BOSTON _ Jeff Green may have been waiting for this moment all his life.
The 31-year-old Cavaliers forward is making his sixth appearance in the playoffs. But the furthest his team has advanced was the 2012 Eastern Conference finals, when the Boston Celtics lost to LeBron James and the Miami Heat in seven games.
Green was sidelined that season with a heart condition.
Green will start Sunday night in place of the injured Kevin Love as the Cavs take on the Celtics in Game 7 of the East finals at TD Garden. At stake is a trip to the NBA Finals, which open Thursday at the site of the West champion.
At shootaround Sunday morning, Green was calm, as is his norm, his voice lacking any tinge of excitement.
"It's a lot. It's a chance to go to the Finals. I'm prepared. So, it will be fun," Green said.
It will be his second start for the Cavs this postseason. His first came in Game 1 of the first round against the Pacers, when he went scoreless and posted a plus/minus of -16 in an 18-point home loss.
Green was pressed into service when Love suffered a concussion when he bumped heads with Celtics rookie Jayson Tatum with 6:58 left in the first quarter of the Cavs' Game 6 victory at Quicken Loans Arena. Love was placed in the league's protocol Saturday, but the five-time All-Star traveled with the Cavs to Boston.
"I wish he was playing," Green said. "It sucks that it had to happen the way it happened. It's a tough loss, but it's the next man up. Everybody has to be prepared to play."
Green totaled 14 points, three rebounds, two assists, two blocked shots and two turnovers in 32 minutes Friday after Love departed. His plus/minus was +10.
In the playoffs, Green is averaging 7.6 points, 2.4 rebounds and 0.8 blocked shots in 22.6 minutes.
In the crucial second quarter of Game 6, when the Cavs outscored the Celtics 34-18, Green played well off James. To start the quarter, Green scored on an alley oop dunk off a James assist, then added a cutting dunk off a pass from James less than two minutes later as Green converted an and-one. Green later returned the favor, finding James for a 3-pointer.
"Honestly it just comes down to being smart, playing the game and trying to find ways to make each other better. And he does that well for me," Green said of James.
Asked why the two clicked, Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said, "You have two guys of similar size who can switch a lot of different things, both can handle the basketball, both can pass the ball. Jeff can also run the floor, so when Bron gets the outlet, Jeff's running, having the big guys try to chase him and guard him, he can get easy baskets. They have been playing well together, so we've got to continue that."
The Cavs will surely miss Love, their second-leading scorer (13.9) in the playoffs and leading rebounder (10.0). Their last time in TD Garden, they scored 83 points in a Game 5 loss Wednesday despite holding the Celtics to 37 percent shooting.
Green does change the Cavs defensively, giving them the chance to switch everything.
Asked what Green did best in Game 6, Lue said, "I think he attacked the small guys, the switches, and took his time, did a good job attacking, rebounded the ball well. I just think defensively being able to switch and guard multiple positions, that's huge for us. He was able to switch a lot more, we were able to do a lot of different stuff defensively and he came through for us."
