Not easy being Green in Boston
Boston Celtics forward Jeff Green, right, battles New York Knicks forward Shelden Williams (13) for the ball during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Boston. (April 13, 2011) Credit: AP
BOSTON -- Jeff Green said he doesn't hear the constant sports talk radio chatter, the venting that goes on whenever his name is brought up.
Green has drawn the ire of some Celtics fans, those who still are not pleased that team president Danny Ainge traded fan favorite and workhorse Kendrick Perkins to Oklahoma City for Green just before the Feb. 24 trade deadline. But he said he's not about to let it get to him.
"I don't take it personal at all," Green said. "Kendrick was a great player and meant a lot to this team. I'm not going to sit here and try to outdo what he did, because I can't. I'm going to come in and play my game and continue to be myself."
Green's numbers in his 26 games with the Celtics are average. He's contributing 9.8 points and 3.3 rebounds in roughly 24 minutes, numbers similar to what Perkins averaged a season ago -- 10.1 points in almost 28 minutes.
But Green is more of a scorer than Perkins, has a versatile skill set that was supposed to make the Celtics even better. He has yet to find a defined role, though, and it admittedly has been a major adjustment for a guy who started all but 28 of the 289 games in which he played for the Thunder.
"It's tough," said Green, who is shooting only 29 percent from three-point range. "I've been starting a lot of years, a couple of years in the league. Coming off the bench, you've got to make an adjustment and find a way to help your team win.
"It's all mental. When you start, you can kind of ease your way into the game. When you come off the bench, you've got to come ready. You don't have time to work your way into the game. You've just got to be prepared once you come in."
Green knows he'd better be or people will continue doubting whether he can get it done, just as some are wondering if the Celtics have another deep playoff run in them.
"I think a lot of people have been putting us on the back burner, saying we don't have what it takes to win anymore," Green said. "But I think we are going to show a lot of people that we do."
