Crowder's D will be tested tonight vs. Jazz' Hayward

Share

BOSTON – This season has been a pretty amazing one for the Celtics’ Isaiah Thomas. He's putting up big numbers in what should be a second straight trip to the NBA All-Star Game.
 
And while the numbers aren’t nearly as eye-popping, Celtics wing Jae Crowder has had an exceptional season as well for Boston (20-14).
 
Crowder’s scoring is slightly down, from 14.2 to 13.0 this year, but he’s shooting the ball better in just about every statistical category, which has been a key to Boston’s offense being more efficient than it was a year ago.
 
And at 6-foot-6, Crowder is usually guarding the opposing team’s small forward which more nights than not, meaning he’ll be matched up against the opponent’s top scorer.
 
That will certainly be the case tonight when the Celtics host the Utah Jazz who are led by 6-8 small forward Gordon Hayward, who played his college ball for Celtics coach Brad Stevens at Butler.
 
Hayward is averaging a career-high 22.4 points per game and is having an All-Star worthy kind of season, with his most recent game being a 30-point performance in Utah’s 101-89 win at Brooklyn on Monday.
 
“He’s just gotten better every year,” Stevens said. “Again, I go back to when we recruited him. He was a skinny tennis player who could do some things on the basketball court. Now he’s just got a well-rounded game. Their staff has done a great job with him, and he’s just continued to work and progress. He’s a really good player.”
 
Hayward will indeed be a good test for Crowder whose presence on the floor usually brings about good things for Boston.
 
This season, the Celtics are +111 when he’s on the floor,  the best plus/minus of any Celtic with the nearest teammate being Marcus Smart (+74).
 
In addition, Crowder is one of just two players in the NBA (Cleveland’s Kyrie Irving) who is shooting at least 48 percent from the field, 40 percent from 3-point range and 87 percent from the free throw line.
 
And while Crowder doesn’t do much in terms of creating his own shot, he has proven himself to be a reliable spot-up shooter.
 
When it comes to the spot-up shot, few are better at it than Crowder who is averaging a league-best 6.3 points per game on spot-up shots.
 
But Crowder understands that the Celtics have to play at a high level defensively in order to have the kind of success they're envisioning.
 
And while it’s certainly a team effort, he knows that on many nights – maybe tonight -  it starts with him and the rest of the Celtics starters.
 
“Guys are coming at us, and teams are trying to score against us,” Crowder said. “We just can’t let teams get comfortable against us. We let a lot of teams come in and get comfortable from the first five minutes. Us starters have to do a better job of making those guys uncomfortable. And that trickles down to the whole team.”

Contact Us