Jeff Green has given precious few interviews since undergoing season-ending heart surgery last summer. Even during the few occasions he answered questions from the press, his responses hardly revealed his innermost thoughts.

But he opened up to Josh Zavadil of CelticsBlog during an article published today. Green spoke of:

• having troubles walking in the weeks immediately after surgery
• feeling like he let his teammates down, an absurd thought considering his life would have been in danger if he hadn’t undergone surgery
• not being able to lay on his stomach for two-and-a-half months after surgery (note: I would not have been able to sleep a wink — sadly, I’m not an ambi-sleeper)
• how often his Celtics teammates checked in on him after surgery, when he didn’t immediately know of their care
• taking a break from watching basketball for more than a month because it was too difficult to watch the game that had been temporarily yanked from him
• Danny Ainge’s productive summer
• knowing there will always be negativity (note: mostly from me, probably), but trying to do whatever he can to help the Celtics win

I never feel like I knew Jeff Green before. He obviously seemed like a good guy, hanging, laughing and joking with his Celtics teammates, but during interviews he rarely let his guard down or allowed himself to seem human. Maybe he’s more open now after heart surgery. Maybe Zavadil just did a tremendous job with the interview.

Whatever the case, I will now root more strongly than ever for Jeff Green. He’s a Celtics, he’s a survivor, and finally, during his dealings with the press, he’s human.