Jae Crowder a Top 5 SF According to Bleacher Report

[Ilikesports17]

Just read a BR article claiming Crowder was a top 5 Small Forward (specifically #5)

He was listed behind Melo KD James and Leonard

Here is the link
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2606876-the-top-5-nba-stars-at-every-position-early-2016-edition/page/13

Team: Boston Celtics

Age: 25

2015-16 Per-Game Stats: 13.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.9 steals, 0.5 blocks, 15.7 PER

If you don't think Jae Crowder is a star, stop living in the past.

According to TPA, the breakout member of the Boston Celtics is on pace to produce more points this season than all but 20 members of the Association—just three of whom are primarily listed as small forwards. The production stems from his ability to contribute on both ends of the court in equally effective fashion.

Crowder has yet to become a household name, and that's partially because he doesn't average a boatload of points. Instead, he does everything else whenever he steps onto the floor, even contributing in ways that don't show up in a standard box score.

Oh, and now he's starting to score.

"The small forward continues to raise his offensive game to another level and has nearly surpassed [Isaiah] Thomas as the team's leading scorer over his last 10 games by averaging 18.1 points per game," Brian Robb wrote for Boston.com on Jan. 9.

His consistency allows him to beat out some of the bigger names for one of our featured spots.

No other Celtics player was considered a top 5 player at their position or even an honorable mention

Not sure if I agree that Jae is a top 5 SF but its nice to see and I have loved his progression this year.

EDIT: We all know B/R is pretty questionable, but where do you guys think Jae stacks up?

[max215]

I love to see Jae getting recognition too, BUT this is nonsense B/R click bait and should be completely disregarded.

[Ilikesports17]

I love to see Jae getting recognition too, BUT this is nonsense B/R click bait and should be completely disregarded.

I think Hayward and GA are better than him but he could well be the 7th best in the league and if he can keep shooting 37% from deep and scoring 18 points a game than you bet hes a top 5 SF

[kozlodoev]

Bleacher Report alert.

[PhoSita]

Hm, let's see.

Lebron, Durant, Kawhi, George, Melo, Hayward, Butler, Gay, Gallinari, Batum, Giannis

Yeah, I'm gonna go ahead and say he's definitely not top 5.  You can make a case for Crowder versus a few of the names I just listed, based on a defense, but top 5 is out of the question.

Still, he's getting paid wayyyyy less than the guys I just listed, he's locked up long term, and he's solidly above average.

He's having a really nice year.  It's wonderful to see.  I dunno if we can expect Crowder to play like this every season moving forward (role players are often up and down, just look at guys like Ariza, Dudley, Carroll, etc).  But given his contract, that's just fine.

[kozlodoev]

I think Hayward and GA are better than him

As well as Wiggins and Antetokounmpo. Bogus article is bogus.

[loco_91]

I like their sentiment. Jae Crowder is underrated, and he might be our best player right now. But putting him ahead of Paul George is ludicrous. You could make a case for #6, but I'd be more likely to put him around #8-9.

[kozlodoev]

I like their sentiment. Jae Crowder is underrated, and he might be our best player right now. But putting him ahead of Paul George is ludicrous. You could make a case for #6, but I'd be more likely to put him around #8-9.

They have Paul George at PF this season.

[Greyman]

I hope he can continue playing well. Consistency is the key for Jae and the team (and I don't mean consistently losing if you are going to say the team is consistent).

His improvement is a plus and wherever he ranks, he is at least getting mentioned.

[Ilikesports17]

I think Hayward and GA are better than him

As well as Wiggins and Antetokounmpo. Bogus article is bogus.

Wiggins is a 2 along with Butler and George is a 4 according to the article so that makes things a little less absurd to call him top 5.

Other than those 2 (Hayward and GA) I think you could make a good argument that Jae is better than any other SF in the league and if you remove the fact that GA is only 21 from the equation you could make the argument that Crowder has been better this year.

[oldtype]

Top five is a stretch but I think he's pretty clearly top 10.

Outside of the super-elite group of Lebron, Durant, Kawhi, and Melo, only Hayward is obviously better.

[Celtics18]

Giannis Antetokounmpo has crazy upside.  That kid is gonna be really, really good.

There's no way he's a better player than Jae Crowder right now, though.

Not sure about Gordon Hayward, but from what I do know, he doesn't seem to have made the kind of superstar jump that I think some were expecting.  I don't think he's a given ahead of Jae.

I do like Nic Batum, who probably has a similar impact on this year's Hornets as Crowder has had on our Celtics.

Some of the guys folks have mentioned like Butler and George who are clearly better are listed at other positions.

In short,  I don't think the ranking is all that crazy.

[CFAN38]

I cant agree that he is top 5 but will agree he has been great and DA found a steal. The rise of Crowder and my optimism for the development of Smart has me increasingly wonders if those two will prove to be the only real long term pieces on this roster.

I can image a day when IT and AB are moved in a consolidation move for a star level guard and that starts the ball rolling towards this contending for a ring again.

[LarBrd33]

Giannis Antetokounmpo has crazy upside.  That kid is gonna be really, really good.

I'm sure there's a really good chance Giannis will be a star... the potential is obvious.  But if I was going to pick one guy with perceived "crazy upside" potential that will ultimately fall short, I think I'd go with Giannis.  If I were the Bucks, I'd consider moving him while the consensus remains that he's going to be a superstar.

[kozlodoev]

Giannis Antetokounmpo has crazy upside.  That kid is gonna be really, really good.

There's no way he's a better player than Jae Crowder right now, though.

Not sure about Gordon Hayward, but from what I do know, he doesn't seem to have made the kind of superstar jump that I think some were expecting.  I don't think he's a given ahead of Jae.

I do like Nic Batum, who probably has a similar impact on this year's Hornets as Crowder has had on our Celtics.

Some of the guys folks have mentioned like Butler and George who are clearly better are listed at other positions.

In short,  I don't think the ranking is all that crazy.

Batum is listed at SG this season. Antetokounmpo is averaging 15, 7, and 3 on close to 50% from the floor with a steal and a block. He's been up and down all season but has arguably been at least as good as Crowder.