yes - jeff green got his chest cut open... you know who else got their chest cut open more recently? chris wilcox. and is chris wilcox playing badly? no! he's playing like an absolute champ. it's not the surgery that's green's problem.
it's just that he's been overrated his whole career, and now he's getting 22mins a game, and he's giving you 22 mins of what he used to give okc 35 mins a game of. same player. do the math: 15 points in 35 mins gives you about 9 points in 22 mins - exactly what he's giving us. 6 rebounds every 35 mins = 3.5 every 22 mins.
close enough. jeff's fully healthy. but i feel sorry for him, because i think this will be the year that he realises he's actually not a very good basketball player. never has been.
i truly dont mean any disrespect to jeff when i say this. i want him to do well, but he is a perpetual cavs vs celtics game 5 lebron... waiting for him to show up and he never does.
but you cant blame him. danny's the one that gave him the contract. it's danny's fault. but i feel like there's something danny knows that we dont because danny is usually very stingy with his money. he paid rondo 11 mill. he gave bass 6 mill, when his stats per game were actually identical (actually better) that greens and green coming off of heart surgery gets 9 mill??? he gave jermaine a former all star 6 mill... he gave courtney 5 mill, and courtney played better than jeff per 36 mins...
somethings not right there. someone else on celtics blog said it once, and i think it's the only reasonable explanation: danny knows full well that jeff isn't a good player. but he thinks that other gms think jeff is a good player... and jeffs 9 mill contract is very handy filler when trading for a guy who has a fairly big contract - say al jefferson... danny took a gamble that eventually another gm will themselves take a gamble on jeff green as part of a trade package to land another big name player.
as far as courtney lee goes, im not really that disappointed with him as of yet. he's just in a shooting slump as far as i can see. he still plays very good defense, he still runs around completely energetic, and has a drive and will to win... which unfortunately jeff does not have... and you cant really teach that stuff.
jeff is playing a little bit worse than he's always played but he's really not that far off from his peak. doubt me all you want... you guys will come around who say jeff will eventually get better. you're probably the same guys who thought avery would never be any good or sullinger shouldnt have been taken by danny... you guys will come around
P.S: i want jeff to do well. i really do. i wish him the best, but im being real with you other bloggers - waiting for jeff to turn into a guy who can even average 15 points 5 rebound a game in 22 mins throughout the season is like waiting for shawn bradley to turn into shaq.