Gerald Green is literally 'on the rise'

On Monday night a Deron Williams-less Nets took a Dwyane Wade-less Heat to the brink, in a 101-98 Heat win.  At first glance this is typical late season fare between a contender sitting one of their superstars to ensure he’s healthy for the playoffs, and a consummate lottery squad sitting their sole superstar, ensuring they’re healthy for the draft lottery.  In the third quarter Green caught fire, and late in the stanza stopped and popped from three leading Ian Eagle to exclaim “Gerald…with the green light”, inadvertently bestowing a catchy nickname on a swing whose known for being as nomadic as he is athletic.

I love NBA League Pass (#monogamy), and have paid special interest to Green since he was given another chance at shaking the ‘Harold Minor 2.0‘ moniker.  More accurately, I’ve paid special interest to ‘The Green Light’ since he put on a show at All Star Weekend.  During a lull in the February weekend on Saturday afternoon, NBA TV aired the D-League All Star game, and quite frankly, Green stole the show – not of the D-League affair, but for the entire weekend.

The highlight, that made me literally jump out of my seat, and awaken me from a hungover Saturday malaise, was when Green caught an alley-oop on the break as his head rose above the rim and he rocked a windmill that called back to Vince Carter at Gauchos – a dunk attempt that would make Kenny Dobbs blush.  Green shanked the ball off the heel of the rim, bouncing the ball all the way to Albuquerque.

After putting on a show of jumpers, and other-worldly dunks, Green signed a 10-day contract with the Moscow Nets.  I went back to forgetting about him, because maybe there was just something about All Star Weekend that brought out the best in Green, but no one expected him to make any noise in the league this time around.  Well, Green made the best of a second opportunity, and I’m referencing another shot at completing the insane windmill alley-oop.

Green’s literally rose up the League Pass ranks, and has secured himself as a legitimate threat in the NBA, scoring 20 or more five times in his last twelve outings.  The jury’s still out on what kind of impact Green will have in a full NBA season logging serious minutes, but you can count on him being must-see League Pass TV cause this dunk-addict now has ‘The Green Light’.