Is Jae Crowder a starting small forward?

[CsBanner18]

As of right now...ABSOLUTELY!

In the future...not so sure. Whether or not he is a future starter depends on how good the starters are at the other 4 positions.

 

[The One]

Yes, I think so.

Great defender, emotional leader, and productive offensively.

No complaints here.

[Eddie20]

Yes, Crowder brings enough to the table to be a starting SF. However, on our team, we need more scoring/shot creators in the starting lineup, so he'd be better suited as a wing off the bench. That could change though, as he continues to improve, and players like Smart become better offensive players. His game is very reminescent of Artest's (minus the antics) and he was a starter for a couple of title teams.

Crowder's game is not like Artest's at all. 

The one similarity they have is that they used their physicality to impact the game. Aside from that, very different players. 

Artest was actually a pretty good offensive player.  He averaged over 15 PPG for something like 5 seasons in a row.  He was also a pretty good three point shooter (34% for his carrer and shot over 38% a couple of times).

Also Artest's Defense was on a whole other level compared to Crowder's.  For years he was in the DPOTY discussion.  Crowder is a pretty good defensive player, but nowhere near that good. 

If you want to find an old school player who is similar to Crowder, then it'll be somebody that most people haven't heard of - because somebody of Crowder's ability will not be remembered by many 10 years down the track. Maybe a poor man's Anthony Mason?

I'm not referring to the Artest that played for the Pacers. That version was a monster. I'm speaking about the one we saw suit up for the Lakers during those their title contention years.


09-10           10-11
Age 30                        31
FG% 41.4                    39.7
FT% 68.6                    67.6
3PT% 35.5                  35.6
PPG 11.0                     8.5
RPG 4.3                      3.3
APG 3.0                      2.1
SPG 1.4                      1.5
MPG 33.8                    29.4


Crowder since he's been in Boston (63 games)
Age 24-25
FG% 41.2                   
FT% 76.6                   
3PT% 28.0 (33% while in Dallas)               
PPG 9.6                   
RPG 4.7                   
APG 1.5                 
SPG 1.2                   
MPG 24.9                   


I compare him to Artest because he might not be the most athletic player, but uses his physicality, quick hands, and understanding of angles to be a very good defender. He also is a guy that brings intensity and toughness every single night. Offensively, he's a very underrated ball handler and passer, who is a consistent perimeter shot away from taking the next step.

I don't see the Mason comparison at all. He was a PF who handled the ball great for his size (270ish), but couldn't shoot beyond 10 feet and struggled defending quicker players. This isn't to say he wasn't mobile for his size, just that he struggled against quicker wings and was better against bigger players in the post. 

[Celtics18]

Jae Crowder is a classic case of a guy who needs to play on a really good team for his talents to be recognized.  I absolutely think he should be in the conversation as a top five wing defender in the league.

If the Celtics remains a top five defensive team statistically, Jae will start to get more national recognition for his invaluable role.

[Eddie20]

Jae Crowder is a classic case of a guy who needs to play on a really good team for his talents to be recognized.  I absolutely think he should be in the conversation as a top five wing defender in the league.

If the Celtics remains a top five defensive team statistically, Jae will start to get more national recognition for his invaluable role.

Absolutely. Leonard is awesome, but he does have Duncan behind him. Imagine if Crowder had a similar defensive presence making up for mistakes. Again, this isn't taking anything away from Leonard, but merely stating how much harder it is when you don't have a rim protector behind you.

[kozlodoev]

Great defender, emotional leader, and productive offensively.

Jae Crowder is absolutely putrid offensively. He has no business taking 12 shots a game the way he did last night.

[AngryAndIrritable]

Despite the fact he's playing above himself and leading the league in steals, no, Crowder should not be starting for us unless he can find a way to take a big step forward offensively.

Given our lack of strength at SF, we don't have a lot of choice at the moment though.

He could definitely be a starter on a team where the other four starters are good enough to nullify his disadvantages.

[Quetzalcoatl]

I'm not referring to the Artest that played for the Pacers. That version was a monster. I'm speaking about the one we saw suit up for the Lakers during those their title contention years.

Man, do you remember how good he was?  2004/2005: 24.6 ppg / 6.4 rpg / 3.1 ast / .496 FG% / .412 3Pt% / .922 FT% / 1.7 STL

Those are insane numbers.  He was basically Paul George with slightly worse rebounding but better 3pt shooting

[MJohnnyboy]

I'm not referring to the Artest that played for the Pacers. That version was a monster. I'm speaking about the one we saw suit up for the Lakers during those their title contention years.

Man, do you remember how good he was?  2004/2005: 24.6 ppg / 6.4 rpg / 3.1 ast / .496 FG% / .412 3Pt% / .922 FT% / 1.7 STL

Those are insane numbers.  He was basically Paul George with slightly worse rebounding but better 3pt shooting

You have to remember that was a sample size of only 7 games because of a certain "incident".

[Quetzalcoatl]

I'm not referring to the Artest that played for the Pacers. That version was a monster. I'm speaking about the one we saw suit up for the Lakers during those their title contention years.

Man, do you remember how good he was?  2004/2005: 24.6 ppg / 6.4 rpg / 3.1 ast / .496 FG% / .412 3Pt% / .922 FT% / 1.7 STL

Those are insane numbers.  He was basically Paul George with slightly worse rebounding but better 3pt shooting

You have to remember that was a sample size of only 7 games because of a certain "incident".

Ha I was watching that game when it happened just at random.  I thought they were going to win the title that year, too

[Rondo9]

Great defender, emotional leader, and productive offensively.

Jae Crowder is absolutely putrid offensively. He has no business taking 12 shots a game the way he did last night.

We all have a bad game.

[Moranis]

Great defender, emotional leader, and productive offensively.

Jae Crowder is absolutely putrid offensively. He has no business taking 12 shots a game the way he did last night.

We all have a bad game.

Crowder has a lot of bad games

[Celtics18]

Great defender, emotional leader, and productive offensively.

Jae Crowder is absolutely putrid offensively. He has no business taking 12 shots a game the way he did last night.

We all have a bad game.

Crowder has a lot of bad games

I disagree.  I generally feel like he has a great game.  Offensively, not so much most of the time.  Defensively, he's a superstar. 

[ssspence]

Great defender, emotional leader, and productive offensively.

Jae Crowder is absolutely putrid offensively. He has no business taking 12 shots a game the way he did last night.

We all have a bad game.

Crowder has a lot of bad games

I disagree.  I generally feel like he has a great game.  Offensively, not so much most of the time.  Defensively, he's a superstar.

Crowder is a good defender, but calling him 'great' or a 'superstar' in that category -- or what's worse, comparing him to Leonard -- is Homerville.

The guy's a nice piece. He should be a bench player eventually, if and when this team moves towards contention over the next couple of years.

[kozlodoev]

Great defender, emotional leader, and productive offensively.

Jae Crowder is absolutely putrid offensively. He has no business taking 12 shots a game the way he did last night.

We all have a bad game.

Crowder has now shot .333 or worse in 5 of his 7 games this season. This is a problem when he ends up taking 10-12 shots, which he definitely seems to... more than he should.