It is actually quite easy to spin those numbers in Green's direction and at least call them even offensively over the last two months. I do NOT feel that I am out on a limb AT ALL doing that.
Over 50% shooting compared to under 40% are NOT EVEN CLOSE. The three pt. % is not even close. The FT% is not even close.
Smitty77
You actually didn't spin the numbers quoted at all, just came up with some new ones, but who cares.
Jeff Green's much improved scoring numbers over the past few weeks makes it easy to get carried away about his history as a player. A couple of key points here:
~ his rebounding numbers and assist-to-turnover ratio in particular can still use a great deal of improvement;
~ he's too one dimensional. as Jeff plays more, NBA coaches will begin shading him to the left more consistently, which is going to be a problem for him. he's going to have to put in the work there, but he should be able to improve if he stays healthy.
Regardless, it's equally easy to get carried away about the expendability of Pierce while Green is hot. If the Celtics have championship aspirations once the 2012-13 season is over (meaning, they don't decide to rebuild), I agree with the previous poster that it's premature to assume they can do so without Pierce.
But, as I pointed out above, I don't believe the Cs will continue to push the existing window over the summer. Which means all those Green slobberers are gonna get what they want in 2013-14: 35-40 minutes a night of Green Leaf.