Jeff Green – 2021-22 per game statistics
| Season | Games | Minutes | Points | Blocks | Rebounds | FG% | 3P% | TS% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular Season | 75 | 24.7 | 10.3 | 0.4 | 3.1 | 52.4 | 31.5 | 62.7 |
| Playoffs | 5 | 22.6 | 3.8 | 0.4 | 3.6 | 35.3 | 37.5 | 49.5 |
The story of the regular season
The season for Jeff Green has come and gone, and, as the veteran forward wraps up Year 14 of play, it was a year of sky highs and some extreme lows. After entering the season as the first forward off of the bench, Green was rapidly inserted into the starting lineup once Michael Porter Jr. was lost for the remainder of the year with a lower back injury. Outside of a few games that he went on to miss later in the year, he went on to start all but three games that he suited up for.
After showing a positive trend with his 3-point shooting over the last few seasons, the hope was that Green could continue that while playing off of guys like Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon who thrive inside the arc. Instead, Green shot a career-best 52.4 percent from the field, due in large part to his 62.0 percent mark from 2-point range. Unfortunately, his 3-point touch lagged behind a little bit.
Green shot just 31.5 percent from 3-point range this year which was tied for the fifth-worst mark of his career and his worst overall since the 2017-18 season. Some nights, the shots were falling, but they weren’t to the consistency levels that he and the team were likely hoping for. From a leadership and role-player standpoint, Green helped to fill the void that was left by Paul Millsap and did so in a big way.
Best Moment – 26 points vs Los Angeles
There’s no discussion about the best moment from Jeff Green’s season. It was his 26-point outburst in the team’s 37-point drubbing of the Los Angeles Lakers back in January. Green was scorching the net all night as he went 10-of-14 overall, including and impressive 4-of-5 from 3-point range. It was a vintage Green game that is seen at least once a year from the veteran forward. He didn’t have those performances every night, but, when he was on, he was a great scoring option.
Season Grade: B
Considering the plan for Green was to be a rotational big off the bench, and he became the team’s starting power forward in Game 10, it was a decent season for him overall. If it weren’t for a quiet streak of performances in the playoffs, he likely would be finishing with a B+. Green was a great tertiary scoring option inside the arc, and he made the defense think about him when he was out there.
Green registered a -1.2 Defensive Box Plus/Minus this season, as he, along with most of the roster, struggled on that end of the floor. Green has long been a fine defender, but, as he gets a little older, he doesn’t have the same lateral agility he once had. With easier assignments guarding second units next year, we should see a slight uptick in his defensive performance.
What does the future hold for Green?
As of this writing, Green has about a month-and-a-half until the deadline is here for his player option for the 2022-23 season. His option is for $4.5 million for next season, and he’ll be 36 by the time next season begins. Green could look to decline if he thinks he can get at least one more multi-year deal, but, more than likely, he’ll pick up his player option to return to Denver and explore free agency the next year.
If he does indeed opt in, we’ll see Green likely play a similar, if not slightly reduced role to the one he was in this year. With MPJ likely to return from his back injury, Green will head back to the bench to be one of the team’s primary bigs in the second unit. At this stage of his career, the main thing that can’t be replaced from Green is his leadership. He’s been around the NBA for 15 seasons while playing with 11 different franchises over that timespan. There’s no one else on the roster that has close to that level of experience.
Green held up well in his role this season. Considering he entered the year as a backup big before becoming a starter within the first 10 games of the year, he was able to maintain his level of play for most of the year, and that’s all that could have been reasonably asked of him. Assuming he sustains no significant injuries between now and the start of next season, he should have no problem contributing again to a team with winning aspirations.
