Doc on Jeff Green being a permanent starter: "I think he's earned that"


For those wondering whether Jeff Green would stay in the starting line-up following the return of Kevin Garnett - wonder no more.

From Celtics practice today, via Gary Washburn.



Green has been one of the best players in basketball over his last ten games, averaging 21.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1 steal per game while shooting 55% from the field and 53% from three point range. Considering he found himself as a starter in eight of those games - it's nearly impossible to justify Courtney Lee or Brandon Bass starting over him.

Considering Doc's post-game comments last night, it appears he wants to shift Paul Pierce to the 2-guard spot and plug in Green at the 3, opposed to one of the two playing the power forward position. Considering how much of a ball handling/distributor role Pierce has played since Rondo went down, this makes a lot of sense.

Interestingly enough the Celtics best line-up this season has actually been Bradley-Lee-Pierce-Green-Bass, with the five-some outscoring their opponents by a whopping 31.5 points per 100 possessions. Not that the Celtics ideal line-up would ever not include KG, but it's interesting to see that a line-up with Green at the 4-spot has been that effective.

I'm sure that Green will see plenty of time at both positions going forward, especially now that there's a bump in playing time coming his way. And that can only be classified as great news considering how well he's played of late.

Follow Mike on twitter - Mike_Dyer13

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