Crowder toughing it out embodies these Celtics

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Crowder toughing it out embodies these Celtics



February 6, 2016, 11:45 am










CLEVELAND – Jae Crowder sat inside the visitor’s locker room nestled in an area that’s sequestered in the back and isn’t easily seen upon entering.

He sat in front of his locker stall, a visibly beaten but happy man following the Celtics' 104-103 thriller over Cleveland.

And while his box score numbers were nothing to feel good about, the fact that he was on the floor at all spoke to what has become the identity of this team this season.

They come to play, regardless of the circumstances.

Even if it means playing while being severely limited which was indeed the case with Crowder whose ankle injury was “stiff as hell” before the game started and didn’t improve significantly through the night.

“I knew it was a big test for us,” Crowder said of playing the Cavs. “I just didn’t have it physically. I was there mentally.”

And on this night, it was enough to help Boston (30-22) keep pace with the Atlanta Hawks, with whom they are tied for the third-best record in the East.

Crowder was convinced he would start the game.

Finishing it was another story.

There was a point in the game when he thought about tapping out for the night because of the injury, which affected his leaping ability more so than his lateral quickness.

Isaiah Thomas recalls a conversation he and Crowder had in the second half.

“Jae asked me in the game, ‘Man you think I should sit out the rest of the game?” Thomas recalled. “I said, ‘Man, you already played half the game. You might as well finish it.’”

Crowder did just that, draining a huge 3-pointer in the fourth quarter as part of Boston’s rally for the victory.

“He’s a warrior, man,” Thomas said. “He didn’t have nothing in the tank, like he said, but he just felt like being out there to help the team and it did.”

The Celtics have now won seven of their past eight and 10 of 14 in what’s shaping up to be the best stretch of their season.

But back to Crowder, the only Celtic to start all 52 games this season.

While he’s no Steph Curry when it comes to shooting, he has knocked down enough shots this year for those who watch him in a daily basis to recognize the difference between him having a rough night shooting or there being something that’s physically amiss.

The latter was indeed evident every time he took a shot, with so little bounce off the ground that you couldn’t fit a shot glass between the bottom of his feet and the floor.

“Physically I was basically playing on one leg,” said Crowder who missed eight of his nine shot attempts. “It was tough.”

The same could be said for the defense he played on LeBron James.

James led all players with 30 points, but he did so on a not-so-efficient 9-for-23 shooting with Crowder defending most of those shots.

Prior to the game, I sat down with Crowder who gave me a quick summary of Defending LeBron James 101.

“Of course attacking the rim,” Crowder told CSNNE.com. “Don’t let him get downhill, especially on pick and rolls and things like that. The biggest things are that, and taking away him getting to the rim.”

And as far as playing through pain, Crowder doesn’t believe what he has done is anything unique
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“It’s a part of it,” Crowder said. “You have to take care of your body as much as possible during your down time, try to get ready for the next one.”

The Celtics know they must move on if for no other reason the calendar tells them to.

Still, for the first few moments following the win, nestled inside the inner confines of the Quicken Loans Arena, Crowder had the look of a beaten man; a happy but definitely beaten man who under most circumstances should have pulled himself out of the lineup.

But this was Cleveland, the best team in the Eastern Conference and he was matched up against LeBron James who remains the ultimate challenge defensively for any wing defender.

When asked if he would have sat out if it were a different team, Crowder gave a brief second of thought and said, “Probably so. I can’t even lie to you.”



bob


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