Can the Jazz get the most out of Jae Crowder?
During his final year with the Boston Celtics, Jae Crowder was viewed as one of the top 3-and-D players in the league. He was averaging 14 points per game and shooting 40 percent from three. He was also routinely asked to lock up the opposing team’s top perimeter threats.
When the deal struck last offseason sending him to the Cavs, there were many who felt like the inclusion of Crowder helped the Cavs win the trade. In his 53 games with the team, though, he only averaged 8.6 points on 33 percent shooting from three. He also looked much more relaxed on the defensive end, and appeared to have somewhat checked out. After hearing all of the reports coming out of that locker room, it’s not hard to see why.
This will be a great opportunity for him to show the NBA landscape that his poor performance was situational, and that he can still be an important component of a playoff team.
I’m fairly confident Quin Snyder can resurrect this version of Jae Crowder. And if he can, that was a heck of a trade for the Jazz... https://t.co/DCRrBgtRhX
— Andy Bailey (@AndrewDBailey) February 10, 2018
Jae Crowder has the ability to fill two roles for the Jazz. He help fill the void of losing Rodney Hood on the wing, but he can also help replace Joe Johnson as the stretch four for this team. The Jazz need a stretch four. It is going to be necessary if they are going to keep Favors and Gobert.
Watch for Crowder to have an important role early on. I expect he takes on all of Johnson’s minutes, and we aren’t likely going to be seeing much of Jonas Jerebko going forward. If Crowder can get his mojo back and be the Boston version of himself, the Jazz are going to be in a good position to not just win this game, but many more.