Enough Is Enough: The Cleveland Cavaliers should start Jeff Green
By Dan Gilinsky
The Cleveland Cavaliers are getting so much more than they bargained for with Jeff Green this season, and I think they should start him in their next game against the Dallas Mavericks.
Unfortunately for the Cleveland Cavaliers and Tyronn Lue, the starting lineup is constantly fluid. One could make an argument that the depth on this Cleveland roster is good or bad because guys have trouble getting comfortable with their roles, either as a starter or a bench contributor. The Cavs seem to change up the starting lineup every night, and that’s understandable with so many new faces.
That being said, one thing is certain: Jae Crowder has not played well enough to keep having starting minutes. KJG’s own Duane Rohrbacher had the statistics to prove that, and then some.
My solution? Insert Jeff Green into the starting lineup, and see what he can do at the four spot from the opening tip. The guy is playing some of the best basketball of his career, so give him a chance.
On the season, “Uncle Jeff” is putting up 11.0 points per game, which is good enough to be leading one of the best benches in the league in scoring. He’s doing that while now shooting over 50 percent from the field, and an acceptable 34.8 percent from three, per nba.com. Even though it’s only been a short sample size, Green has started the season with a career-best PER at 17.1 as well, per Basketball-Reference.
The aforementioned Crowder, who is essentially playing over Green, is struggling mightily, only accounting for 7.5 points on 38.7 percent shooting. That is not what the Cavs signed up for when packaging him in the Isaiah Thomas trade. Crowder might get a shot in the arm if he is demoted to the bench, which might allow him to be more productive with his minutes on both ends.
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Going back to Green, he’s been arguably the most important player on Cleveland’s “bench mob,” which is packed with talent. After yesterday’s narrow loss to the Houston Rockets, Lue touched on how vital Green is on both ends, courtesy of Chris Fedor of cleveland.com.
"“I call Jeff the utility man,” Lue told reporters after the game. “We put him on the point, we put him on the 5, he did a great job of just switching, trying to contain Harden. It’s tough. He’s going to go get into your body and try to draw fouls. But offensively I thought Jeff played with pace, ran the floor and really did a good job for us defensively. We was able to change our matchups and change our schemes. When he came in the game it really helped us.”"
Against the Rockets, Green was able to put up 27 points on 11-15 from the field, including a whopping 20 in the second quarter alone that put the Cavs back in the game when they appeared to be in dire straits. Throughout the year, Green has given Cleveland a much-needed lift, because the Cavs have been sleepwalking to open games.
The Cavaliers have given up the most points in the NBA to opponents in the first quarter, per teamrankings.com. Essentially, Green has been huge in picking up the slack, as he’s been attacking the paint with aggression and converting at a high rate.
On shots 0-3 feet from the rim, he’s shooting 75 percent. He’s converting there in a variety of ways, in transition, isolation, and on cuts, often from passes from LeBron or D-Wade. Green is a difficult matchup for slower bigs, and he also has the ability to post up on occasion against smaller wings or stretch fours.
If he has starting minutes, his attacking style could cause opposing rim protectors or paint defenders to get in early foul trouble, which would open the paint for layups and drive-and-kick scenarios for James and Derrick Rose. That is not something Crowder has done thus far, primarily in the corner for triple looks that he is not hitting. Playing more with D-Wade (and James) in the second unit might be able to get Crowder more opportunities because Rose is simply not finding him for many good looks to open games.
In summation, a bench change of scenery for Crowder could go a long way, and Green needs to have a shot to start. He’s only behind James and Love in Player Impact Estimate (PIE), per nba.com. Crowder and J.R. Smith, two current starters, have the third-lowest and lowest on the Cavs right now.
Cleveland could use his length defensively in passing lanes and on the glass to help Love, and some earlier transition buckets could put their bench in a rare scenario: playing ahead instead of behind. That would allow them to potentially sit James more throughout the season, which is so crucial.
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Go for it, Ty Lue. Why the hell not at this point? We’re too talented to be 5-7, and this guy deserves it.