Los Angeles Clippers: The Most Overlooked Piece of the Roster
By Shane Young
The Los Angeles Clippers succeeded in having the best season in franchise history in 2012-13. They grabbed 56 wins behind Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and a quality second unit. This season, they will have a shot at eclipsing 60 wins with an improved bench and starting lineup. Of all the additions general manager Gary Sacks was able to bring to Los Angeles, the most talented player off the bench is a returning player from last season. Jamal Crawford, being one of the flashiest and most entertaining to watch in the league, is arguably the best sixth man you could ask for on your team.
Entering his 14th NBA season, Crawford is one of the best veteran guards in the league at age 33. Last season for the Clippers, he fit into the rotation nicely with teammates Eric Bledsoe and Willie Greene as he managed to average 16.5 points and 2.5 assists during his 29.3 minutes per game. Crawford fell just short of winning the 2012-13 Sixth Man of the Year award, which was awarded to New York Knicks’ shooting guard J.R. Smith. Knicks’ Head Coach Mike Woodson granted Smith more minutes (33.5 per game) due to New York developing an identity of being three-point specialists throughout the season. This allowed Smith’s scoring average to rise to 18.1 per game and appear to be the better offensive player.
In terms of helping out your team down the stretch and being the insurance policy that your second unit needs, Jamal Crawford may still be the better sixth man out of the two. For what it’s worth, Crawford was slightly more efficient with the shots he did take (43.8 percent from the field, 37.6 percent from 3-point range) compared to Smith (42.6 percent from the field, 36.7 percent from 3-point range). The statistics show that these players are nearly IDENTICAL talents in today’s game, but some general managers would choose Crawford at this stage of their careers for one particular reason.
As he has bounced around from Chicago, New York, Golden State, Atlanta, Portland and now Los Angeles, Crawford’s maturity level has grown and he has become one of the primary voices in the locker room. He is the second-oldest player on the team, behind only backup small forward Matt Barnes, and has the most experience on the roster by a long shot. J.R. Smith, on the other hand, is entering his 10th season in the league and still has been known as the player with an attitude and a huge ego. This past postseason, Smith put his team in jeopardy of choking in the first round when he was suspended one game (Game 4) for throwing an elbow at Celtics’ guard Jason Terry. Smith proved his distasteful attitude when he claimed the Celtics would have had no chance of winning Game 4 if he was eligible to play. “I’d have been playing golf today,” he claimed after the Celtics forced a Game 5 in the series.
J.R. Smith’s lack of leadership and maturity are reasons why Jamal Crawford is the better sixth man. Photo Credit: Bridget Samuels, Flickr.com
At this point in his career, you won’t find Crawford jeopardizing his team’s shot at winning a title. That’s exactly what Smith did, however, as his suspension marked the end of his offensive capabilities in the playoffs and the start of one of the worst shooting slumps in his career.
Now playing under the glorified and high-profile coach Doc Rivers, Crawford will thrive even more this season. Yes, we will still see him have his usual fun with fancy and creative alley-oops to the Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. We will continue to be in awe of his incredible ball handling techniques. But, most importantly, we will see an increase in Crawford’s minutes, desire to win a championship, and shooting percentages across the board with the confidence this Clippers team is going to have.
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