My concern here is that we're going to see improvement in counting stats and define that as improvement overall...as a function of no longer having to share shots with a post player at all, really. There are a lot of guys who can put up numbers for bad teams that don't have a lot of scoring options. I hope he figures it out. I'm not convinced he's the kind of starting SG I want on this particular roster...but his improvement over this stretch is in everyone's best interest, obviously.
I am kinda lowering my expectations until the end of the season. I do hope he bounces back next season with a renewed confidence and hopefully a better overall season the next time around. The team should definitely invest in some ball handling and ball security coach for him (is Shamgod still doing coaching?).
Yup. He was especially bad against the Blazers, he was okay against the Kings.... was bad defensively against the Spurs as well. As his offensive possessions and effort has increased - his defensive effectiveness has decreased.
He has gotten a lot better on defense, but he still has a lot of possessions where if you're watching him specifically you're like "WTF is he doing". Ball watching, not knowing where to be. He's just cut the number of those possessions so it's less obvious, and is being covered for by better defensive players more often when he does still make lapses. In any case, he's only had one game in the last ten where he was truly great, which was the second 34-point game where he was efficient and almost dropped a double-double. That's been about par for the course this season, once in every 10 games he'll give you a gem where you can see what it would look like if he ever consistently put things together. Unfortunately, out of those ten games, six or seven of them have usually been dogsh*t, and a couple just "meh".
If I watch Dylan Brooks specifically I will find possessions where I'm figuring out wtf he is doing. Same with FVV. If you hyper concentrate on one player you will find them doing stupid stuff because NBA possessions are hectic and mistakes are made all the time. What Green has tremendously improved on is his pnr defense and on ball defense. His navigation through screens is worlds apart from last season. He has learned to do things like minimize his size to squeeze through defenders and just puts more effort to fight through a screen if that is the only option. His recovery from screens has tremendously improved. Most of this is just him exerting more energy on defense.
On the season he has been better defensively than the first two season, no question about it. However he has overall been poor defensively the last 5-10 games. Is it a coincidence? I don't think so, but we will find out the rest of the way. There are quarters and halves like the Blazers game where he appears to have no interest defensively.
The irony here is some of his biggest detractors have said his defensive effort has never been higher post as break. Individual people can see such different things with their eyes. If you are hyper focused on criticizing a player maybe you hyper focus on every move they do on defense and not acknowledge that almost every NBA player makes these type of mistakes or take these type of small breaks playing high level defense throughout games.
He lacks focus for periods of time - it is why he really isn't a great defender. His defensive value is also match up dependent, as he handles bigger players better than smaller and quicker players. Making mistakes is one thing, but a lack of effort is another. Some players have better instincts defensively than others---- some players physically are limited in what they can do defensively and some players are either inconsistent in effort or lack effort. Green has gone from a lack of effort last season - to inconsistent effort this season. He has had periods of time where he has been solid defensively, but he also, especially as of late has lacked effort. When the effort is consistent, Green is an average defender, which is a victory for him because of his build and poor defensive performance last season. Still, he has not really played consistently good defense the last 3-4 weeks.
I'm not hyper focused on criticizing a player - and Green isn't taking small breaks, he is taking quarters or halves off. Is he the only player that does that? No, I have seen many players do it - but it is what keeps him from being an average defender overall. If you are asking if he is better overall than last year defensively? Yeah he is. Is he better than to start the season defensively? No - he was better early in the season. The Blazers game - in the first half, he was especially bad. A lack of effort and focus was obvious.
Im going to vote yes and be a believer for the rest of the season because what else are we focusing on? Move Amen in the starting lineup. Lets play small for a few minutes a game. Increase Whitmore and Landales minutes and lets see how Jalen defines what a super nova is.
I think this is a good opportunity for Green to show what he means by saying he is being misused. I believe he will be much more productive next games but I doubt if he will win games for us.
People always say this, but I can't find any proof of the concept. Jalen had 4 games in his second season with 40pts on over 50% from the field and 40% from deep. I'm struggling to see statlines like that from "a lot of guys putting up numbers for bad teams" in all honesty, mind sharing a few?
