Jae Crowder News and Discussion

[matt131]

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[suns12345]

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I've always not liked Crowder, but I think he's the kinda guy you like on your team and actually seems like a good person off the court too.

[jcsunsfan]

That valleyboyz nonesense is gone now I hope.

[SlovenianDragon]

That valleyboyz nonesense is gone now I hope.

Oubre literally trade marked it...so with his absence it should be gone.

Now that he is with the warriors are they going to be the...BayBoyz?

[SkyBill40]

Crowder will be starting. We didn't sign him to $10M per to come of the pine. Johnson will be the sixth man and firestarter for the second unit.

[bwgood77]

Crowder will be starting. We didn't sign him to $10M per to come of the pine. Johnson will be the sixth man and firestarter for the second unit.

Who really knows? It's likely and that could have been a deciding factor in where he played. Ultimately it doesn't matter because it all will be staggered and they will all get a lot of minutes.

I think Crowder would be good off the bench to provide defense with Saric and others, especially if Bridges sits. I think most of these guys are team players and really don't care except our clear starters at 1, 2 and 5. Bridges is a clear starter too but not sure if he cares all that much either.

[Saberestar]

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[Saberestar]

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[bwgood77]

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[matt131]

https://heatbeatmiami.com/the-heats-void-at-power-forward-will-define-their-season/

A heat article, but it's interesting to read about how much they miss crowder and how important he was to that team last year. We're lucky to have him.

[cberry78]

https://heatnation.com/media/former-miami-heat-reveals-hes-been-getting-extensive-death-threats-fears-being-separated-from-daughter/

WTF is wrong with people!!!!

[bwgood77]

https://heatnation.com/media/former-miami-heat-reveals-hes-been-getting-extensive-death-threats-fears-being-separated-from-daughter/

WTF is wrong with people!!!!

Damn, I wonder what that's all about.

[Saberestar]

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[Mulhollanddrive]

He's been even better than I expected, his shot making is genuine of a stretch 4 and plays defense and has the intangibles.

Jones has the magic touch in knowing team and players more than what we can see on paper.

[Saberestar]

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[bwgood77]

Zach Lowe with a piece today about how Jae Crowder became a premier role player. I thought many might like it, with a few complaining about Crowder...talks about why it's so hard for Monty to take him off the floor...and a lot of good stuff before that about what makes him him, and what previous coaches and players thought of him.

Winning has followed Crowder: from Marquette, where he starred for two seasons; to those Boston teams; and now to back-to-back Finals with the Miami Heat -- who never quite recovered from losing him -- and the Suns.

Through it all, Crowder has never been intimidated or star struck. Early in Crowder's third season, Crowder and Mike Procopio, then a Mavs player development coach, were working out in the Mavs' practice gym the night before a home game against the Lakers. Kobe Bryant had scheduled time in the same gym after Crowder, and strolled in early.

Prior to landing in Dallas, Procopio had been Bryant's personal video coach. Bryant caught Procopio's attention and tried to strike up a conversation, Procopio and Crowder recalled. Crowder, who was and is a massive Bryant fan, nonetheless stopped Procopio: It was Crowder's slot, and he didn't care who was visiting. Tossing in some select words, Crowder suggested Procopio get back to work.

"That is what makes Jae Jae," Procopio said. "He has complete confidence -- and a competitive chip on his shoulder that makes the iceberg that sunk the Titanic look like a snowflake."

Crowder was maybe the only player on Miami's roster with the courage, bravado, and shared history -- from their year together at Marquette -- to confront Jimmy Butler when he felt it necessary. A prolonged series of one-on-one games between them was perhaps Miami's secret defining moment of last season's bubble run.

The two had started trash-talking during five-on-five action in practice toward the end of the seeding games. It got heated, and they cleared the court to settle it with a series of one-on-one games that lasted somewhere between 30 minutes and an hour. The player with the ball had to start either on the wing or at the top of the key, and could take only a certain number of dribbles before shooting.

The trash talk became so profane, and so personal, it was borderline uncomfortable, team sources said. Almost the entire Heat contingent stayed to watch. "'I've been busting your ass since school!'" Butler taunted, according to Crowder. (It got much worse than that.) Everyone loved it -- and appreciated Crowder for bringing an edge to practices. (Butler won the final game.)

"What the public sees in games, he brings to every practice and film session," said Buzz Williams, Crowder's coach at Marquette. "He is an everyday guy. You want practices to be harder than games, and Jae lives that."

Crowder's practice battles with Thomas, Marcus Smart, and Evan Turner are part of recent Celtics lore. Coaches worried that if they divided teams a certain way, fights might break out. Crowder would shout that Thomas was a one-dimensional scorer. "OK, defender!" Thomas retorted.

"People thought we didn't like each other -- that's how bad it was," Thomas said. "But we walked off the court as family."

IN BOSTON, CROWDER expanded his game without stepping outside his role. He became a more adventurous, if wildly up-and-down, 3-point shooter. That combination of streakiness and audacity to keep launching has been one of Crowder's defining qualities -- with his hit rate in any particular season going a long way to determining his overall production.

Crowder drained a career-high 40% from deep for Boston in 2016-17. In some corners, he was considered the under-the-radar jewel of the megatrade that sent Thomas, Crowder, Ante Zizic, and a Brooklyn Nets first-round pick to Cleveland for Kyrie Irving.

In Miami and Phoenix, Crowder is 38% on about 8 triples per 36 minutes. His scorching performance last postseason against the Bucks -- 22-of-51 (43%) in five games -- helped swing that series for Miami.

Before the season Chris Paul and Devin Booker called the 30-year-old Crowder, then a free agent. They told him they needed his toughness, his 3-and-D skill set. Six months later, the Suns are just three games away from hoisting the Larry O'Brien trophy.

But all along, Crowder was building out the kind of all-around game that withstands shooting slumps. On defense, he can switch across at least three positions in most matchups. Crowder has nimble feet, smart instincts, and a stoutness that allows him to defend above his size in the post. He was the primary defender on Giannis Antetokounmpo during last season's Heat-Bucks series, and got some reps against him in Game 1 of the Finals -- an alignment that allows Phoenix to switch more pick-and-rolls.

Switching becomes more paramount each season as the pick-and-roll subsumes all other forms of half-court offense.

"You don't even know what position Jae is," Williams said. "But you know this: It becomes really hard to take him off the floor."

The Suns may need Crowder's flexibility even more with Dario Saric, their backup center, out for the rest of the Finals with a torn ACL.

Crowder toggles easily between schemes, and memorizes which two-man combinations require particular strategies.

"It was, 'OK, Jae, guard this guy,'" Williams recalled. "'Never mind, guard that guy. If he's in a ball screen, switch it. But if he's in a ball screen with that other guy, trap it.' And the game would start, and I would say, 'Hey, Jae, aren't you supposed to trap there?' And he'd say, 'Coach, I don't think that's what you told me.' And he was right."

Crowder became a decisive catch-and-go driver -- capable of dusting defenders who run him off the arc, slicing into the paint, and making the next pass. "The ball is never gonna stick," Williams said. "That's his brain going. That's why guys like playing with him."

He has one of the league's lowest turnover rates every season. It's tempting to chalk that up to Crowder's light playmaking load, but there are lots of fourth and fifth options more mistake-prone in even smaller roles. Crowder is a low-mistake player on both ends. That has a kind of invisible value, humming in the background.

"He does all the dirty work and things other guys aren't necessarily trying to do," Thomas said. "Everybody respects Jae."

That passing touch came in handy when Crowder inbounded the Valley-Oop to win Game 2 of the conference finals against the LA Clippers.

"He wants to win, but he's unselfish about who is doing what if it leads to winning," Williams said.

Boston staffers vividly remember Crowder, out for an April 2016 game against the Golden State Warriors in Oakland, watching on TV in the locker room -- cheering, shouting instructions to teammates, calling out sets as if they could hear him. Boston won, ending the Warriors' 54-game regular-season home winning streak. (A year later, the same results-above-all attitude had Crowder mocking Booker and the Suns for celebrating Booker's 70-point performance in a loss against Boston.)

Crowder prides himself on being more than the 3-and-D guy who stands in the corner. He likes to cut and screen -- to touch the ball, feel involved. He reads the game at a level that merits such involvement -- something he and his father credit to Crowder playing quarterback in high school.

"I know how to play basketball," Crowder said. "I study it. It's my life. Just give us a little structure, and we should be smart enough to go play."

He sensed Phoenix might offer that sort of ecosystem. It took time, but he was right. Head coach Monty Williams and his players have built the league's most diverse pick-and-roll attack -- a whirring machine full of flare screens, looping cuts, back picks, and alignments that shift when you're not looking. Everyone plays an active role.

"This style of play -- this flow -- I knew it translated to my game," Crowder said.

Crowder began to realize the Suns might have something special when an assistant coach pulled him aside midway through the season and revealed a tidbit about the team's record: They had about the same winning percentage against losing teams as against opponents above .500. The coach seemed perturbed by Phoenix playing down to the competition. Crowder took the opposite view.

"I actually liked that," Crowder said. "It was telling me that when we respect our opponent, we beat people. We can beat anybody."

https://www.espn.com/nba/insider/story/nba-finals-2021-how-jae-crowder-became-nba-premier-role-player

[Saberestar]

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It's so refreshing to watch a player to take full responsibility for a loss, Crowder is a winner. He played a very good game other than that bad pass in the last few seconds.

Monty Williams himself took responsibility for not calling a timeout too, that's what leaders do after a mistake and says a lot about the nice culture on this team.

[suns12345]

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It's so refreshing to watch a player to take full responsibility for a loss, Crowder is a winner. He played a very good game other than that bad pass in the last few seconds.

Monty Williams himself took responsibility for not calling a timeout too, that's what leaders do after a mistake and says a lot about the nice culture on this team.

yeh agree. dont forget, we wouldnt even have a chance if Jae doesnt hoist up and make that double teamed three on the posession prior.

[RunDogGun]

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It's so refreshing to watch a player to take full responsibility for a loss, Crowder is a winner. He played a very good game other than that bad pass in the last few seconds.

Monty Williams himself took responsibility for not calling a timeout too, that's what leaders do after a mistake and says a lot about the nice culture on this team.

The loss isn't on him. There was no guarantee we hit the last shot anyways. The pass was absolutely ridiculous. It was almost like he was trying to tell coach to call a timeout by throwing the ball over Monty's head.

Monty had a rough game even without calling a time out right away, letting Utah go on a few runs, and still didn't put in Biz, when it seemed clear McGee was having a rough go. He did do a better job of giving Cam more minutes, and I was just confused why both Ayton and Cam came out so early in the first, when those two were a major reason why we had such a large lead to start. Cam coming out early I can kind of understand, because Monty started him in the second with four bench players, keeping either Booker or Cam on the court at all times, but with Cam going 3 for 3 in the first, I was hoping for a little more milking the hot hand. Shamet will be tough for Monty, since it seems clear he wants to play him, but his defense has been so poor, and his shot is not quite there. Hope Holiday is better, we need his shooting since both Craig and Shamet just aren't knocking them down.

[Saberestar]

In the four games after the All Star Jae Crowder is averaging 15 points, 4.5 boards, 3.5 assists and 3 steals per game.

He has a ridiculous 75% TS, shooting 53% from three (10/19).