Green's dunk and reaction were so fierce his Boston Celtics teammates vouched to pay for his technical foul fine.
Boston Celtics forward Jeff Green, right, dunks over Utah Jazz center Al Jefferson (25) in the fourth quarter of an NBA basketball game in Boston, Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2012. The Celtics won 98-93. After such a feat, Shawn Kemp might have squatted like a catcher and pointed at his victim. Kevin Garnett very well might have drowned in a sea of his own expletives. Dante Bichette might have flipped his bat halfway to New Hampshire, but he's long retired and that's the wrong sport anyway.
After dunking on Utah Jazz power forward Al Jefferson with enough force to level a dozen apartment buildings during Boston's 98-93 win Wednesday, Boston Celtics forward Jeff Green wasn't expected to show such venom. He's mild-mannered and nice, too nice by Garnett's judgement. Green's been asked to be more of an (expletive). He called his own early-season play "lackadaisical." Analysts have bemoaned his production and wondered whether he will ever earn his four-year, $36 million contract. His teammates are mostly marked by a competitive edge lined with sharp spikes, but Green's normal reaction to any play -- good or bad -- is the stoic face of a poker player praying not to be called on a bluff.
So his stare Jefferson's way after the dunk that could have silenced a playground full of 12-year old Jazz fans was certainly unexpected, and the resulting technical foul was one heck of a surprise. Head coach Doc Rivers hates fourth-quarter technicals, but this was different. As Rivers often likes to say, he would rather have to put out a fire than kindle one. And finally, with a glare and maybe even a few choice words for Jefferson, Green showed how brightly his fire can burn.
Several of Green's teammates physically assaulted him with glee. Courtney Lee and Leandro Barbosa shoved him. Garnett whispered, or maybe screamed, sweet expletives into his ear. Rajon Rondo, sitting on the bench with a sprained ankle, leaped four times on his good leg, like he was playing a modified version of hop-scotch.
Maybe it wasn't just the one play. Maybe it was that Green was on his way to scoring 16 points in 27 bench minutes, earning seven free throws with strong, explosive moves to the hoop, with a commitment to punish smaller opponents when they dared to guard him in the post. Maybe it was that this was the animal Boston always envisioned unleashing, a 6-foot-9 athlete with a little bit of a mean streak that took several years to develop.
If the soundtrack to Green's game had primarily featured Josh Groban, it changed mostly for at least one night to late-1990s DMX, all raspy voice, harsh delivery and fearsome intentions. This was the (expletive) Garnett wanted to develop, the weapon Rivers wanted on his bench, the game-changer who attacks mismatches and does it with a snarl, an attitude, a swagger.
Green's production levels are based on far more complex algorithms than whether he plays with aggression. Basketball players don't necessarily improve just because they grit their teeth after dunks or scare visitors away with loud and ominous barks. But Green's attitude wasn't just confined to that post-slam glare. It was used to post up Randy Foye whenever the two were matched up. It was used to draw several fouls, to stop settling for 3-pointers (he didn't take one the whole game), to drive past Paul Millsap and make Utah's paint Green's personal domain. He was assertive, active and impressive.
NBA players draw fines for technical fouls, but Green needn't worry about that. His teammates have already vouched to pick up his tab.
As Jason Terry explained, according to ESPN Boston, "We all pitched in for him, because Jeff doesn't get many techs. So, we kind of liked it."
Yes, the Celtics liked it. Their mild-mannered, previously lackadaisical hybrid forward reached deep into a rarely-used layer of his psyche and utilized his inner demons to do good. And maybe that glare wasn't merely a post-dunk celebration. Maybe, the Celtics can only hope, it was the first loud sign of an (expletive) unleashed.