Pleasant surprises for the Chicago Bulls through 3 games: Javonte Green
In place of the injured second-year forward Patrick Williams, the Bulls had to bump up someone into the starting five to start off the first few games of the preseason slate. And the reserve player that Donovan and his staff chose to help plug the gap left by the injured Williams to start the preseason is the former Boston Celtics shooting guard Javonte Green.
Green was an easy plug-and-play for Donovan and the Bulls to get a respectable catch-and-shoot threat on offense, and a switchable defender, in place in this starting unit. The Bulls starting five needed some help defensively alongside new point guard Lonzo Ball to make up for any lapses by the trio of star shooting guard Zach LaVine, shooting guard/forward DeMar DeRozan, and center Nikola Vucevic.
That is a big role that Williams will play for the Bulls this season. And Green filled that role admirably to start off the preseason. Green showed a knack for disrupting opposing offensive players that he is defending both on and off-ball.
Green leads the Bulls in defensive rating through three games in the preseason, around 78. And he’s tied for the team lead in steal percentage (4.4) and leads the Bulls in block percentage (10.0). So far, Green is averaging 7.3 points per game, 6.0 rebounds, 0.7 assists, 1.7 steals, and 2.0 blocks.
Pretty much all numbers that Green posted so far during the preseason were very impressive. He ranks among the team leaders in most counting stats and advanced metrics so far this preseason.
Green’s efforts are good enough to lead the NBA in defensive rating and to rank fifth in offensive rating so far during the preseason.