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Why Jamal Crawford’s Health Is Most Important To The Los Angeles Clippers’ Success

By Nathan Grubel

February 19, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard Jamal Crawford (11) reacts following the 119-115 victory against the San Antonio Spurs at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
February 19, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard Jamal Crawford (11) reacts following the 119-115 victory against the San Antonio Spurs at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /
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Since Jamal Crawford went down due to injury for the Los Angeles Clippers on March 2 against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the team has played fairly well, winning 11 of the 16 games over that period of time.

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The schedule, however, has been fairly easy over that time, with wins over the Timberwolves twice, the Philadelphia 76ers, New York Knicks, the struggling Washington Wizards and the Portland Trail Blazers without Wesley Matthews.

The list goes on and on for the Clippers in terms of their “easy wins” since Crawford went down, meaning that it can’t necessarily be viewed as a situation in which the team doesn’t need him to succeed.

It’s actually the complete opposite.

Crawford may be one of the most important players the team has period, let alone the most valuable guy off of the bench. Crawford is one of the leading NBA Sixth Man of the Year candidates for a reason.

On the season, Crawford is averaging 16.4 points per game, essentially acting as the Clippers’ entire bench, as the team doesn’t have the same quality of depth as a lot of the other top teams do in the Western Conference such as the Golden State Warriors or San Antonio Spurs.

His scoring versatility is a big reason why this team is able to hang around games and even power to huge leads while the starters are out.

Crawford has arguably one of the three best ball-handling games in the league next to Stephen Curry and Kyrie Irving. His mastery of the crossover has left him with plenty of wide-open shot attempts from the mid-range or lanes to the rim over the years. Crawford is a crafty scorer who knows how to get his points from inside the arc, but he also has the range from beyond the three-point line, as he’s shot 35 percent from deep for his career.

Three-point shooting is a big part of the Clippers’ offense because of what Chris Paul can do as a distributor. Paul is one of the best penetrators in the game, as he’s able to get into the lane almost at will and kick the ball back out to open shooters on the perimeter.

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    • Not only that, but Blake Griffin has evolved into a much improved passer from the elbows, making it easy for head coach Doc Rivers to send a cutter to the rim in order to distract the defense from the shooter moving over and spotting up from the corner. Teams have to respect Griffin’s ability to get the ball into the lane on that play, which opens up a different dimension of the offense for the Clippers.

    Crawford’s ball-handling ability is crucial to the Clippers’ success because he’s one of the few players able to do that effectively on the entire team.

    Outside of Paul and Crawford, the team doesn’t have any effective options to take care of the basketball. Austin Rivers has been spotty at best, so without Paul or Crawford on the ball, the offense tends to become stagnant, as the ball tends to get stuck in the hands of one player versus constant movement.

    Without someone who can handle the basketball, it’s hard for an offense to succeed with just post players and spot-up shooters. In the playoffs, Paul can’t be expected to be on the floor every minute of every game. That’s why getting Crawford healthy is the Clippers’ top priority because they need that player that can ultimately give Paul the rest he needs without letting the offense completely fall apart.

    If Crawford can return healthy, then Los Angeles should feel confident about their ability to challenge for the title. However, if Crawford can’t come back effectively or at all, then the immediate future isn’t going to look too promising for the Clippers.

    *Statistics courtesy of Basketball-Reference.

    Next: Does Paul Belong in MVP Discussion?

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