Jeff Green is (quietly) on a roll

Several weeks back I decided to stop writing about Jeff Green until after the trade deadline.  I figured I had stated my position on him fairly clearly and I was pretty much done with the inevitable heated debates about him in the comments section of every article that featured him prominently.

Then Birthdaygate happened and I longed for those days again!  Just kidding, ...sort of.  Well the trade deadline is done and gone and Jeff Green is still here.  And wouldn't you know it, he's thriving!  The stats don't lie.

Winter Warmth: Green Heats up in February | The Official Site of the BOSTON CELTICS

Green has had his best stretch of the season over his last 11 games, which essentially accounts for the past month of the season. He has scored at least 17 points in 10 of those contests with an overall average of 22.0 points a night. Green has also finished as the game’s top scorer in six of those games.

Granted, seven of the last 9 games have been losses, so that tends to put a damper on most individual accomplishments.  But Green isn't solely responsible for the end result, so he should get credit for his performance despite playing through swirling rumors for much of the month.

Green finished out last year very strongly so there might be something to the theory that he might just take some time to get going.  There's also the fact that he had to adapt to a new coach and a new role in the offense.  So maybe he's just recently been finding his groove within that system.

Regardless, if he can continue playing with this kind of consistency, then could prove to be a long term solution at the small forward spot.

Of course, that's a pretty sizable "if" in there.  He's never been a consistent player for long periods of time and certainly not for a whole season.  Once bitten, twice shy, so I'll believe it when I see it and I'm not counting on it.  That said, I'm happy to let him surprise me.

For now, however, I have to give credit where it is due.  Jeff Green is playing very well, and consistently so.  Good for him.