The Boston Globe <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Orien Greene gets it all the time. People think he looks a lot like Tracy McGrady, or at least McGrady's slightly shorter younger brother. Some see a little Robert Horry in Greene. Paul Pierce sees a taller, thinner version of former Celtic point guard Randy Brown. Until now, Greene had not made much of a name for himself outside his hometown of Gainesville, Fla., and Lafayette, La., where he played his final two seasons of college ball with the Ragin' Cajuns. Even Greene admits he was ''off the radar" when Boston selected him at No. 53 in the 2005 draft. So, it's easy to understand how people saw Greene as some other NBA player. But with his consistently solid play at point guard during the exhibition season, Greene is gaining notice in Boston and around the league. When Pierce was asked whom he thought deserved extra attention for what he does in practice and games, the captain named Greene without hesitation. After all, Greene has almost single-handedly changed the complexion of the competition at point guard. By making smart passes and pressuring the ball, Greene has become a candidate to back up presumed starter Delonte West. In 12.8 minutes per game, Greene is averaging 2.3 assists and 1.3 steals. When extrapolated over 48 minutes, Greene would lead the team in both categories with almost 10 assists and 5 steals per contest. Asked to gauge his chances of being the backup point guard this season, Greene said, ''Hopefully, one day. I'm just taking it one day at a time and doing what the coaches are asking me to do. It builds my confidence to know that [Doc Rivers] has trust in me and has faith in me to go out and show what I can do and go out and run this team." Lately, Rivers has not been asking Dan Dickau to play a lot of point guard. The recent fortunes of Dickau are the biggest indication of Greene's climb up the depth chart. The coach has tried pairing Greene at point guard with Dickau at shooting guard, though the veteran has spent much of the exhibition season shooting below 30 percent from the floor. Although Dickau went 2 for 2 against New Jersey Saturday night in the Celtics' 90-69 win at Mohegan Sun, his defense remains a liability. Whether or not Rivers admits it, he appears more comfortable with Greene at point guard. Dickau may have a ''feel for the game," but Greene has stood out with his court vision and defense despite his lack of NBA experience.</div> Source
Here's a little validation of what some of us have been saying for two weeks now. Greene deserves a shot at significant minutes on this team, and I think he'll get them. He's smart, fast, and doesn't collect dust on defense. While Dickau swats flies against guys like Mike James, Greene has cut his teeth on some 2 guards that Paul Pierce hesitates against (Vince, albeit only for a few minutes, and Mo Pete). I definitely like where he is headed, and not only that, but I think he deserves the opportunity to get there in a hurry. Were it not for the standards and practices of the NBA, I would say start him now. But the league depends on getting the right faces into the right places, and Orien is not yet one of those. This season and into the next though, expect him to tally more than a few GS's.
I have had the pleasure of watching orien greene the past two games against the nets and i have to say that i am very impressed. i know it is only preseason but you can already see that his game is very polished except for him jumper. i dont know what the future holds but i can tell you one thing he is going to make some type of impact this year. will he start eventually? i wont be surprised.
