Plenty of Pluses for Crawford

http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/celtics/post/_/id/4708610/plenty-of-pluses-for-crawford


Plenty of pluses for Crawford
November, 23, 2013
NOV 23 11:35 PM ET
By Chris Forsberg | ESPNBoston.com



Was Saturday's effort the best game of Jordan Crawford's career?


Jordan Crawford has given Boston's sluggish offense a boost this season.
If you judge solely by plus/minus, you can actually make that case. According to Basketball Reference's plus/minus data, Crawford matched a career high by finishing plus-24 while helping the Boston Celtics rally past the Atlanta Hawks 94-87 on Saturday night at Philips Arena.

The Basketball Reference data also suggests that Crawford has finished in the positive in little more than 30 percent of his career games. So just being on that side of the ledger is noteworthy. But Crawford didn't just chip in 12 points, 10 assists and three rebounds on Saturday. He made two key buckets in the final two minutes to help Boston snap a six-game losing streak.

That plus-24 matches Crawford's career best effort, from Valentine's Day 2012, when he scored 21 points off the bench in a 124-109 win in Portland. Crawford scored a team-high 24 points in a loss to Indiana on Friday night but lamented the team's inability to finish out the game as the Pacers motored away in the second half.

On Saturday, Crawford struggled with his shot early on, but the Celtics put the ball in his hands during crunch time and he rewarded their faith. After rallying from a 12-point deficit, Boston was up one with two minutes to go when Crawford came off a high pick-and-roll and blew past Al Horford to get into the lane. Two Hawks stepped up to defend, but Crawford gently floated in a layup for an 88-85 lead.

With a minute to go and Boston still up three, Crawford took the shot clock down before attacking the basket. He got a step on Jeff Teague and attacked Horford in the paint, finding a sliver of space to deliver a little 13-foot runner for a five-point cushion.

"He really wanted the ball in those moments, and I thought it was the best thing to get it to him," said Celtics coach Brad Stevens. "After he made the first couple of moves, the guys came back to the huddle and said, 'Put it in his hands.’ Maybe it will be somebody else some other night, but tonight it was him."

So what do we make of Crawford's recent play? After joining the starting lineup early in the season, Boston reeled off four straight wins with his help. As the team endured a six-game losing streak, it appeared Crawford was coming back to earth a bit with his turnovers on the rise. He still gave the ball away four times on Saturday, but the Celtics were able to overcome it because of their team defense in the fourth quarter and Crawford's offensive exploits.

Through 15 games, Boston's offensive rating is 10 points better with Crawford on the floor (99.9) than off (89.9). Not surprisingly, the team's defensive rating is 2 ½ points worse than the season average with Crawford on the court, but the offensive burst negates that, considering Boston's offensive struggles this season. The Celtics rebound better with Crawford on the court and they turn the ball over fewer times as a team. Boston's pace perks up and its shooting percentages climb both overall and especially beyond the 3-point arc. Crawford is minus-24 overall in 412 minutes of court time, but the Celtics are minus-58 in the 308 minutes he's off the floor.

All of which suggests the team needs Crawford and his ability to make plays. Crawford handed out 10 assists Saturday, which included a pair of beautiful first-half alley-oop feeds to Brandon Bass and Jeff Green. He's not perfect and he's not a pure point guard, but the good tends to outweigh the bad with Crawford.

The only real downside is his struggles to prevent dribble penetration. Opponents have a habit of getting past Crawford and into the paint, which causes cracks in Boston's help defense. But Crawford uses his long arms and herky-jerky style to fluster opponents at times. His individual defensive numbers are surprisingly decent (he allows 0.761 points per play, ranking in the 75th percentile, according to Synergy Sports), but that data often ignores the times when teammates are forced into help situations to cover for him.

Saturday wasn't Crawford's best career outing, but the results are hard to argue against. Crawford continues to be a key element for Boston early in the season as the team waits for Rajon Rondo to navigate the final stages of ACL rehab. Crawford's role could get murkier from there, but for now he's averaging 12.1 points, 4.4 assists and 2.9 rebounds over 26.9 minutes per game.

Reflecting on Saturday's win, Crawford told reporters, "It feels good to win because it didn’t seem like we were supposed to win."

Few expected Crawford to be a key part of any success Boston tasted this season, but he's been an integral part in all five victories. Maybe that's why his effort Saturday seemed so good.


bob


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All I know is a guy that many on this board were trying to run out of town over the summer - is one of the few consistent performers on this club.

ditto kj

Good to see he is playing more under control. I've noticed some lapses in his play at times but I think under the circumstances he's been holding it together.

I'm not sure this team can win without Crawford having a decent night, considering he is running the offense.



KJ

I'm shocked—shocked I tell you—that Crawford is not only the team's best option at PG without Rondo's being available but is also one of the team's best options options for not wilting in the clutch. He's a living advertisement to fans for not refusing to recognize glimmers that can eventuate in something positive.

Sam

mrkleen09 wrote:All I know is a guy that many on this board were trying to run out of town over the summer - is one of the few consistent performers on this club.  

mrkleen,

Many of us, including me, were eager at the thought of Crawford going bye-bye. I can't speak for the others, but I saw no evidence until now he could play like he's playing now. What I saw was an out-of-control gunner and that's what I based my opinion upon. Am I glad I was wrong? Sure.

We're also not taking into account who we might have gotten for Crawford (and whomever else he'd be packaged with). He wasn't/couldn't be just waived, he had contract. It was never just about subtraction and subtraction only.


bob


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Bob

If you were to preface your statement with - "...I saw no evidence (from his time with the Celtics) he could play like he's playing now", I might agree with you.  But Jordan Crawford was a 15 ppg scorer in Washington - so there is plenty of evidence that he is performing this season EXACTLY as the numbers told us he would perform.

Just to refresh people's memories - here is a quote pulled from one of my posts in September:

Crawford averaged more assists, more points and more rebounds than Courtney Lee and last year.
Crawford averaged more points per minute than Jason Terry last year
Crawford averaged more assists, more rebounds and the same number of points per game (in 8 less minutes) as Avery Bradley last year.

As for Crawford value on the open market - DA played the perfectly as well. He wasnt worth a bag of basketballs back in September, when many of you wanted to move him.  NOW, after he has proven his skills - he is worth more than ever.

mrkleen09 wrote:Bob

If you were to preface your statement with - "...I saw no evidence (from his time with the Celtics) he could play like he's playing now", I might agree with you.  But Jordan Crawford was a 15 ppg scorer in Washington - so there is plenty of evidence that he is performing this season EXACTLY as the numbers told us he would perform.

Just to refresh people's memories - here is a quote pulled from one of my posts in September:

Crawford averaged more assists, more points and more rebounds than Courtney Lee and last year.
Crawford averaged more points per minute than Jason Terry last year
Crawford averaged more assists, more rebounds and the same number of points per game (in 8 less minutes) as Avery Bradley last year.

As for Crawford value on the open market - DA played the perfectly as well. He wasnt worth a bag of basketballs back in September, when many of you wanted to move him.  NOW, after he has proven his skills - he is worth more than ever.

mrkleen,

Prior to this year, Crawford's best shooting year was the 2012-2013 one, he averaged 41.5% from the field.  The year before that, he was shooting under 40%.  He shot 41.5% last year for Washington and he shot the exact same 41.5% when he came here. If his role in Washington was to be a scorer, then 41.5% isn't good.

As far as Crawford's performance in Washington vs Boston last year, he's in this system, playing here.  What his role was in Washington became irrelevant just as the fact that he was never asked to play point before this year is irrelevant.  He's being asked to do it now, and he's doing well.  When he came here from Washington last year, he did not play well.  Considering the Wiz took a rehabbing Barbosa and Jason Collins for him, it doesn't seem like they valued him much regardless of what his numbers were.

Reviewing your post from September, Yes, Crawford averaged more assists, points and rebounds than Courtney Lee last year.  He also played more minutes/game, 21.6 vs 17.6 (he averaged 26.2mpg with the Wiz).  If you look at his production/36mpg to see what he produces for each minute he's on the floor, he did not average more points than Lee here.  He did, however, average more turnovers than Lee, 2.6TOs/36mpg vs 1.6TOs/36mpg.  His assist-to-turnover ratio, a key metric for ball handlers like guards (ESPECIALLY point guards) was 1.56:1 vs Lee's 1.64:1 (it was 1.61:1 in Wash, still just behind Lee's).  And Lee is not a particularly adept ball handler, certainly not a point guard, and not expected to be an offensive player.  Lee wasn't being asked to be a scorer, he was being asked to be a pitbull on defense.  That was his role. Crawford's role was to shoot and score.

You're right about him vs Terry.  That's why Terry was considered a disappointment and was moved this summer.  The difference between Terry last year and Crawford last year wasn't that big though.  At least, in JET's case, he was being asked to be a scorer, like Crawford, so the comparison makes sense.

You were also right about him vs Bradley, but it completely overlooks the fact that Bradley's efforts were overwhelmingly put into defense.  Crawford didn't play defense last year that I saw.  Bradley did his job, which was to blow up the other team's point guard and SG, not to be a scorer.  What was Crawford's job last year, if not to be a scorer?

Crawford's doing a very good job this year, I'll admit I'm pleasantly shocked, but let's not make it look like this isn't a surprise.  Based upon everything that was seen in Washington and in Boston last year, Crawford's performance this year must be seen as nothing less than a revelation.

If you look at Marshon Brooks' /36mpg numbers in Brooklyn, he looks very similar to Crawford.  15.6/36mpg, 4.1rebs/36mpg (vs 4.3) and a much better shooting % of 46% vs 41.5% for Crawford.  Just going off that, they're damn close to equals as scorers. In fact, the difference in their fg% makes Brooks look like an even better scorer, but we both know those stats don't tell the story of those two players. Brooks can't even spell defense.

Yes, his value, both for trading and for keeping, is MUCH bigger now.  An excellent trade by Danny, sending Barbosa, who was done for the year and is still not in the NBA, and Collins (who is no longer playing in the NBA) for Crawford. An absolute steal.


bob


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Good post Bob except for one thing. Scoring in the NBA is never irrelevant - and anyone that can do that has a value in the league. He didnt become a good player this season, so yes - his years in Washington are relevant.

A few of us (Sam, NYCelt and I) saw Crawford hard value to this team, and it made no sense to move him in a rebuilding year - when he is cheap and reasonably effective. Is it a surprise to me that he is handling the point with such efficacy? Yes.

But please dont put words in my mouth and try and add me to the "...we are all surprised Jordan is playing well..." crew. A simple search shows I was never on that bandwagon.

I dont want to spend the entire season in "told you so" mode with Crawford. But a few more "I misjudged the guy" with a few less "caveats" would be nice. The guy is like the Rodney Dangerfield of the Celtics....doesn't get any respect.

I don't recall anyone on this board predicting Crawford to have played as he has thus far. There were some who wanted to see him moved (including myself) and those that wanted to see what he could do. My thoughts were based 100% on what I had seen from him last year on the team. I still feel as though my opinion on him at the time was justified.

As of today, I think he's earned himself a second look as a backup PG. During his time in Washington, he was a scorer on a very bad team. In Boston, he has somewhat modified his game to fit into his new role as distributor. Crawford is proving himself to be a serviceable and sometimes surprising operator of the offense. At times he does make some bad decisions, but that's because the offense in general has been poor and playing PG is not his natural position.

In the grand scheme, Crawford still may be moved. I don't see how he fits into the long-term scope of Boston's plans, but maybe Ainge does.



KJ

k_j_88 wrote:As of today, I think he's earned himself a second look as a backup PG.

A second look? LOL

The guy is 7th in the NBA in PG Field Goal %
15th in scoring
5th in FT %
13th in TO PG

Some of you guys wouldnt give him credit if he went on a string of triple doubles and the team won 5 in a row.  

mrkleen09 wrote:

k_j_88 wrote:As of today, I think he's earned himself a second look as a backup PG.

Some of you guys wouldnt give him credit if he went on a string of triple doubles and the team won 5 in a row.   

I have given him credit. Others have, too. That includes some of these threads, and the Game On threads.

I noticed that the other things I've said in regards to Crawford that were positive about him are always conspicuously left out of my quotes.

It would seem to me that it's difficult to come to that type of conclusion using only a portion of one's responses.



KJ

Since my name was mentioned, I'll reiterate that I make it a policy never, never make a prediction—ever.  I'm more of a "hoper."  Jordan Crawford's performance at PG even during the preseason gave me great hope that he could play that position better than either Bradley (WAY better) or Lee, and I expressed that hope on repeated occasions (while stating my reasons).

But it's not really all that important who said what and when.  Because it's really all about the players, not about us.  I now have enough hope that Crawford can be a very serviceable backup PG to Rondo (at least this season) so that I'd much rather have the Celtics go big than small should Danny do more dealing during the season.  As I've suggested elsewhere on the forum, Jordan has the ganas to take the big shot, and he has the skill to make the big shot.  Those are relatively rare commodities in NBA basketball and even more rare among the current iteration of the Celtics; and his passing ability makes him a double threat in the clutch. As for what happens a season for now, a lot will depend on the makeup of the team and the system being employed by Brad.

Sam

Sam,

One of my hopes going into the season was that Crawford would prove me wrong in thinking he couldn't/wouldn't be a significant part of the team. So far, he has (which, in case anyone is wondering, I've stated on another occasion).




KJ

All I'll say is Crawford affords us the opportunity when RR comes back that he RR need not play big minutes at all and he can ease himself into the starting role. I would not even be surprised when that day comes RR comes off the bench for a few games.

beat