Jeff Green, Cleveland’s Newest X-Factor

After a quarter of the way through the season, it’s time we revisit one of the more contested signings of the Summer of Corby, Jeff Green. Fortunately for new GM Koby Altman, Green is exceeding most expectations. His signing was initially met with a heavy dose of criticism from the community here at Cavs:the Blog, much of it warranted. Before signing with Cleveland, Green played for a total of six other teams and at no point did he spend more than four seasons with any one team. If Cleveland has anyone who can be considered a journeyman, it’s him.

The 6’9″, 235lb combo forward has career averages of 13.4 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.6 assists. His raw numbers aren’t actually horrible. In fact, Jeff Green has never been horrible. Green has only averaged below 10 points during one season. That season occurred last year with the Orlando Magic. Channing Frye frequently has alluded to the dysfunction on that team, so we’ll give Green a bit of a pass on last season. The problem with Jeff Green wasn’t his stats but what often seemed to be an apparent lack of effort and an inability to string together a full season of high level play. Even as a successful Cavalier, Green is not an outwardly emotional player on the court. His face often looks stoic regardless of what is happening around him. This sort of appearance can make fans think that he doesn’t actually care, is lazy, or can’t sustain performances on the court. As far as his desire to play is concerned however, his medical history and return from those issues debunks any of those myths.

In 2011, while with the Boston Celtics, Green was diagnosed with an enlarged aortic valve. The diagnosis was a dire one, as it threatened not only his basketball career, but his life. Shortly after the diagnosis he had open heart surgery to fix the issue, missing the entire 2011-12 season. After, as he recounted during the Road Trippin’ podcast, “starting from scratch” in terms of conditioning, Green returned to action in 2012 to play in 81 of 82 games and averaged almost 13 points per game. Nobody returns to that level after that kind of illness if they don’t have a deep passion for the game.

Because of his natural athleticism and his deceptively large size, expectations for Green’s career were always extremely high. If he had any sort of passing ability, he’d be LBJ-lite. Possibly because of too much responsibility, injuries, poor teams, or some other obscure reason we can’t see from the outside, Green has failed to live up to many of those expectations. This led many to dismiss him as a viable candidate for a championship squad. Until now.

As a member of the Cleveland Dinobots (Channing’s self-proclaimed nickname for the bench rotation), Green seems to finally be “fitting in” with his team and everyone else’s expectations. In this reduced role, Green doesn’t have to be the first, second, third, or even fourth option many nights. In his case, less definitely equals more. Green currently averages 10.2 points on a career high 49% field goal percentage. He’s maintaining his career numbers but doing so more efficiently and with a career low in minutes per game.

Green’s pure numbers aren’t even where he is primarily providing the most benefit to the Cavs. Jeff Green’s versatility has been the biggest boon to LeBron and co. His innate ability to cut to the hoop has led to some spectacular dunks and given one of, if not the best passer of our generation in James, a lethal option that is frequently going straight to the hoop. Combine that with his growing effectiveness playing with Cavaliers psuedo-backup point guard, Dewayne Wade, and you get some terrifyingly effective two-man games. At the start of the video below you can see a pick and roll featuring Wade and Green. After screening for Wade’s man, Green slips to the hoop, his height allows him to catch a perfectly placed floater which makes the catch and following two-handed slam look easy.

In the following video LeBron is doing one of the many things he excels at, keeping his head up in transition. James knows he can always barrel straight to the hoop to draw a foul or score, but Green is already out ahead and waiting with an open lane straight to the basket. The King pushes it forward and Green vaults in for a glitzy baseline dunk against a too-slow Hawks defense.

In the next clip, Green is again out in front on the break. After a shovel pass from LeBron, Green throws down a vicious dunk in traffic against the Grizzlies, passing right by defensive stalwart Marc Gasol.

I hope you’re noticing the trend here. Green has helped Cleveland’s transition game immensely. For the past three seasons, and at times this season, the Cavaliers stagnate on offense. We’ve all seen it. LeBron (or previously, Kyrie) gets the ball outside the three point line, dribbles for ages, then takes an unnecessarily difficult shot well the rest of the team stands in cement boots. Because Green is usually heading downhill in transition, Cleveland is often able to get early, efficient shots. This factor allows the Dinobots to come in to give the starters a breather and end up blitzing the opposing team who has just been lulled to sleep by James and Love playing half court basketball.

Green is also playing well on the defensive end of the court. His length and size versatility is allowing him to play passing lanes, stay in front of smaller players, and match his size against all but the bruisers of the League. His surprising defensive capabilities is allowing Cleveland to have yet another person (along with Crowder) who can take the biggest wing threat on the court for stretches, giving LeBron a much needed breather. Queued up below is an example of Jeff Green’s ability as he steps into a passing lane, leading to a transition opportunity. Then, again, at the 1:04 mark of the same video, Green is able to stay in front of James Harden, forcing an arrant pass and another transition chance.

Unfortunately, Green isn’t the most effective three point shooter. In fact, he’s only shooting 29.5% from three, a poor percentage. Luckily, he’s hitting just enough from the corners and wings to not make it a crippling weakness. His game comes and goes on occasion, but he seems locked in far more often than not throughout the most recent win streak. He is playing to his strengths and limiting his “Shumpable moments” to garbage time.

So long as he continues this trend, Green will be one of Cleveland’s biggest X-Factors. With the NBA going smaller and smaller every year, his particular set of skills lends itself well to the fast paced game we see on an almost nightly basis. He will be absolutely vital in a possible finals four-peat against the Warriors. Rest assured, his previous teams will be Green with envy by season’s end.

**All statistics courtesy of basketball-reference.com