Crawford: "Everybody Grew Today"

Let's hope so.


http://www.masslive.com/celtics/index.ssf/2013/11/jordan_crawford_about_boston_c.html


Jordan Crawford after Boston Celtics make all the winning plays against Atlanta Hawks: 'Everybody grew today'
Print Jay King, MassLive.com By Jay King, MassLive.com
on November 24, 2013 at 1:40 AM



At one point earlier this season, before meeting the Miami Heat, Boston Celtics forward Jared Sullinger was stretching with teammate Phil Pressey and strength coach Bryan Doo when he decided to shout to nobody in particular. Sullinger’s message clearly echoed that of head coach Brad Stevens, who has stressed the phrase at times himself.

“Let’s make winning plays,” Sullinger screamed into a near-empty gym, and the Celtics did that night. They came back from four points down in the final 3.6 seconds and stunned the Heat on Jeff Green’s game-winning 3-pointer, which fell through the basket after time expired.

As any intelligent basketball mind will note, better teams tend to make winning plays more often. That fact could harm the Celtics plenty this season, and it certainly destroyed them during the six-game losing skid they carried into Saturday night’s outing in Atlanta. The last five of those losses came by double digits; yet with the exception of a blowout in Houston, the Celtics competed for long stretches during each of those defeats. A pivotal time would arrive, though – often times, it seemed, during the third quarter – and the Celtics would allow their opponents to pull away. It happened in San Antonio, and again against Indiana.

The habit felt like it might continue in Atlanta, too. The Hawks, perhaps energized by Sullinger’s flagrant foul of DeMarre Carroll midway through the third quarter, finished the period on a 17-5 run to take a 74-64 lead. The Celtics looked like they were in the process of crumbling once more. Because of deadlines, I need to write my game recap before the final score has been resolved. At the end of the third quarter, I began, “November has taken on the look of an executioner.”

Of course, you know by now Boston escaped from the executioner Saturday night. Or perhaps the Celtics did not escape him so much as they stood up to him, glared at him and walloped him in the jaw. After six straight losses, I fully suspected an 81-70 deficit with 9:30 left would break the Celtics will. But they held Atlanta to 2-of-18 shooting the rest of the way and ended the game on a 24-6 run.

No analysis would be complete without discussion of Vitor Faverani, who did not carry the run but helped get it started. He had lacked physicality during recent games, but summoned a positive impact at the right moment. His subtle help included contesting Pero Antic at the rim, bothering Al Horford with his length, and charging from outside the paint to grab a rebound before Paul Millsap could. Horford certainly missed some decent looks he might normally put in, but Faverani’s long arms and activity increased Horford’s degree of difficulty.

Sullinger reentered the game for Faverani with 5:01 left. Thanks partially to the Brazilian, the Celtics were on a 10-0 run and had not surrendered a point in four-and-a-half minutes.

"We were able to get some stops (in the fourth quarter),” Jordan Crawford told reporters in Atlanta. “Each player on the team made some big plays and the bench players made some big plays, and we just stuck together.”

The Celtics made winning plays. My favorite came with 1:12 left, after Sullinger missed a long 3-pointer. The Celtics led 88-85 at the time. Their first win in almost two weeks was within grasp, but not quite secured. Millsap jumped into the air with the rebound in his sights; the Hawks could have used possession, potentially, to tie the score. But Jeff Green, never known as a rebounder, pursued the board from about 20 feet away.

He arrived at the ball around the same time Millsap was getting ready to secure it. Green tipped the ball away and went tumbling after it. Millsap might have had the more direct path, but Green dove over him and knocked the basketball off of him. The Celtics retained possession. Crawford used the extra chance to hit a 13-foot runner that increased the lead to five points. The Hawks never earned another chance to tie the score.

Since winning plays come on offense too, Crawford, who finished with 12 points and 10 assists, deserves some major credit. So does Brandon Bass, who had 10 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter. Crawford likewise scored 10 points in the fourth, eight of which came over the final 6:24. He also navigated the offense without a turnover, an essential part of Boston’s 30-point period. His three made field goals all came over the final 4:03. He split three defenders for a layup to draw within one with 4:03 left, drove past Horford for a beautiful tear drop that put the Celtics ahead 88-85 two minutes later, and sank the aforementioned runner with 58 seconds left that all but sealed the game.

"He really wanted the ball in those moments and I thought it was the best thing to get it to him,” said 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."

Added Crawford, “When we were down, I think I was kind of the reason why; because I was the only one struggling and trying to find my shot. I just tried to get to the hole and make a couple of plays (in the fourth quarter).

“It feels good to win because it didn’t seem like we were supposed to win. They were up 10 after they had made a run. But we stuck with it, and everybody grew today.”

Losing can fray locker rooms. In private moments, at least after the Houston loss, the Celtics had fallen into some internal griping. But with another game threatening to slip away, they made all the winning plays they needed.

“I think we’ve learned from (the losses),” said Crawford. “I think today we finally pushed through (the mistakes).”

“I forgot what it feels like to win a little bit,” added Green, “but it feels good.”



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