The Detroit Pistons just kept rolling last night, winning their 9th straight and their second in a row with mostly backups in the rotation. The Pistons are winning games on cohesion and effort, and no player personifies that more than Javonte Green.
Green has been an unsung hero this season, and led the Pistons last night with 21 points, nine rebounds, three assists, a steal and two blocks.
When Green was signed back in August, it got a ho-hum reaction from fans who probably didn’t know who he was or expect to see him step on the floor. I have to say, I liked the Green signing from the beginning, as I love these types of hard-working bench guys whose work ethic pushes their teammates.
Most fans didn’t much care about Green, and the ones that did weren’t happy about the signing, not necessarily because of Green but because he’s not a plug-and-play power forward or backup point guard, which are the two positions fans though the team most needed.
Green has stepped up and done a little of everything for the Pistons, showing that hard work and effort are more important than position.
Javonte Green was a perfect fit in Detroit Pistons’ culture
Green is a journeyman who has bounced around the league after going undrafted a decade ago. Detroit is the 5th team he’s played for after stints with the Celtics, Bulls, Pelicans and Cavaliers and if you just look at the raw numbers, nothing really stands out.
But Green is one of those guys who passes the eye test and makes winning plays that don’t necessarily show up in the stat sheet, though they did last night.
Green is a hard worker on defense, whose length allows him to defend several positions, which he has done for Detroit, something they’ve needed with injuries to their guard ranks as well as power forward.
He doesn’t have eye-popping numbers anywhere but seems to always be around the ball and does a little of everything, averaging 7.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and a block in 22 minutes per game. He’s played in all 13 games, gotten three spot starts and played 32, 36 and 38 minutes in them, all wins for Detroit.
Sometimes it just takes the right team for a role player to take off, and that appears to be what is happening for Green in Detroit. No one (including him) probably thought he was going to play this much, but Green has accepted the challenge and stepped up.
As the famous Shaq meme says: “I apologize, I wasn’t really familiar with your game,” which is what a lot of Pistons fans are saying about Javonte Green right now, as he’s been a big part of this magical start for the Pistons and why they’ve been able to thrive even with all of the injuries.
It looks like Trajan Langdon has hit on the margins again, after hitting a home run with Malik Beasley just last season. Green is doing all of this on a minimum non-guaranteed deal that now looks like genius.