While one NBA guard's breakout season seemed to dominate the news everywhere, another one quietly put together his own remarkable campaign.
Danny Green, the UNC-product, found himself in the starting roster after beginning his career riding the bench. When Manu Ginobili first went down with an injury in January, the Spurs experimented with multiple substitutes before deciding on Green.
Since, Ginobili's return, Green has continued to hold the starting position, allowing Ginobili to give them an offensive spark off the bench.
Drafted in 2009 by the Cleveland Cavaliers, Green rarely found himself in the game during his only season with the Cavs, averaging a mere 5.8 minutes and 2.0 points. Before the 2010-11 season, Green was waived, then claimed by the Spurs. He failed to impress the team early on and was cut before Popovich brought him back near the end of the season.
After failing to find a secure role in any previous offense, Green entered the 2011-2012 season as a question mark on the team's final roster.
However, he found himself a spot, and was given the golden opportunity, of which he took advantage. He is one of the many rags-to-riches stories that have developed under Gregg Popovich, who shared his thoughts on the matter.
"[He]‘s an NBA player and he’s playing with confidence. He’s been through a lot of trials and been denied many times over the last several years. He’s a great example of sticking with it, not getting down on oneself, continuing to play, improve, listen, and right now he’s playing well and has been a significant part of what we’re doing.â€
While his stellar breakout performance has been overshadowed by the Linsanity in New York, Green definitely deserves consideration as a potential Most Improved Player.Â
No comments:
Post a Comment