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Pregame Post-Ups: C’s Relying on Green’s Defense vs. Wiz

Sunday, April 30 - Wizards at Celtics

Pregame – C’s Relying on Green’s Defense vs. Wiz

BOSTON – Gerald Green slid into a starting role midway through Boston’s first-round series against the Chicago Bulls, and the Celtics experienced nothing but success from there on out.

With Green at the 3, Boston overcame a 2-0 deficit and won its next four games to set up its Eastern Conference semifinal against the Washington Wizards.

Green’s impact was enough for Brad Stevens to keep him in the starting lineup Sunday afternoon as the Celtics tip off their second-round series.

“We put a lot of time and thought into [the decision],” Stevens said ahead of Game 1. “The biggest thing is that our ability to space the floor, and I felt like we did a good job of flying around defensively. We’re small, but we’re pretty athletic in that group and we were pretty quick to balls whether they were rebounds or loose balls, or whatever the case may be.”

Green, who replaced Amir Johnson in the starting rotation, has always been praised for his scoring ability and the variety of ways he can find his way to the rack. Stevens, however, highlighted that the team will rely heavily on his defense during this series. Washington has many strong offensive contributors, and Stevens said Green must be ready to switch onto any of them if the situation calls for it.

“He’s certainly more than capable (defensively),” said Stevens. “He’s long, he’s athletic, and he can fly in and tip rebounds. If he doesn’t grab the (rebounds), he can keep them alive if he has to jump over a big. He’s able to challenge shots, and I think when you shoot it and he’s in the vicinity, you know what he’s capable of as far as getting up in the air. So I think that him being there on the catch and making it as tough as possible has been good for us with him.”

Green displayed his defensive versatility against the Bulls when he was tasked with guarding a much larger player in Nikola Mirotic.

“Gerald was our primary guy on Mirotic starting the game,” said Stevens, “and I didn’t feel like Mirotic got the looks once we went smaller that he got the first couple of games.”

The Celtics will look for Green to make a similar defensive impact during this series, while, of course, leaning on his explosive scoring ability on the other end of the floor.

- Taylor C. Snow

Starting Lineups

Celtics: Isaiah Thomas, Avery Bradley, Gerald Green, Jae Crowder, Al Horford

Wizards: John Wall, Bradley Beal, Otto Porter, Markieff Morris, Marcin Gortat