Miami Heat Getting The Most Out Of Gerald Green Defensively
The Miami Heat have thus far been successful in their attempt to make Gerald Green more than just a one-dimensional player.
When the Miami Heat signed Gerald Green this offseason they knew what they were getting offensively. The 6-foot-7 inch wingman is as athletically gifted as any player in the NBA, giving him the ability to get to the rim at will. Combined with a strong perimeter jump shot, Green is instant offense off the bench.
But with those measurables, why has Green never figured it out defensively? At that size and with his speed and quickness, Green has the ability to defend three or four positions depending on the lineup combinations the Heat and their opponents are using. Green has a reputation as being a poor defender, and it is something he is looking to change with the Heat.
“Confidence is everything in basketball. I just have a lot of confidence on offense, and now defensively I’m getting confidence,” Green said to John Lieser of the Palm Beach Post. The proof is in the pudding for Green as well, as his defensive statistics are much improved this season.
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After allowing players to shoot 2.7 percent better than their average last season with the Phoenix Suns, Green has improved by more than 3 percent to this season, holding opponents 0.5 percent worse than their season average.
That does not mean Green is a world-class defender or stopper by any means, but it is encouraging to see a player start to have something click for them and figure things out that had otherwise been tough for them to accomplish previously in their career.
“This year they’ve got me on the best players, so I’ve taken the challenge. They give me confidence and they encourage me so much to go out and do it. I’ve never been encouraged to play defense with any other team I’ve been on,” Green also said to the Palm Beach Post.
That is one thing he said he didn’t receive in Phoenix, as he said they dogged him about his effort defensively and it had a negative effect on him. That approach obviously didn’t work well for Green, as he picked up a reputation as a poor defender despite all of the qualities he has that would make for a strong one.
It is something the Heat have made an emphasis of changing, and the results have been positive thus far. The one time the encouragement really sticks out as working was against the New York Knicks on Nov. 27.
Green was replacing defensive stalwart Luol Deng in the starting lineup and was tasked with slowing down Carmelo Anthony. That is exactly what Green did, as he oozed confidence offensively by exploding for 25 points and carrying it over to the defensive end of the court. He played a big part in Anthony going 4-of-13 from the field and scoring only 11 points.
Anthony missed his last eight shots of the game as Green got the job done on both ends of the court that evening.
Point guard Goran Dragic was reunited with Green this season after spending the last two seasons with him in Phoenix. As someone who saw Green’s defense firsthand in both places, he also sees a totally different player in South Beach than he saw in the Valley of the Sun.
“Unbelievable. Here, the coaches and all the players have challenged him and you see now what he can do. He’s a huge factor for us,” Dragic said to Lieser and the Palm Beach Post.
That defensive effort has helped Green earn 26.2 minutes per game thus far this season, a number which is sure to rise as Green is averaging 29.2 minutes per game in December. The defensive effort is a big reason for that, and it is something that is not going unnoticed.
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Green signed with the Heat as a one-trick pony, only being used as a weapon offensively. The Heat are trying to change that, and thus far they have been successful in trying to make Green a weapon on the other side of the court as well.