The 28-24 Boston Celtics have won eight of their last nine games. This record is especially impressive considering the Cs pulled it off without their All-Star PG Rajon Rondo. Rondo tore his ACL on January 25th in a loss at Atlanta, which was Boston’s sixth straight defeat.
Rookie forward Jared Sullinger and combo guard Leandro Barbosa also suffered season-ending injuries, so the rest of coach Doc Rivers’ roster must find ways to score more and board more in order for the team to make a run at a mid-seed playoff spot.
One Celtic baller who’s responded to the injury crisis in Beantown is 6’9”, 6th-year combo forward Jeff Green. The Georgetown product and 2007 Big East POY was the 5th overall pick of the ’97 draft. Boston acquired Green in a trade with Oklahoma City for the popular center Kendrick Perkins in February of 2011.
In reality this is only Green’s fifth pro season since he missed all of last year due to a scary aortic aneurysm. Green has participated in all 52 of the Celts’ games thus far this season and appears more comfortable in Boston now than ever before.
Green has upped his game in February, and he’s earned the confidence of Rivers. In the C’s seven games this month, Green has averaged 30.1 mpg, 14.4 ppg, 4 rpg and 1.7 bpg while shooting 51% from the field, 46% from the arc and 85% from the line. These stats are an improvement over his season averages of 24.6 mpg, 10.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg and 0.7 bpg.
Green’s ultra-athletic moves have shown up with more frequency as his minutes have increased. And he is a popular teammate with a high IQ. Hoya coach John Thompson III stated in a Sports Illustrated interview, “You’ll stop and think when I say this, but it’s true: Jeff Green is the smartest player I’ve ever coached.”
Now is the time for fantasy GMs to grab Jeff Green before his price tag goes up along with his production.
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