“When you got a guy like that attacking the way he can, it opens the floor up for myself and others,” Green said. “It opens up the floor when he’s scoring the way he did against Milwaukee. It opens up all avenues.”

It seemed to achieve what no amount of pep talks and words of encouragement could do — it made Jeff Green aggressive.

The way Green attacked the rim on drive attempts was the kind of fearless but focused brand of basketball the Celtics are dying to see out of him more often.

“I love being on the floor with him,” Green said of Pierce. “And when he’s not on the floor, I have to try and duplicate what he does.”

via Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE