If the Cleveland Cavaliers are going to beat the Boston Celtics in fewer than five games, they’ll need Jeff Green to be connecting from deep.
As the playoffs began, both Jeff Green and JR Smith were borderline even in the rotation. After a total collapse in the Cleveland Cavaliers first postseason game, Tyronn Lue, as every coach would, made changes. He altered both the starting lineup and rotation to include more of his veteran players.
Those veteran players included JR Smith and Jeff Green, who have seen significant run since that first game. The key to both players this postseason has been their efficiency, and they’ve performed at a rate fans and analysts had yet to see this season.
For Smith, he shot over 75% from deep during the Cavs clean four-game sweep of the Raptors. Smith was aggressive, drove to the bucket, and somehow attempted more two-point field goals than three-point field goals.
For Green, it’s a similar yet less dramatic story. Green has stepped up his three-point shooting from 0.7 in the regular season to 1.2 this postseason, and he’s done that on 6% better from behind the arc.
However, is it sustainable? Not just for Smith, but will Green’s consistent shooting become a reliable option during the Conference Finals?
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Like previously stated, for the Cleveland Cavaliers to mercilessly take down the Celtics, it almost has to be. In just about every simulation in my mind, the Cavaliers will come out on top. Whether it’s in five games or seven, it’s hard to imagine Cleveland not heading to their fifth Finals this season.
Nonetheless, Green’s sharpshooting must continue for the Cavs to have a remote chance at taking down either the Houston Rockets or the Golden State Warriors in the Finals. As long as LeBron James is on the court, there’s no reason to think it won’t though.
Green, per NBA.com, has shot 50% on his 1.1 attempts per game when “open.” However, Green has yet to hit a three-point attempt when he’s guarded “tightly” and yet to attempt a three-pointer when guarded “very tightly.”
That to say, Green chooses wisely when to take his triples, and if the Cavaliers offense continues to knock down from outside at the pace it is, Green should continue to see those open looks when teams help on LeBron James. At the same time, if he isn’t awarded clean looks from deep, expect those percentage to drop. It’s all about getting Green the open look.
Can James and company continue to do that?
Besides the fact that you need more points than the other team to win the game, Green’s three-point shooting helps spread the floor for James to operate. James, throughout his career, has thrived with four shooters as his supporting cast, and as the team’s sixth man, it’s almost a must that Green is respected from deep.
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Space the floor, create offense, and knock down your shots– if Jeff Green can do all three of these things and the rest of the Cleveland Cavaliers perform up to par, this series might be over within the first few games.