Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle offered praise for Josh Green on Monday after the first-round pick turned in a solid second performance of the preseason during a 128-112 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
The 18th overall pick finished with 10 points, two rebounds and one assist in nearly 19 minutes of work off the bench. He found his shot in the game after struggling in his debut, converting on 4-of-7 from the field and 2-of-4 from 3-point range.
Green showed a good mix of playing on and off the ball on Monday. He found some success in driving into the paint while he also drilled a couple of corner 3-pointers. Carlisle noted one other aspect of his game that has maybe gone unnoticed by some.
“He is progressing and he is aggressive but his aggression is done in a way that he keeps a lot of risk out of the game,” Carlisle said after the game. “He understands where the spaces on the floor are. He is one of our best cutters. Cutting is not a thing you hear talked about a whole lot in the media, it’s not a very glorified aspect of the NBA game, but with the way the game is spaced now and the way the defenses sluff off on the weak side, you’ve gotta have guys that are very good at it. Green is great at it.”
With several ball-dominant players on the team, playing well off the ball is what may allow Green to stay on the floor. The team is also high on his 3-and-D ability and values his defensive skill set and that could be the role Green eventually fills this season.
Given the shortened training camp and preseason schedule this year, Green will need to continue to get comfortable on the floor but he showed on Monday that the game appears to be slowing down for him.
Dallas wraps up preseason play Thursday vs. the Minnesota Timberwolves.
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