Boston Celtics: Javonte Green played his way into playoff role

Javonte Green has forced himself into the conversation for a larger role in the playoffs for the Boston Celtics–especially given the conditions they may face.

When it comes to boom or bust ballers on the Boston Celtics bench, perhaps no player offers the kind of microwave heat-check volatility that Javonte Green provides. The last man to make the team back in the preseason, Green has had to scrap and claw for every minute he has earned this season. In the C’s final game of the regular season, he boomed in a big way.

With Kemba Walker, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Gordon Hayward, Daniel Theis, and Marcus Smart all sitting out, Green took the mantle of leading scorer in an inspiring effort in Boston’s 96-90 loss to the lowly Washington Wizards.

His breakout came at an opportune time, considering how out of sorts Semi Ojeleye looked at times and given the wrist injury to Romeo Langford. With Ojeleye playing a specific role as a big body to stick on Giannis Antetokounmpo and Paskal Siakam who hits open 3-pointers, Green has more of a chance to make a difference in games.

He may get that chance with Gordon Hayward potentially leaving the bubble to be with his wife for the birth of their fourth child. In the scenario that the team loses Hayward, Smart would obviously fill his role in the starting lineup, but Green could conceivably be the first guy off the bench on the wing.

He should. Green showed his susceptibility to hot streaks in the preseason when he made the first eight 3-pointers he took. While he didn’t exactly keep up that pace in the regular season, he could well have gotten hot at the right time in a featured role in the final game before the playoffs.

It’ll be on Green to earn his keep and remain on the floor now in the postseason. He definitely gave himself a shot, however, doing it all to lift a C’s squad that had only one other double-digit scorer yesterday in a close loss.