Javonte Green got the start Tuesday in the Boston Celtics’ first preseason game of the year.
Going into the matchup with the Philadelphia 76ers, head coach Brad Stevens revealed that his plan was to rotate that third wing position to see who best complimented Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, as well as experiment with some lineup options.
Everyone was to get at least 10 minutes. Green happened to play 14, the fewest of any of the other players he was plugging in at wing.
But in that short span of time, he scored seven points after opening up the game with a deep 3-pointer and a steal shortly after. He set that tone at the beginning of the second half, too, throwing down a jam after a Marcus Smart steal sent him off in transition.
He shot 3-for-4 from the field while recording a rebound, block and steal with no turnovers.
“Regardless of weather he starts or not, we need his energy. He can get you points off cutting, he can get you points off running the floor, he can get you points off corner-crash rebounds,” Stevens said Wednesday in his media availability.
“And then obviously has improved his shot, he can shoot the ball when open. But those first three things, those first three areas are you know, energy effort plays that are great any time of the game. We want to see what that looks like at the start of quarters, especially at the start of halves.”
Stevens will need a bigger sample size before he makes any decisions about the starting lineup. And in the preseason loss to the Sixers, other wings like Grant Williams and rookie Aaron Nesmith played well.
So, for the time being, it looks like that third wing role will be a rotating door depending on who is available and the matchup on any given night.
But Stevens couldn’t emphasize the energy brought by Green enough.
“I can see him coming off the bench. I can see him starting. But that’s what we need him to do when he plays,” Stevens said.
“And he does a good job of that, last night I thought he was a guy who played to what we think he can be.”
