On January 9, 2012, Jeffrey Green’s heart stopped.

The organ that beats 115,000 each day laid still for about an hour while Green went through open heart surgery at the age of 25.  He suffered from a condition known as an Aortic Aneurysm. Dr. Michael Kaplan told ESPN that this  “is a condition where the abdominal aorta, which is the largest blood vessel in the body, has a dilation, meaning the wall of the blood vessel thins and then balloons out.”

It is usually found in older adults and when it is found it is usually fatal.  Green, who was about to sign a nine-million-dollar contract with the Celtics, had two options. He could continue to play with the aneurysm and take the chance of dying on the court or he could have the surgery and possibly play again.

Check out  this video about his recovery from ESPN

The surgery that saved his life took place at Cleveland Clinic. Six years and three teams later, Green finds himself back in Cleveland in a much different situation. Instead of fighting for his life, he is fighting for an NBA Championship as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers.  Once again, the odds are not in his favor as the Cavs are facing a 3-0 deficit that no team has ever come back from.

In the city that Green commends for giving him a new life, Green hopes he can help bring new life to the Cavaliers Championship run. If you have been keeping up with the series, you know that LeBron James will do his thing averaging 37.66 points per game according to basketball reference .com. The problem is, he can’t win alone.

Even with all star Kevin Love by his side, the Cav’s need someone else to step up and add some extra support against the high scoring trifecta of Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and Clay Thompson. Jeff Green has proved in the past that he can be that guy. In the two elimination games against the Boston Celtics, Green scored 16.7 points per game while Kevin Love was injured.

In the Championship, he has been held to around eight points per game on limited minutes. In addition to the offensive struggles, someone needs to try and slow down Durant. I believe that Green is a better option going up against Durant then Kevin Love.

It will take a team effort to stop the Cavs from being eliminated. It will also take a lot of heart and that is not in short supply when it comes to Jeff Green.

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