FanPost

Making the case to start Jeff Green


There has been some debate as to whether Jeff Green should start or come off of the bench. As it stands in 8 of his starts, the Celtics are 4 - 4. But 7 of those starts are without KG so we can't really say for sure if the numbers below hold when KG comes back.

In any case, I would still try to make a case for starting Jeff Green by looking at his numbers when he is starting and when he is coming off the bench and by looking at Paul's number coinciding with those starts. I would argue that Jeff Green's offensive presence allows Paul Pierce focus more on a Rondoesque role and together they create a potent one - two punch that the Celtics should take advantage at the get go.

Here are the stats I pulled from the month of Feb and March and compare the Iron Man and the Captain's stats from those games.

PER GAME PER 36 MINUTES
Player Row Labels Ave Minutes Played Ave Pts FG% 3 P% FT% Ave Rebs Ave Assists Ave Stls Ave Blocks Average of Pts Ave Rebs Ave Assists Ave Steals Ave Blocks
Jeff Green Did not Start 30.16 13.74 46% 35% 87% 3.84 2.16 0.68 1.32 16.40 4.59 2.58 0.82 1.57
Started 37.88 22.13 53% 54% 78% 6.00 3.75 1.38 1.75 21.03 5.70 4.48 1.64 1.66
Paul Pierce JG did not start 33.79 19.37 45% 44% 79% 7.11 6.21 0.68 0.42 20.64 7.57 6.62 0.73 0.45
JG started 32.86 17.14 51% 39% 68% 7.29 6.71 0.86 1.14 18.78 7.98 7.36 0.91 1.22

As you can see offensively, Jeff Green has just exploded in terms of points and actual minutes played when he is starting. He is doing well across all categories and per 36 minutes his production has been remarkable.

Paul Pierce on the other hand dropped in average points but his rebounding and assists are up. I bet a number of those assists are to Jeff Green but the point is when Green is on the floor the captain need not to be the most aggressive scorer and can focus on the other things the Celtics lack.

So if Jeff Green has been more productive starting than off the bench so why should the Celtics revert back to their old lineup once KG returns? I think it's high time the Celtics should either stick with a big lineup with Pierce at the 2 or a small ball lineup with Jeff at the 4 instead of Bass. Bass hasn't really come off the bench post Sully so we can't make a comparison of his production starting or off the bench. But I highly doubt Bass' production would equal Jeff Green's production on a start or no start basis.

So in my mind, there is really question on whether Jeff should start. Whether it's Lee or Bass coming off the bench, the Celtics should be better off having PP and JG together offensively and pairing him with KG could make a potent big 3 that can hopefully make some noise come playoff time.

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