Jeff Green drives against Houston at FedExForum.

The Grizzlies started the second half with a different lineup. Zach Randolph was in at power forward. There was no Jeff Green.

With 3:14 left in the quarter, Vince Carter came in for Tony Allen. Still no Jeff Green.

With 1:30 left in the quarter, Randolph took a rest. JaMychal Green took his spot. Still no Jeff Green.

The fourth quarter began. Elliot Williams came in for Chalmers. Still no Jeff Green.

JaMychal Green went out, Randolph came back, Williams went out, Chalmers came back.

Throughout all of it, the entire half, with Memphis already missing Mike Conley and Matt Barnes because of injury, there was no Jeff Green.

Why?

"Coach's decision," said Dave Joerger. "He was not injured."

So there's your intrigue, Griz fans.

The Memphis Grizzlies lost to the Houston Rockets Tuesday, 107-91. They lost because the Rockets smashed them on the backboards, 42-31. They lost because the Rockets hit 18 — 18! — 3-pointers, for more than half their points.

But the biggest story of the evening was the second-half benching of Green, a man who previously could do no wrong.

And make no mistake, it was a benching, although Joerger tried to soften things a bit.

"It wasn't a disciplinary decision at all," he said. "I just thought that Vince was giving us a little bit of a spark."

Carter was minus-13 on the night.

"I thought Courtney had some fresh legs and I wanted to go in that direction."

So you rolled out Williams to go 0 for 2 during a critical stretch?

No. This was a response to something that happened, or some things that have been happening for too long. This was Joerger, finally joining the chorus of fans who have wanted to see Green take a seat on the bench.

And, no, those fans didn't just come up with that opinion idly. Once, they shared the high hopes that Grizzlies management had for the guy.

Remember the jubilation when the Grizzlies traded Tayshaun Prince and a first-round pick to the Celtics for Green? He was going to bring explosiveness and athleticism! He was going to put the Grizzlies over the top!

Instead, he did what he has done for every team he has ever played for. He made the team worse.

That's not opinion, either. That's what the numbers show. Ever since Green entered the league, the teams he has played for have done substantially better when he is off the court than when he is on.

Remember when the Grizzlies fell into that late-season funk last year? Remember Joerger's vigorous if mysterious defense of Green?

"Jeff Green is the least of our problems," he said. "Most people on the inside know what it is. And it's not Jeff Green."

Well, Green was certainly one of their problems in the playoffs, when he shot 35 percent from the field and 22 percent from three.

Still, this was going to be a new season, a new beginning for everyone. Indeed, when the Grizzlies got off to a sluggish start, Joerger doubled down on Green by moving Randolph and Allen out of the starting lineup, in part to give Green more space to operate.

Think about that, really. Bench Randolph in favor of Green? Nobody questions that having Green and Randolph as a forward pair wasn't working for the Grizzlies. But why not try getting Green more space by moving him to the second team and moving Barnes — a perfect role player, a guy who doesn't need the ball in his hands to be effective — to the starting five?

Green is a fabulous athlete, certainly. He has a compelling personal story, too. But he doesn't guard, doesn't rebound and doesn't shoot very well. Playing for a franchise built on effort and passion, he is casual and disengaged.

So what happened Tuesday?

Green got lit up on defense again. He was minus-11 by halftime. Just more of the same.

And while Joerger didn't single out Green while he was talking about the contrast in halves, just read between the lines.

Joerger on the first half: "We didn't play hard enough in the first half. We didn't play with enough pace."

Joerger on the second half: "Guys played hard. We made more multiple efforts."

Gee, wonder why?

So now the question is what happens, where the Grizzlies and Green go from here. Green said all the right things after the game, said that "I'm just sorry we lost," and "this isn't about Jeff Green."

But Green is a free agent at the end of this season. He can't be happy to see his market value slipping away. And if the Grizzlies don't want to lose him for nothing — they gave up a first-rounder for him, after all — why not deal him away now?

Yes, it would be admitting that last year's trade was a bad one. But that's not exactly a secret by now.

Speaking of which, you know when that trade happened?

Jan. 12, 2015.

Exactly a year to the day later, Green has been told to take a seat.