When the Jazz waived Jeff Green on Dec. 23, he didn’t find an NBA home for nearly two months. Because he was on an NBA-minimum contract, any of the league’s 29 other teams could have claimed him on waivers, but no team did.
That’s probably because most of the other teams weren’t impressed with his performance in a Jazz uniform — just as the Jazz weren’t. He averaged a career-low 7.8 points per game, shooting only 38.5% from the floor and 32% from 3-point range. More troubling was how the Jazz performed with him on the court: they were 16 points per 100 possessions worse with him on the floor than with him off of it.
But as the Houston Rockets found themselves in need of more wing length and depth, Green became worth an experiment. So he signed a 10-day contract with the Rockets on Tuesday, giving them a chance to see if he could fill a role effectively.
He could. Green played 24 minutes in the Rockets 30-point blowout of the Warriors, scoring 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting, including 4 of 5 from deep. He added four rebounds, a steal and three turnovers, and had a +19 plus-minus in the contest.
Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni, when asked what role he planned for Green, noted that his team doesn’t really have positions. But it’s his attributes they’re interested in.
“He gives us more length. He gives us shooting from the spot, from whatever spot that is. He’s athletic and can make plays," D’Antoni said. "He’s been there, been in the finals. He gives us a lot.”
On Saturday, Green scored two points on 1-2 FG, adding three rebounds and two assists in 13 minutes on the court.
Under this 10-day contract, he’ll have two more games after Saturday’s to secure another deal from the Rockets.
Jazz game time and TV changes
The Jazz announced changes to three games this weekend.
Wednesday’s game against the Boston Celtics has been delayed by a half hour, from 8 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. It will still be broadcast by AT&T SportsNet and ESPN.
However, the Jazz’s road game against the Celtics will no longer be televised by ESPN; the network will air a Miami Heat vs. New Orleans Pelicans game instead. The Jazz game will still be televised by AT&T SportsNet.
Finally, the Jazz’s April 7 game against the L.A. Clippers has been moved off of TNT, in favor of the Lakers’ matchup against the Golden State Warriors that night. The Lakers and Warriors were originally slated to play on April 9, but the NBA moved the Lakers-Clippers matchup that was postponed due to Kobe Bryant’s death to that date instead.
