'He Deserves More Minutes': Mavs' Josh Green Making Impact Amid Development

Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd wants to find more playing time for Josh Green, who has shown some intriguing potential so far this season.

The Dallas Mavericks entered the 2022-23 season with high hopes for what Josh Green can achieve in his third NBA season. He was a standout in training camp with many inside the organization pointing towards a breakout season. 

Through six games played, Green is averaging 15.5 minutes per game — the same amount of playing time he received during the 2021-22 season. He's averaging 5.0 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.2 steals so far. He's been highly efficient early as he's shooting 64.3 percent from the floor and 55.6 percent from 3-point range. 

“He’s playing great,” Mavs coach Jason Kidd said of Green. “He deserves more minutes and we’ve got to figure out how to get him more minutes. But he‘s done everything we’ve asked.

“He’s one of the guys we believe — the 50-50 balls — he’s going to come up with them. He’s playing at a high level for us right now.”

With his impressive athleticism, Green has pulled off some impressive finishes at the rim this season. He shared with reporters after Tuesday's practice that he attributes his continued growth as a finisher around the basket to the work he did with former NBA player Amir Johnson over the summer. 

“This summer I worked with Amir Johnson a lot with finishing,” Green said after Tuesday’s practice. “He’s been working with the G League team out in Vegas and he had a big part in the (Toronto) Raptors’ success, and he’s been a big part of it and was an impact guy as well.”

Josh Green had a lot of space to shoot on the catch but still decided to drive with Mo Bamba lurking near the paint.

Taking and making the 3 would be a good first choice, but regardless, he's capable of impressive acrobatic finishes. pic.twitter.com/bPDctLUwFQ

— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) November 2, 2022

By working with Johnson, Green feels as though his finishing has improved due to his footwork and continued general focus on that part of his game. 

“I feel like I’ve always had a pretty good first step and I think the first thing we always work on is continuing to work on that just getting better and better and better,” said Green, who is in his third season with the Dallas Mavericks. “I feel like my footwork around the basket has gotten better.

“If I do it wrong, Amir is blocking it and he’s going to talk a lot of (noise). I really appreciate what he did.”

When Green attacks the rim, he shared that his goal is to finish through the defender's chest — maximizing the pressure placed on the defender. Having advanced body control is essential to finish in those situations. 

“It sounds easy, but It’s challenging and (Johnson is) trying to kill you,” Green said. “He’s trying to block everything. I think it just navigating around that.

“I realize I need to use my strength. I realize if I jump into somebody it’s hard to vertically challenge that. My goal is going right through somebody chest, and it’s hard to do anything against it. I think the biggest thing is body control and just making it happen.”

The next step for Green will be to continue to be aggressive shooting catch-and-shoot jumpers when opportunities arise. By converting at a strong rate, the opposition will have to adjust game planning efforts to account for making tighter closeouts — opening up more driving chances off the catch. 

"I'm shooting the ball well, but at the end of the day, I still need to continue to prove that I am a shooter," Green said. "That's my goal, just continuing to keep shooting. If they sag off me, I shoot. If they don't, I'm going to drive. I think a big goal of mine is to continue to build off that. Being able to shoot has opened up my game."

The Mavs' offense as a whole will benefit from Green forcing more aggressive closeouts because he has a proficient ability to pass out of drives. After drawing a help rotation, he can play a key role in punishing a scrambling defense that is now out of rotation because of his drive and pass. 

How the Mavs find more playing time for Green remains to be seen. The team has deployed four center options at times during games — making it more challenging to attribute more playing time to perimeter players without reducing minutes for others. 

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