3. Green Focusing On The Little Things
By Matt Moore
TrueHoop Network
Green
Gerald Green is hoping Thursday's contest versus the Spurs is a mirror of his professional basketball career.
Green, the 18th pick in the 2005 draft and a former dunk contest champion, started off on fire. He used his athleticism and Gumby-like frame to get around the corner, draw defenses and sink midrange jumpers. Then, just as his career evaporated after stints with the Celtics and Mavericks, his shot dried up. Wide-open jumpers from the wing refused to fall, and he forced shots.
But if there's one thing the summer league's got a ton of, it's hope. Lots of hope.
Green heated up again after a particularly vicious block he leveled on a corner 3 attempt. You can't teach length, and Green has about 15 miles of it. After that play, he came alive again, finishing with 18 points and seven rebounds. Perhaps most impressive was the decisiveness with which he made his decisions. He rarely showed the lost look he so often displayed on NBA courts. As he said later, he's focusing on the basics.
"My attitude is to go out and let me show what I can do," Green said. "It's not about me going out and scoring 30 or 40; it's trying to show the little things that they may not know I can do."
Green can get up. Everyone knows that. But it was the catch-and-swing moves he made on the perimeter that opened up his game. With his midrange going, he looked very much the part of the NBA-ready wing. It's easy to forget that Green is only 24 years old. And with his game focusing more on those little things (zero turnovers) and less on the flashy dunks and boneheaded plays he was known for during his first stint in the league, this is the kind of game he needed. It wasn't a statement game but, as with most players in Vegas, another step in the process.
Matt Moore is a regular contributor to the Daily Dime.
I wouldn't mind bringing him back and seeing if he can be an end of the bench guy. I think his game could be very productive playing with Rondo in the future.
