Jeff Green Part of the "Big 3?"

I figured by natural progression he would continue improving and boost his stats all-around (see Durant and RW0). This year just hasn’t panned out that way so far, although hes made some great crunch time plays as of late.

My thought is that he is not mean enough. Once he learns to be aggressive he’d be a more solid part of this game.

Green is also playing out of position. He is a natural 3, but is big enough to compete with other 4s.

Why do you ask? Do you want to trade for LA?

1. I totally agree with rick. Jeff has definitely picked his game up the last 5 games or so with huge plays down the stretch. he’s found his touch beyond the arc too, and he’s hit some big ones…plus those up and under, swinging layups he does when he drives in are a thing of beauty..
2. KD has already passed LeBron in scoring, and will soon be on the top when he passes melo probably in the next game… LBJ is more strong/athletic which will help him in some situations, but really, the only category I see him well ahead of KD in is his assists. LeBron is a fantastic passer. KD has turned up his scoring, rebounding and defense tremendously just since last year, and I think this rapid pace he’s developing at will continue and make him the total package much like people consider LeBron. Although KD will never be as physically intimidating, ha.

is a great momentum player. sure, nothing special on defense, but he works and is decent, certainly not a liability on that end. and i think his three point % could be not that revealing about his actual game because he can hit that 3 in competitive situations down the stretch where he might have missed two in the second quarter (he was money at NOLA last night and is usually reliable). I don’t know, that’s my impression of Green and i think he’s our (all important in this league) 3rd man to come in and be solid scoring or rebounding. I dont buy into +/ – stats really and this is a reason why, because ive seen them better with Green more often than without him.

dude’s 23 on a team with an average starters age around 25, with Old Man Krystic out there. especially you blazers and nw division, the Durantula and Crew will soon be a force in the west

I was afraid of him turning into the next chucka (Rashard Lewis) but Green has really impressed me. His three ball seems to be a bit smoother than Rashard’s was and his Inside D play is MUCH better than anything Rashard ever brought to the table. I really get excited when Green crashes the boards – it looks like he has no chance and then POOF out of nowhere he gets it to fall or he slams it home when it appeared he wasn’t even close to the basket. He is a role player and that is what we should accept him as….

GO THUNDER!

I don’t really put too much stock on those PER ratings, because according to those, Troy Murphy should have contended for the MVP last season, and Corey Maggette is the Best player on the Warriors, even though he’s essentially a black hole with legs and is much maligned by Warriors fans. They’re useful sometimes, but they never tell the whole story, at least, not as much as you get by watching the person play. I think what he does defensively doesn’t show up as much on the stat board. Sefolosha is heralded because he’ll actually get the Hustle stats, whereas Jeff Green’s matchup will just get bad stats as a result of his good defense.

For Example, here’s Jeff’s Matchups from the last 10 Games, starting with the most recent:
  D. West F 29:14 6-13 0-0 3-3 -14 1 5 1 0 1 0 1 4 15
For David West, this is pretty bad. Poor shooting, not many rebounds.

  M. Williams F 27:41 2-7 0-0 0-0 -13 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 2 4
Granted, Marvin Williams isn’t the prime player in the Hawks lineup by any stretch of the imagination, but he scored 6 points below average and shot poorly.

A. Tolliver F 35:04 2-6 0-1 0-2 -7 0 3 3 0 1 0 1 2 4
Tolliver is a D-Leaguer, but he’s done very well for himself for the Warriors, and it was his worst performance of the season.

K. Martin F 31:24 5-10 0-0 3-4 -23 1 9 1 4 0 0 0 2 13
Green struggles with bigger defenders, but this was only an average performance by Martin, when Martin shoudl have theoretically been tearing it up. He also had 2.5 more turnovers than normal.

 T. Gibson F 35:18 2-6 0-0 0-0 +16 2 15 0 1 0 2 2 2 4
Again, Taj Gibson isn’t an amazing part of the Bulls lineup, but he scored very little, even if he did grab tons of rebounds.

  J.J. Hickson F 31:22 4-6 0-0 1-2 +11 2 9 0 1 0 1 0 1 9
Another average performance.

Z. Randolph F 38:40 9-20 0-2 7-11 -4 4 7 4 1 1 0 1 2 25
It’s a solid game for Randolph, but his rebounds were limited, he had a negative plus.minus rating, he had to earn a lot of his shots at the line, and his shooting percentage was below normal.

 R. Gomes F 31:24 2-9 0-1 1-1 +4 1 5 1 3 2 1 1 3 5
Gomes isn’t a great player either, but he shot very poorly, even if he did have a average amount of rebounds.

 M. Williams F 21:13 3-7 0-1 1-2 -3 1 2 0 0 0 0 1 2 7
Again, we see Marvin Williams held to below his averages on all accounts.

 Q. Richardson F 15:32 0-3 0-0 0-0 -10 0 3 0 1 0 0 1 4 0
 U. Haslem 18:10 2-5 0-0 0-0 -15 1 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 4
Lastly, we see QRich and Haslem, both of whom had terrible games.

Now, I’m not saying he’s a Sefolosha, in that he’s a lock down defender who can make a star have a seriously bad night. But he’s an above-average defender, able to keep his matchup to at or below their averages, especially in the scoring department.

And while his scoring and rebounding has been down this year, it’s far superior to anyone else on the roster not named Westbrook or Durant. He scores 14.3, which is well above the 9.7 of Harden and the 8.0 of Krstic, both of whom are largely inconsistent and can score 0 on a bad night. Green will usually give you at least 10. He also has more rebounds than anyone on the team not named Durant, and he turns over the ball far less than Durant or Westbrook.

So, what’s my point? I think we’re measuring Jeff Green with too high of a yardstick. We all want him to be a slightly worse Kevin Durant. Out there, scoring at least 20 a game, giving us the flashy dunks. But, the truth is, he’s a different player. He focuses more on defense. Hew focuses more on rebounding. And while he can score 20 a game, sometimes he has off nights and has to defer to the other players on the team, whereas Durant will force himself to score, even if he’s doing it inefficiently, and he’s the best player on the team.

Think of it this way. If we take away the scoring, who’s the better player? Durant could probably dish out more assists, as is the virtue of his position, and he’s a better rebounder, but only marginally. But, Green has far less turnovers, and is a much better defender. There are nights where KDs scoring is almost pointless, because he gets scored on equally by the guy he’s defending.

Now, I’m not trying to paint Jeff Green as the ultimate basketball player, and not even as a better player than Durant. Because he’s not. All I’m saying is that All 3 of the Big 3 do different things. Kevin Durant Scores, Russell Westbrook Assists, and Green….well, he does the things that are a bit harder to see on the floor and in the box scores. But, rest assured, he definitely belongs in the big 3, and there definitely is a significant drop from Green to the fourth best man, whether that be Sefolosha (Excellent defender, horrible scorer), Harden (Scorer with bad court vision), or Ibaka (Great potential, but how would he fare on the floor for 30 minutes, and does he defend all that well on a consistent basis?).

To Conclude and Answer Your Questions:
Part of the Big 3? Yes.
How Good? He might be an All-Star one year, if he’s lucky.
Why is is the team better when he’s off the floor? Because there are times when he’s on the floor when the team is without Durant, and the team, in general, does worse without him. At least, that’s my guess. I’m not sure if I want to put too much stock in that site, because according to it, we’d be better off starting Harden and Collison, and we should have kept Livingston, because he’s better than Maynor. Eh….
Address the PER ratings! I can’t, I’m not an insider. :-(

Anyway, thanks for your question, it’s been a while since something has gotten me so inspired about a particular topic. Obviously, my opinion is highly bigoted and probably incorrect, but hey, you can take it or leave it, heh.

per 36 James Harden is averaging 15.4 and Kristric is averaging 13 pts and 7.7 boards so the stats show that Green definitely is not the best rebounder on the team. Also over the past matchups, most of those guys suck. So he should dominate them anyway. If you gave other guys Green’s minutes I am sure they could put up his numbers or better

Playing guys out of position never makes teams any better. Its just a big mismatch

like Green and Kristic for Emeka Okafor

I’m interested in what it would take for you to give up on this somewhat questionable part of your clearly bright future. Note: I have only watched 5 Thunder games this year so I will make mistakes and offend those of you who know more about how your team operates. I apologize in advance.

Warriors
Gain a PF who has potential for miles but questions over character/work ethic along with an efficient but one-dimensional player who is overpaid and has 3 years left on his contract. Likely could be at best a 6th man utilized for the simple purpose of providing some scoring punch. Give up Green and a tasty expiring contract that could be attractive to GS. Risky trade for both sides as AR blowing up (either in terms of bball or attitude) would have major ramifications for both teams and their fanbases.

Magic
Get a legit low post center who is passable as a starter in the NBA, although probably overpaid and is a long-term commitment. Bass is a decent PF, capable of starting and with a refined mid-range game might add something to the Thunders offensive arsenal. JJ is there to make salaries work, could be resigned as a scorer off the bench although his skillset seems easily duplicated by Harden – who has considerably more upside. Not as risky a trade but Gortat/Bass could be good solid pieces to put with the scoring of Durant/Harden (hopefully) and the D of Westbrook/Thabo.

Pacers
Get Hibbert, who is a developing low post player with some holes in his game but alot of potential. Give up Ibaka in addition to Green because 7 footers cost alot and Hibbert is both 7 foot and young (an even more expensive combination). Westbrook/Durant/Hibbert could be a championship calibre big three IMO. D @ PG and C with Durants offense would be dynamite. Hibbert certainly has the potential to provide that necessary interior D, already blocks alot of shots and can play pretty good post D, although his lack of speed does damage his chances of being truly dominant on that end. This is my favourite trade by far, but what do I know…

Raptors
Give up prospects at PG and SF. Give up a potential all-team defensive player. Give up a nice expiring contract. Get the best 2nd option in the game. Would never happen but you’d have to do this right?

and unless you have a great rebounder and defender with him downlow, he doesn’t work. I really don’t see how great Green is

He’s played solid defense as well.

i meant underrated