Nickel: From two-way contract to huge lift off the bench, AJ Green plays important role for the Bucks

The best way to explain how AJ Green has made it in to the rotation for the super deep-in-talent Milwaukee Bucks as an undrafted free agent who was on a two-way contract last year – is surprisingly – not to begin with that gorgeous jump shot.

That’s the product of his process, not the beginning.

No, Green’s story launches 2 ½ hours before game time, when Fiserv Forum is just filling up with ushers and food servers, and maybe that night’s national anthem singer, warming up. These are the last chill moments in the arena before it begins percolating with fans and loudspeakers.

Yet Green’s warmup routine as the first Buck on the court is intense. And intentional. He works his way around the three-point line ducking and dodging invisible defenders, moving his feet as if he’s facing the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals. This is the basketball dance of the young and the hungry.

Then Green swiftly launches one circular arc after another, the seams of the basketball flashing for a second under the arena lights. He then disappears to the locker room and waits for his moment, the nod to check in to the game.

And suddenly, Green, who averages less than 10 minutes a game in playing time, is living rent-free on some opponent's head.

“I believe in him. Guys that can shoot like that affect the game,” coach Doc Rivers said Monday night after the Bucks won their sixth straight game, this time dispatching the LA Clippers. "What's funny, right when you walk on the floor, you could hear the Clippers go, 'shooter, shooter, shooter.'"

✂️ Doc Rivers on AJ Green v Clippers

So why a story about someone who has scored 24 points total in the last five games? Because Green's timing with those shots is impeccable.

“Each time I get an opportunity I to play, I’m continuing to build trust with whomever else is out there,” Green said Monday night. “And, we're figuring out how to play off of each other. And, where my spots are, where their spots are, where they need me.”

Green averages 4.4 points a game – same as last year – but these aren't garbage minutes, they are points when the Bucks can really use a scoring threat deep off the bench. And, Green is much more efficient now, improving both his three-point shooting percentage from 41.9% last year to 42.7% this year, as well as his shooting overall, from 45% last year to 56.5% this year, again, in critical minutes.

It's to the point he's gaining a little rep too.

"That's a good thing – even if he doesn't get shots. It means when we drive, someone is standing next to him (on defense) and that gives us spacing," said Rivers.

“With both Giannis (Antetokounmpo) and (Damian Lillard) on the court – I’m going to get open ones,” said Green. “And also, I’m trying to be able to draw gravity – as a shooter– by my movement, trying to get open. It kind of forces people to be aware of it, which can open other things up even if I don’t shoot it.”

Rivers likes Green and will use him even more it seems when Rivers turns to the big men on the roster to post up and play down low. He wants the balance then, of an outside shooter, and Green can do it.

"He can shoot; he's not afraid of the moment," said Rivers.

But let’s not forget about the Chicago thing. Did you see it? Maybe not, because the NBA schedule had these two NBA teams play in the Windy City with a 9 p.m. tip last Friday … but Bulls center Nikola Vucevic clobbered Green.

Green was making a move to the bucket just off the baseline and maybe caught some folks off guard with his speed. But Vucevic jousted Green with two hands, really, and was and tossed from the game.

Green, tough regardless, and a coach’s kid as well, bounced right up, his adrenaline covering the pain of it right away, not that his sore hip was going to slow him down.

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“In the moment it was a hard foul, but you’ve got to just get right up,” said Green. “It’s kind of like when you get hit by a pitch in baseball; you’ve got to kind of just take it and walk it off.”

Fouls like that can be expected in the NBA but the poise of Green still impressed.

“A specific moment of AJ driving the ball, getting fouled hard and getting up and knocking down two free throws just gives us a lot of juice,” said Giannis Antetokounmpo after the game in Chicago.

✂️ Giannis on AJ Green vs Chicago

Twenty years ago, little A.J. Green was brought to the basketball offices on the campus of Marquette University he could have lunch with his dad, Kyle Green, then an assistant coach with Marquette. He's come a long, long way, last year, as a rookie, playing on a a two-way contract, which meant he couldn't suit up for the playoffs. His season ended after 50 games (plus seven with the G League affiliate Wisconsin Herd in Oshkosh).

Now all he has to do is meet Rivers' demands as a defender, something he's worked on and has confidence in. Either way, the Bucks don't lose anything when they sub him into the game and in fact, can count on a lift from him.

“Shooting can get me on the floor but being able to guard will keep me on it,” said Green.

"He's a fighter" on defense, said Rivers.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: AJ Green becoming reliable scorer and tough bench player for Bucks