Boston Celtics Player Profile: Jae Crowder
Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
The next player profile is Jae Crowder, the Boston Celtics starting small forward
After being a part of the Rajon Rondo trade with the Dallas Mavericks, Jae Crowder has become one of the most beloved players on the Boston Celtics. The intensity and passion that he plays with exemplifies the type of winning basketball Danny Ainge and Brad Stevens have tried to bring to this Celtics’ squad.
After being a fringe bench player for the Mavericks over his first two and a half seasons, Crowder jumped onto the scene last season when he started all 73 games he played in. A little bit of All-Star talk started to surface surrounding Crowder, as well as whether he is a star.
While an All-Star appearance and stardom is a little premature, he’ll be a popular breakout candidate this season. Crowder is coming off a season in which he played in 31.6 minutes per game and contributed 14.2 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.7 steals. Crowder led the team in steals per game and became a defensive anchor for Boston, as he quickly became known as one of the most smothering defensive wings in the league.
Crowder’s innate ability to create turnovers has been an important part to his game throughout his entire basketball career. During his senior season at Marquette, Crowder recorded 2.5 steals per game, and he has never averaged fewer than 1.6 steals per 36 minutes in the NBA. His versatility as a defender makes him an integral part of the Celtics defense, as well.
22 percent of his minutes last season came as a power forward. With Evan Turner now in Portland, Crowder will be the Celtics first option at power forward in a small ball lineup. Considering the lack of height and high-tempo offense the Celtics like to play, turning to a small ball lineup should be a common occurrence for Brad Stevens.
Offensively, Crowder’s improvement over the first couple of years in the league has been massive. At the same time, people may be jumping the gun at times. While his 14.2 points per game was a solid mark last season, he only shot 33.6 percent from three and 44.3 percent from the field. Besides, he’s not a great playmaker, rather he’s a spot-up shooter from three.
When it comes down to it, Crowder has a good chance to improve even more this season. Boston believes he can become a leader on both ends of the floor, but he’ll need to be more consistent on the offensive end in the future.
Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports
Areas to Improve
Defensively, Jae Crowder is as sound of a defender as you’ll find on the Boston Celtics. As he continues to put together solid seasons, he’ll get more recognition around the league and has a chance to be on an All-Defensive Team alongside teammate Avery Bradley.
Crowder will continue to be an integral part to the Celtics defense in 2016-17, however Boston needs him to develop on the offensive end. As promising as his game was at times, there is a lot of room to improve. For the marks that Crowder put up last season, it’s a good sign for the Celtics that Crowder might have only scratched the surface of the type of offensive player he can become.
The Celtics aren’t expecting him to develop into a 20 point per night scorer and solve their scoring problem, but he does need to be more consistent on the offensive end. Crowder ranked just sixth on the team in field-goal percentage (44.3 percent) and fifth in three-point percentage (33.6 percent).
In 2016-17, Crowder needs to focus on getting to the basket more. Despite shooting an underwhelming 33.6 percent from three, 44.6 percent of his shots came from behind the arc. On the other hand, he only attempted 27.4 percent of his shots from inside of three feet, even though he connected on a very good 70.4 percent from that range.
Crowder did most of his scoring on catch-and-shoot scenarios last season, however it’s evident that’s not how he’s most effective. He has the ability to put his head down and drive to the basket, finishing through contact. Although, he didn’t utilize that skill as often as Boston would have liked to see.
Last season, Evan Turner was the only Celtic to have more of his three-point makes assisted on. 94.3 percent of Crowder’s made threes were assisted on, mostly due to other teams leaving him open. Just like many players on Boston, teams aren’t afraid to let him shoot. As a team, the Celtics shot an abysmal 33.5 percent from deep — third worst in NBA.
Crowder will draw more attention and help space the floor better if he occasionally attempts a three but puts it on the ground and drives to the basket. Plus, it would force opponents to play off of him in fear of him beating them off the dribble.
He’s not a consistent three-point threat and it’s unlikely he ever becomes one. Although, being able to get to the basket more consistently would be a lot more beneficial for the Celtics. Boston has players who can shoot as well as Crowder from deep, however their lack of ability to create shots hurt them last season.
It could also help him attempt more than 12.7 shots per 36 minutes. Crowder can become a solid contributor on offense, but he can’t only rely on his three-point shot and needs to be more aggressive.
Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
What to Expect in 2016-17
The addition of Al Horford is going to cause a lot of players’ statistics on the Celtics to take a hit. The opposite will be true for Jae Crowder, though. The Celtics are very thin behind Crowder and his ability to play the four gives him a good chance of topping 35 minutes per night.
Expectations are sky-high for Jae Crowder following last season. Many are expecting him to take another huge step and possibly make the All-Star team. While Crowder should see massive improvement during his second season as a full-time starter, he’s still a couple of years away from reaching the height of his career.
Crowder does have a great chance of making an All-Defensive Team, though. The addition of Horford will relieve a lot of pressure off him on the defensive end. Crowder is one of the most aggressive players on that end. It led to him leading the team in the steals per game and being able to contain some of the best scorers in the NBA.
More from Hardwood Houdini
Although, the lack of a true rim protector behind him had to be in the back of his mind a little. He knew if someone got by him then there was no one in the paint who could effectively block or alter shots. That changed this offseason when the Celtics inked Horford.
Even though Crowder won’t want to allow his man to blow by him, it gives him the chance to be even more aggressive in the passing lanes or when trying to create turnovers since he knows Horford has a proven track record of contesting shots in the paint. It’s a much-needed security blanket for many of the Celtics’ wing defenders.
After finishing 14th in steals per game a season ago, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Crowder crack the top-10 in 2016-17. He has an innate ability to force turnovers not seen in many players.
Crowder might never turn into an All-Star caliber, however no one else on Boston can match his versatility. Brad Stevens will turn to Crowder to play heavy minutes at small forward with only Gerald Green and Jaylen Brown behind him. Plus, he’s the best suited player in a small ball lineup to play power forward, which could lead to him assuming more ball-handling duties like Evan Turner.
When it comes down to it, Crowder isn’t a star, yet. He has star potential but he needs to prove to be more consistent on the offensive end. In a season where everyone is expecting a lot from him, he might not reach everyone’s goals. The bar is set-high, although if he continues his smothering defensive play and improves a little on offense, Boston will be very happy.
Don’t forget that just a couple of years ago he was playing a mere 10.6 minutes per game with Dallas. He’s a very good player, but we can’t expect everything to happen at once.
Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
The next player profile is Jae Crowder, the Boston Celtics starting small forward
After being a part of the Rajon Rondo trade with the Dallas Mavericks, Jae Crowder has become one of the most beloved players on the Boston Celtics. The intensity and passion that he plays with exemplifies the type of winning basketball Danny Ainge and Brad Stevens have tried to bring to this Celtics’ squad.
After being a fringe bench player for the Mavericks over his first two and a half seasons, Crowder jumped onto the scene last season when he started all 73 games he played in. A little bit of All-Star talk started to surface surrounding Crowder, as well as whether he is a star.
While an All-Star appearance and stardom is a little premature, he’ll be a popular breakout candidate this season. Crowder is coming off a season in which he played in 31.6 minutes per game and contributed 14.2 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.7 steals. Crowder led the team in steals per game and became a defensive anchor for Boston, as he quickly became known as one of the most smothering defensive wings in the league.
Crowder’s innate ability to create turnovers has been an important part to his game throughout his entire basketball career. During his senior season at Marquette, Crowder recorded 2.5 steals per game, and he has never averaged fewer than 1.6 steals per 36 minutes in the NBA. His versatility as a defender makes him an integral part of the Celtics defense, as well.
22 percent of his minutes last season came as a power forward. With Evan Turner now in Portland, Crowder will be the Celtics first option at power forward in a small ball lineup. Considering the lack of height and high-tempo offense the Celtics like to play, turning to a small ball lineup should be a common occurrence for Brad Stevens.
Offensively, Crowder’s improvement over the first couple of years in the league has been massive. At the same time, people may be jumping the gun at times. While his 14.2 points per game was a solid mark last season, he only shot 33.6 percent from three and 44.3 percent from the field. Besides, he’s not a great playmaker, rather he’s a spot-up shooter from three.
When it comes down to it, Crowder has a good chance to improve even more this season. Boston believes he can become a leader on both ends of the floor, but he’ll need to be more consistent on the offensive end in the future.
Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports
Areas to Improve
Defensively, Jae Crowder is as sound of a defender as you’ll find on the Boston Celtics. As he continues to put together solid seasons, he’ll get more recognition around the league and has a chance to be on an All-Defensive Team alongside teammate Avery Bradley.
Crowder will continue to be an integral part to the Celtics defense in 2016-17, however Boston needs him to develop on the offensive end. As promising as his game was at times, there is a lot of room to improve. For the marks that Crowder put up last season, it’s a good sign for the Celtics that Crowder might have only scratched the surface of the type of offensive player he can become.
The Celtics aren’t expecting him to develop into a 20 point per night scorer and solve their scoring problem, but he does need to be more consistent on the offensive end. Crowder ranked just sixth on the team in field-goal percentage (44.3 percent) and fifth in three-point percentage (33.6 percent).
In 2016-17, Crowder needs to focus on getting to the basket more. Despite shooting an underwhelming 33.6 percent from three, 44.6 percent of his shots came from behind the arc. On the other hand, he only attempted 27.4 percent of his shots from inside of three feet, even though he connected on a very good 70.4 percent from that range.
Crowder did most of his scoring on catch-and-shoot scenarios last season, however it’s evident that’s not how he’s most effective. He has the ability to put his head down and drive to the basket, finishing through contact. Although, he didn’t utilize that skill as often as Boston would have liked to see.
Last season, Evan Turner was the only Celtic to have more of his three-point makes assisted on. 94.3 percent of Crowder’s made threes were assisted on, mostly due to other teams leaving him open. Just like many players on Boston, teams aren’t afraid to let him shoot. As a team, the Celtics shot an abysmal 33.5 percent from deep — third worst in NBA.
Crowder will draw more attention and help space the floor better if he occasionally attempts a three but puts it on the ground and drives to the basket. Plus, it would force opponents to play off of him in fear of him beating them off the dribble.
He’s not a consistent three-point threat and it’s unlikely he ever becomes one. Although, being able to get to the basket more consistently would be a lot more beneficial for the Celtics. Boston has players who can shoot as well as Crowder from deep, however their lack of ability to create shots hurt them last season.
It could also help him attempt more than 12.7 shots per 36 minutes. Crowder can become a solid contributor on offense, but he can’t only rely on his three-point shot and needs to be more aggressive.
Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
What to Expect in 2016-17
The addition of Al Horford is going to cause a lot of players’ statistics on the Celtics to take a hit. The opposite will be true for Jae Crowder, though. The Celtics are very thin behind Crowder and his ability to play the four gives him a good chance of topping 35 minutes per night.
Expectations are sky-high for Jae Crowder following last season. Many are expecting him to take another huge step and possibly make the All-Star team. While Crowder should see massive improvement during his second season as a full-time starter, he’s still a couple of years away from reaching the height of his career.
Crowder does have a great chance of making an All-Defensive Team, though. The addition of Horford will relieve a lot of pressure off him on the defensive end. Crowder is one of the most aggressive players on that end. It led to him leading the team in the steals per game and being able to contain some of the best scorers in the NBA.
More from Hardwood Houdini
Although, the lack of a true rim protector behind him had to be in the back of his mind a little. He knew if someone got by him then there was no one in the paint who could effectively block or alter shots. That changed this offseason when the Celtics inked Horford.
Even though Crowder won’t want to allow his man to blow by him, it gives him the chance to be even more aggressive in the passing lanes or when trying to create turnovers since he knows Horford has a proven track record of contesting shots in the paint. It’s a much-needed security blanket for many of the Celtics’ wing defenders.
After finishing 14th in steals per game a season ago, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Crowder crack the top-10 in 2016-17. He has an innate ability to force turnovers not seen in many players.
Crowder might never turn into an All-Star caliber, however no one else on Boston can match his versatility. Brad Stevens will turn to Crowder to play heavy minutes at small forward with only Gerald Green and Jaylen Brown behind him. Plus, he’s the best suited player in a small ball lineup to play power forward, which could lead to him assuming more ball-handling duties like Evan Turner.
When it comes down to it, Crowder isn’t a star, yet. He has star potential but he needs to prove to be more consistent on the offensive end. In a season where everyone is expecting a lot from him, he might not reach everyone’s goals. The bar is set-high, although if he continues his smothering defensive play and improves a little on offense, Boston will be very happy.
Don’t forget that just a couple of years ago he was playing a mere 10.6 minutes per game with Dallas. He’s a very good player, but we can’t expect everything to happen at once.