Mark L. Baer-US Presswire
The Boston Celtics can now take a collective sigh of relief, as Jeff Green seems ready to leave the Heart-scare behind him and is ready to contribute in the 2012-13 season. He missed the full 2011-12 season because of the heart surgery and people were surprised he was able to get a 36 million dollar extension from the Celtics. His skill set should be a great advantage though and he should be able to spell the ageing Paul Pierce of some minutes.
Jeff Green is the type of player that is solid overall, but he doesn’t have any elite attributes to his game. He is also the definition of a tweener as he can play multiple positions and he can play both the Power Forward and the Small Forward spot quite well. The Celtics will use him as a small forward though, because they need him to back-up Pierce. He is an unknown so far as we don’t really know how he will play after a successful heart surgery. He says he is ready to go though, so we can only hope that he can make a positive contribution with the Celtics.
Green is still quite young, so if he is able to move on from the heart surgery, then he should be able to play significant minutes with this squad. If Green can successfully back up Pierce and allow him some much needed rest during the regular season, then he’d be worth the 36 million he’s owed over the next four years. If he struggles though and he is unable to make any semblance of an impact, then the Celtics would’ve saddled themselves with an albatross contract for the foreseeable future.
In the end, we can only hope for success with Green, as being able to play the game he loves after such a scary situation is a blessing. He should take this opportunity to showcase his skills and be aggressive enough to prove that he still belongs in the NBA.
