Could Mavericks’ Josh Green, after a strong 4th quarter, emerge as a playoff contributor?

LOS ANGELES – When assessing the Mavericks’ postseason roster and potential rotations for this first-round series against the Clippers, Josh Green’s name probably didn’t leap to many minds.

After he suffered a significant right ankle sprain in Oklahoma City on March 15, he largely became an afterthought, missing the next 12 games and not returning to play until the regular-season’s final three games.

Sure enough, during the first three quarters of Dallas’ 12-point Game 1 loss, Green only played 9.4 seconds, as a late first-half substitution to prevent Luka Doncic from possibly picking up a needless foul.

But guess which Maverick finished Game 1 with the best plus-minus? It was Green at plus-11. In 9:03 of court time, as Dallas cut into the Clippers’ big lead, Green contributed four points, one rebound, one assist, one block and two steals.

That’s a lot of kinetic energy, and production, the kind that Dallas certainly could use as this series plays out. Perhaps Green is overcoming the ankle sprain and shaking off rust just in time to be a playoff contributor.

“It’s tough,” Green said. “This year I keep dealing with smaller injuries, which is keeping me out for some games. It’s just hard to deal with that, mentally and physically.

“But at the same time, I’m starting to feel a lot better. My ankle’s starting to feel a lot better now. That’s all I can ask for, and just going forward from there. And yeah, I feel more and more comfortable every single game.”

It’s hard to say where Green is from an offensive rhythm standpoint. In the season’s final three games, including the last two meaningless games against Detroit and OKC when most of Dallas’ key players sat out, Green shot 4-of-19 from the field, including 1-of-10 on 3-pointers.

But as Green showed in Game 1, he doesn’t have to shoot well in order to contribute. In fact, he didn’t attempt a field goal in Game 1. All of his points came on 4-of-4 free-throw shooting.

It’s been a roller-coaster season for Green. He signed a three-year, $41 million contract extension before the season, but was surpassed in the playing rotation by Derrick Jones Jr.

Then Green for the second straight season sustained a right elbow sprain, on Dec. 2, knocking him out for 13 games. He returned and became a regular contributor, ultimately starting 33 games, but in the first half of that March 15 game against the Thunder, he accidentally stepped on Dereck Lively II’s foot and went down in a heap.

By the time he returned, the Mavericks had won 15 of 17 games, most of them without Green.

“It’s not so easy to just come back,” he said before Tuesday’s Game 2 in Crypto.com Arena. “It takes time, just like anything.”

Perhaps he’s just starting to contribute again, when the Mavericks most need it.

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