Gerald Green

[JCSunsfan]

Don't look now but Gerald Green is putting up career-high numbers. He is shooting at a 49% clip (41% from the 3) as a 6-8 highly athletic and amazingly entertaining 2 guard. His defense isn't shabby either. I thought he would be an entertaining player this year. But he is turning out to have a lot more substance than I expected.

The fact that everyone is playing so much better this year than before is not coincidental. This coaching staff seems to be top-notch.

That Indiana trade is really looking amazing.

 

[hcsilla]

Both his 3P-shooting and defense is a very nice surprise.

Slowly he is making the transition from an undesirable contract to an asset.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Should he start? When Bledsoe comes back, where does he play? Start at the 3 or 2? Sit Tucker or Goran?

 

[SirStefan32]

No, he should not start. He is a ball hog who destroys the flow/ rhythm by not passing the basketball. Everybody is blinded right now because he just happens to be shooting really well. Give it a few games, he'll start missing them, and we'll be able to see that Green is nothing but Shannon Brown Jr.

 

[JS22]

Should he start? When Bledsoe comes back, where does he play? Start at the 3 or 2? Sit Tucker or Goran?

6th man gunner off the bench, similar to Jamal Crawford.

 

[JS22]

No, he should not start. He is a ball hog who destroys the flow/ rhythm by not passing the basketball. Everybody is blinded right now because he just happens to be shooting really well. Give it a few games, he'll start missing them, and we'll be able to see that Green is nothing but Shannon Brown Jr.

"Give it a few games."

He's been doing this all season and has had only 2 games with less than 10 points while shooting 49% / 42%.

Comparing him to Shannon Brown tells me that you haven't been paying attention. Even if he cools off a little he is MILES ahead of Shannon Brown.

 

[JCSunsfan]

No, he should not start. He is a ball hog who destroys the flow/ rhythm by not passing the basketball. Everybody is blinded right now because he just happens to be shooting really well. Give it a few games, he'll start missing them, and we'll be able to see that Green is nothing but Shannon Brown Jr.

I don't see the comparison to Brown. He plays D, he doesn't dominate the ball on offense. If he gets it, he shoots it or goes to the rim and does so at an efficient clip. He doesn't pound it for 10-15 seconds like SB. Green's weakness seems to be rebounding if he plays the sf spot.

Oh, and he's ALOT more fun to watch.

He is playing well enough to start. I like the idea of a 6-8 sg to match up with some of the bigger 2's in the league. But he could start over Tucker as well. Although Tucker's shooting is so much improved. Whatever the case, Green's shooting, size, and D make him a very versatile player and make matching up with other teams alot easier. He is also fairly young at 27.

 

[Mainstreet]

I think JCSunsfan summarized how I feel about Green. The Suns did not get any throw-ins when they traded Scola to Indiana. Green, Plumlee and that first round pick are all keepers.

 

[Suns_fan69]

Yup, I'm in favor of having him start over Tucker as opposed to Dragic. Mostly because he seems to be much better in the open floor and the Morrii twins could use more help with defense than offense at this point so having Tucker play with them makes more sense.

Also, I have this vague paranoia that Tucker is going to knock one of our guys out for an extended period of time. If I'm not mistaken, he's had run ins with Dragic twice in game, and one run in with Bledsoe which EB suffered that shin injury. I love Tuckers aggressiveness, but it's always bordering on recklessness.

 

[Mainstreet]

Also, I have this vague paranoia that Tucker is going to knock one of our guys out for an extended period of time. If I'm not mistaken, he's had run ins with Dragic twice in game, and one run in with Bledsoe which EB suffered that shin injury. I love Tuckers aggressiveness, but it's always bordering on recklessness.

You have Tom Gugliotta flashbacks where Randy Livingston injured Tom Gugliotta by tumbling into his legs. I suffer the same, but it is better not to speak of these things. Maybe they will go away.

 

[95pro]

Start Green over Tucker, have Tucker's energy and defense give the second unit a boost in those categories.

i'm starting to think Tucker's D was a little overrated last year on such a terrible terrible suns squad. his D is adequate for opposing 2nd string opponents though.

 

[JCSunsfan]

The Suns twitter account last night started calling him "G-Air." Sure is a lot better nick than "Plum Dawg" is for Plumlee.

 

[Absolute Zero]

Yes, start Green and Bledsoe. that puts in a very solid position defensively on the perimeter.

Dragic would be huge coming off the bench

 

[JCSunsfan]

Interesting that Bledsoe got to run the team for a number of games without Goran, and now Goran gets to run the team without Bledsoe. It almost looks like a pg tryout.

 

[Gaddabout]

The thing with Green is he's 27 and the last prep-to-pro player in the NBA. He skipped college because his charter school was a sham, but he finally had a Road to Damascus moment playing in Russia and found the maturity he needed to receive 5 years ago. He's always had top-flight ability. He just didn't have it going on between the ears.

More than anything, he's a player that's always played as well or as poorly as his confidence allowed. The fact he knows there's no shortage of playing time available, and he's not going to get yanked for shooting, he's playing lights out. He had a run exactly like this one with the Nets, playing on 10-day contracts. He shot 48 percent over the final 31 games that season, inspiring the Pacers to sign him. When he got to the Pacers, they just didn't need him to do a whole lot, and that clearly impacted his confidence.

 

[Suns_fan69]

Interesting look at Gerald Green's shot selection: http://vorped.com/bball/index.php/player/shotchart/1341-Gerald-Green

Would to love to see more of the long 2's converted to drives at the rim. Other than that, it's actually very good.

 

[sunsfan88]

No-look passes are no anomaly in the NBA, but sometimes it can appear that Gerald Green does not look before he shoots.

“I don’t,” Green said. “I understand where I’m at and the spot on the floor. I know once (I) elevate, if I see the rim for a split-second, that’s all I need.”

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/sun...injury-gives-ish-smith-chance-play-shoot.html

No look shooter

 

[Chaplin]

Yes, start Green and Bledsoe. that puts in a very solid position defensively on the perimeter.

Dragic would be huge coming off the bench

As much as everyone loves Bledsoe, Dragic is easily our very best player. You absolutely do NOT put him on the bench.

 

[AzStevenCal]

As much as everyone loves Bledsoe, Dragic is easily our very best player. You absolutely do NOT put him on the bench.

He's easily our best offensive player. I really don't know how to measure Bledsoe's impact on our team defense. I do know that everyone else out there looks better on D when Eric is at his best. Regardless, moving Dragic to the bench sounds like a bad idea to me. If anything, move Tucker to the bench. In fact, I think Lou Amundson is available. I wouldn't mind seeing Ish, Tucker, Morris, Morris and Okafor playing as a unit with Amundson and Barbosa filling in on either unit when we need a little chaos.

Steve

 

[Suns_fan69]

With Barbosa I believe the roster is full at 15. We'd have to cut someone (Christmas has a non-guaranteed deal IIRC) to bring in Amundson.

 

[AzStevenCal]

With Barbosa I believe the roster is full at 15. We'd have to cut someone (Christmas has a non-guaranteed deal IIRC) to bring in Amundson.

Yeah but I think the obvious choice would be Kravtsov. They'd have to decide if his up-side was more important than the short term addition of Lou. I have no idea on K. He looks out of place on the court but it takes longer for most big men to master the NBA game and I'm sure that's even more true for someone with his background. I guess we could cut Christmas but he seems to fit in great with these guys and he's capable of winning a game for you every now and then.

Steve

 

[SirStefan32]

He's easily our best offensive player. I really don't know how to measure Bledsoe's impact on our team defense. I do know that everyone else out there looks better on D when Eric is at his best. Regardless, moving Dragic to the bench sounds like a bad idea to me. If anything, move Tucker to the bench. In fact, I think Lou Amundson is available. I wouldn't mind seeing Ish, Tucker, Morris, Morris and Okafor playing as a unit with Amundson and Barbosa filling in on either unit when we need a little chaos.

Steve

While I agree with most of the stuff in your post, I do have to point out that while Bledsoe is an outstanding defender (yes, better than Dragic), it's not like Dragic is a bad defender. Dragic can hold his own against 90% of other PGs. He does have trouble with some smaller/ quicker PGs though.

 

[AzStevenCal]

While I agree with most of the stuff in your post, I do have to point out that while Bledsoe is an outstanding defender (yes, better than Dragic), it's not like Dragic is a bad defender. Dragic can hold his own against 90% of other PGs. He does have trouble with some smaller/ quicker PGs though.

Oh I'm not knocking Dragic's defense which is usually pretty solid. As you said, the quicker guards give him some trouble but they give a lot of players fits. It's just that in addition to Bledsoe's typically above average defense there is a stretch or two in just about every game where he turns it up for a few minutes and it just destroys the offensive flow for the other team. I wish he could play at that level for 30 plus minutes per game but even just the handful of minutes he plays like this are something special.

Steve

 

[SirStefan32]

Oh I'm not knocking Dragic's defense which is usually pretty solid. As you said, the quicker guards give him some trouble but they give a lot of players fits. It's just that in addition to Bledsoe's typically above average defense there is a stretch or two in just about every game where he turns it up for a few minutes and it just destroys the offensive flow for the other team. I wish he could play at that level for 30 plus minutes per game but even just the handful of minutes he plays like this are something special.

Steve

Completely agree. With another year of visibility, I will be surprised if he doesn't make the all-D team.

 

[SirStefan32]

Steve,

I just ran across this stat:

The Suns are a top defensive team with Bledsoe, allowing 43.8 percent opponent shooting and going 16-8 when he plays. That would rank sixth in the league for defensive field-goal percentage.

Without him, the Suns allow 47.1 percent shooting, which would be third-worst in the NBA, and they have gone 4-4. Barbosa can’t fix that.

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/sun...-road-trip-big-challenge-without-bledsoe.html

I think that helps us measure Bledsoe's impact on team defense.
6th best when he plays, 3rd worst when he doesn't. Pretty damn impressive, and it really makes sense. Bledsoe can handle the point guard, which means Dragic and Tucker don't have to guard the quickest guy on the floor. Bledsoe's presence makes Tucker and especially Dragic look better defensively.