Danny Green has always been low usage, but when he’s in the starting lineup with two other superstars (LeBron James and JaVale McGee) it seems like his usage somehow gets even lower. Statlines of 8/2/1 or similar, accrued in 25 minutes, are not uncommon for Green. He has just three 20-point games on the season, including this one, and one of those was the season opener where he unfairly stoked the hopes of every Laker fan.
I’m going to say that this game was a fluke that won’t be repeated in the near future, because Green has never really had an extended run of high-scoring games other than that one time in the finals with the Spurs. The Pelicans weren’t respecting his three-ball as much as they should have been, and when it comes to his season-high five assists (blasting through his previous season-high of three), well, I think LeBron and co. were accidentally passing Green the ball too often in situations where he couldn’t immediately shoot it.
So don’t get too excited, Laker fans. Green is not “turning a corner”. He is not an “emerging playmaker”. You might think that “if aggressive Green shows up every game the championship is ours”, but he’ll be lucky to get five assists and 25 points total in the next three games combined. What you’ve been getting from him this season is what he is, and it’s unwise to expect anything else.