him. And in the playoffs you need size at 4 to play post-up in the half-court.

Green’s numbers are WAY better at the 3, especially with the top-rotation guys above.

I basically would like to see Doc slide Pierce back & forth between the 2 & 3 and always keep two of Ray, Paul & Green on the floor.

Celtics is playing the seed. they dont want Orlando in the 2nd round and NY in first and the best thing about this is that the Vets are resting. but im not sure if they can hold on to 4th seed. since they have a very tough last games. HEY IM NOT WORRIED. cant wait for the playoffs!

after a while, Baby eventually grew into a role and flourished, this could happen to Green as well but he needs a season under his belt with us, unfortunately, the club doesn’t have the luxury of time for that to happen, we need to win now

next year should be a big year for Green, if we fail to resign Davis, Green will take over the 6th man role and be expected to finish games just like Baby does now

He’s been solid I’d say, but he’s behind the 9-ball a bit since so many people loved Perk so much. Basically if he’s not scoring 15-20 a game people are saying “we traded Perk for this?”

It’s not exactly fair to him, but it is what it is. I expect more out of Jeff as he finds his role a bit more, this is an adjustment he’s never had to make in his basketball career. But by all accounts he’s a smart, heady player who works hard and I have no doubts he will figure it out.

Yeah – Lamb looked real, real good out there.

Walker is a pretty special player as well, of course.

This guy is allergic to rebounds. He averaged 5 in 35 minutes with Oklahoma and is averaging 1 every 10 minutes with the Celtics. That’s why I say he’s following a trail blazed by Scales and McCarty as the NBA’s littlest big man.

In bench line ups when he’s out there without KG, Ray, or Paul; Green needs to be the 1st option in the offense. The problem, many times, is Davis and his delusions of grandeur thinking he needs to “lead” the second unit by being the first option and jacking up lousy 19 ft jump shots.

Agree. Unfortunately, I think Green is going to demand a very big payday. Well deserved but he is also far down the pecking order today. If the C’s win championship this year, I can see 1 or 2 of the big four retiring, opening the way for a big contract for Green to stay in …. green.

… where he gets paid and where he’s got a starting role. That’s not here in Boston, not with Pierce and KG entrenched for at least a couple more seasons.

On the money side, what happens in a couple months when someone throws a 5-year contract offer at Green? C’s can match, but would they? SOMEONE will throw at least Travis Outlaw dollars at Jeff Green, but has he shown enough in his time here to justify that kind of long-term commitment? Someone will offer at least something like 5/$35, just based on his production on OKC, and I’m not sure he’s worth it. I’m not sure he’s a guy to build around.

The shying-away-from-contact, not going after rebounds, that’s not going to change. Guys don’t magically become more physical, more willing to bang. If anything, guys shy further away from the interior as they get older. I’m just not seeing that killer instinct, not just in scoring, but in really going after it, getting into the scrum, battling.

Haven’t seen much to speak of on the defensive end.

They talked about Green like he was another Posey… and I’m just not seeing it. I’m seeing a pretty athletic guy, who can do a little of everything, but who doesn’t seem to be exceptional at any particular thing. I don’t see him as that nitty-gritty, hard-nosed presence.

Could he get better? Sure, he’s got the tools. He ain’t a rookie, though; at this point in his career, he is what he is.

  It is very difficult if not impossible to be a consistently productive player when you don’t see the ball consistently. No one off the Celtics bench ever sees the ball with any consistency except Glen Davis and once he touches it he’s going to shoot it. The Celtics are known for their ball movement getting guys open shots but that isn’t the case when Davis is in the game because all ball movement stops once he touches the ball.

  In Oklahoma City Green also didn’t consistently see the ball due to Westbrook and Durant.

  I just think that is a bit of an unfair criticism of Green especially in his time here in Boston where he has stretches on the floor where they don’t even look his way

More than likely, than anything else I wouldn’t be surprised if Green just decides not to sign anywhere else, and play out his last year then become unrestricted the year after. I’d be shocked if there was a big market for him right now.

if we end up not being able to contend next year, don’t be surprised to see Danny go aggressive in dealing out all these expiring contracts to bring both a superstar as well as possibly leverage up in the draft.

KG’s contract could bring us someone huge (Howard?).

Some of the others could be packaged with the Clippers conditional pick to maybe get a more liquid #1 pick.

Lots of possibilities depending on the CBA negotiations, whether we have a lockout, whether we have a short season, whether we still have anyting left in the tank for another run next year …

You are right on target about judging Jeff Green and expecting answers to the questions like the ones Jeff Clark has raised.

I note a lot of praise here for JO and I like that, but it seemed a lot of folks here were unjustifiably dumping on him as being useless/ washed up back at the beginning of the season as he was trying to get assimilated. He has never, I don’t think, had the opportunity to play along side someone like KG and the synergy of that combination, I am sensing, will have some nice benefits for both. From the very short time in these few games together, their defensive potential after getting some experience could be way up there, if they can get some time together and can stay healthy. Could be even better next year if they can hold up.

Similarly, we shouldn’t try to make hard judgments about Jeff Green or expect nuanced Celtic use of his skills and strengths this year. It is completely premature and unfair to make judgments about him in the ways that Jeff Clark and others here are impatient to know. With the short time he’s been with the Celtics and without the benefit of training camp to assimilate and learn the system, he is limited in the ways he can contribute and the ways the Celtics can use him. He has often seemed unsure and prone to mistakes and he and the Celts have to do the best they can with these the circumstances. And the best they can do could still be quite valuable in this playoff drive ahead.

But he is not a veteran with that much experience, so that a midseason transition like he’s had would be more difficult than for a more seasoned vet and it would be difficult even for them. It’s apparent that his outside shot is inconsistent, but even with that he can be a terrific addition for his other skills and a valuable contributor even with that and current limitations. For the future, if he can get his shot and shot selection more consistent his upside on this team is terrific with his attitude and the teamwork emphasis in his background. Better understanding of the system and his role, alone, should improve his shooting consistency/selection along with other mistakes. Celts did not trade for him not to resign him, but CBA needs to be worked out.

Jeff needs to be more aggressive on the defense and offense. Get the ball and go hard to rack, if he’s open shoot the ball and etc. Green is gonna be depended on a lot especially when playoff time comes. Being that the Celtics turned off the switch after the trade and now sits at # 3 or possibly 2, Green and the other reserves are going to have to step up big time.

…wearing their emotion on their sleeves – that’s different from not caring. There are many quality players who don’t play with that energy and passion poring out into everything they do. Green is a tactician. You put him in a role that takes advantage of his skills and empower him to do more on the court and he’ll respond.

His inconsistencies in OKC had far more to do with the inconsistency of his usage and role than it did with his personal inability to remain consistent. Jeff Green doesn’t step on toes – he was acquiescent to Durant and Westbrook’s ball-dominant offensive tendencies and he’s doing the same here.

You get out what you put into Jeff Green’s role…its not a “bad” thing, it just is…