Boston Celtics: Jeff Green Season Review
With the Celtics season ending, it’s time to go through each player, dissect them, give them a review, grade them, and so on and so forth. Today, we start with 28-year old small forward Jeff Green.
2013/14 Season Stats: 16.9 PPG, 1.7 APG, 4.6 RPG, .412 FG%, .341 3PT%, .795 FT%, 13.17 PER
Overview: Jeff Green came into the 2013-14 season with high expectations, being seen as the replacement for future Hall of Famer Paul Pierce. While Green did post a career high in scoring, he didn’t improve in any other major statistical category. He was Boston’s leading scorer, but he did have a tendency to fade away at points, and “disappear” on the court.
Green did impress on the court at times, but his overall play didn’t impress, at least based on what many expected him to be putting up this year.
Highlights:
The main statistical highlight from this season is the fact that he posted a career high in points per game (16.9 points) over the course of all 82 games played. Green is no doubt a talented scorer, with the ability to nail 3s (.341 3PT%) and still having the ability to finish at the rim with style.
Green’s best game of the year is arguably Jan. 22 at Washington , where the former Georgetown product posted a slash of 46 minutes, 14-of-26 shooting, 8-of-16 3-point shooting, nine rebounds, three steals, 39 points.
A season-high in points and 3-pointers, Green was an offensive juggernaut. Games like these are what give fans and coaches alike hope that Jeff has the ability to be a star in this league. This would not be the last time Green scored 39 points this season, as he dropped another 39 on the Pelicans on March 16.
If you’re looking for the greatest moment of Green’s season, it may just be his game-winning 3 in the corner against the Miami Heat on Nov. 11:
The Celtics got the win that night–they wouldn’t have a whole lot of them this year–but thanks to Jeff Green, this might be the best.
Green certainly flashed a lot of talent this season, especially on the offensive end of the court, but what comes up, must always come down.
Lowlights:
Yes, Jeff did improve in scoring this season, in his first full year as a Celtics starter, but he failed to improve in a handful of other categories.
His rebounding numbers were disappointing (4.6 per game) especially for a large, athletic small forward of Green’s caliber. His career high came in his second season with Oklahoma City, where he posted 6.7 per game. However, Green spent the majority of his playing time at the power forward position, while some guy named Kevin Durant played the small forward position.
Green also failed to improve his assist, steal, and shooting percentage numbers across the board. At 28, Jeff was expected to make a huge jump this season, and take over as the type of player Boston could constantly rely on. However, he continued to falter in some games, shown with 15 games where he scored under 10 points.
If you want one game in particular that sticks out as a dud, it would have to be March 5 against the Golden State Warriors, where he posted this line: 24 minutes, 2-for-7 shooting, 0-for-1 3PT shooting, 0-for-0 free throw shooting, three rebounds, two assists, four points.
Green simply did not show up, didn’t get enough sleep the night before, has some bad eggs that morning, or something, because he was not on his game. He didn’t make a single shot from behind the arc, and didn’t even make it to the free throw line once. On nights like these, you have to worry about Green’s consistency and ability to lead a team.
Final Thoughts:
Green may not have the ability to be the go-to guy for this Boston squad, but he’s certainly a valuable player to have around nonetheless. Being a player entering his eighth season in 2014-15, it may be too late for Jeff Green to continue developing into the star player the Celtics thought he could be when they re-acquired him in 2011.
Season Grade: B-
Shawn McFarland covers the Boston Celtics for HoopsHabit.com