In discussions of the Detroit Pistons’ depth chart, one name that rarely comes up is Javonte Green, which is a mistake, as he will almost certainly be a part of the rotation.
Green was the only Pistons player to appear in all 82 games last year, so even though he never gets talked about, you can bet head coach JB Bickerstaff will be calling his number again this season.
Green isn’t an eye-popping player in terms of athleticism or scoring prowess, but he’s a guy who makes plays and does it consistently.
Javonte Green is an underrated 3-and-D role player
He doesn’t get talked about much, but Green was quietly one of the best 3-and-D role players in the league last season.
He only played 17 minutes per game but was third in the league in total steals for a bench player, just ahead of his teammate Ron Holland II.
Green is one of those guys who gets his hands on everything, and he’s a big part of the chaos that seems to follow whenever the bench unit enters the game.
He also hit 38 percent of his 3-point attempts last season, including 50 percent of his corner 3-pointers, which led the team among guys who took more than one attempt per game.
Green filled in for injuries, played several positions and stepped up when called upon even though the team has never run a play for him. He’s the textbook definition of a glue-guy and best of all, he shows up every night, which is an overlooked ability that helps carry a team through the regular season.
Green will have more competition this season
The Pistons obviously want to get Ron Holland consistent time on the floor, and added Taurean Prince in the offseason as well, so Green will have more competition for minutes.
But we said the same last season, when he was a late free-agent addition that wasn’t even expected to make the final roster but ended up playing in every game of the regular season, so you can ignore Green, but he's not going away.
Green has been overlooked and counted out his whole career but just keeps grinding, and his defensive playmaking and timely 3-pointers will make it impossible for coach Bickerstaff to keep him out of the rotation.
Green isn’t the first name you think of when you think of the Detroit Pistons, but he’s one of their most consistent players and the type of role player every good team needs to survive the grind of the regular season.
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