Boston Celtics: How Good Has Jae Crowder Been This Season?
The Boston Celtics landed Jae Crowder last season in the Rajon Rondo trade, and now he is one of the best players on the team.
The Boston Celtics traded Rajon Rondo last season to the Dallas Mavericks for Brandan Wright, Jae Crowder, Jameer Nelson, and draft picks. The centerpiece of that trade for the Celtics was supposed to be Wright, but he only played in eight games for Boston before the team shipped him to the Phoenix Suns for more draft picks. Looking back at the trade today, it seems that the trade was definitely a win for the Celtics because they landed Crowder — the actual centerpiece of the trade — and a 2016 first round pick.
In Dallas, Crowder started in 24 games in three seasons and he only averaged 4.6 PPG and 15.9 MPG. Ever since he came to Boston, Crowder has been putting up much better numbers and getting much more of an opportunity. Last season he averaged 9.5 PPG, 4.6 RPG, and he started in 17 out of 57 games. Crowder showed that he could be much more than just a defensive specialist that can come off the bench, but this season he has really made strides in becoming a dangerous force on both ends of the floor.
Crowder has started for the Celtics in every game this season, and he is averaging 13.5 PPG (career high), 5.3 RPG (career high), and 1.8 SPG (career high). He is also shooting 44.7 percent from the field and 35.2 percent from deep, which are both career highs. Crowder is the third leading scorer on the team and he has also been terrific on the defensive end by posting a defensive rating of 99.
Jae Crowder on providing emotional spark late in games: "Whatever it is I just try to step up and do it and give our team a chance to win."
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) January 5, 2016
Crowder had a career-high 25 points in their most recent game against the Brooklyn Nets, and he has started off the new year averaging 20.5 PPG, 6.5 RPG, and shooting 40 percent from deep in two games. Crowder is making a name for himself as a two-way player and he should be in the conversation for the most improved player in the NBA along with players like Will Barton on the Denver Nuggets, C.J. McCollum on the Portland Trail Blazers and Draymond Green on the Golden State Warriors. Those players have all put up better numbers than Crowder, but it is still great to see him in the conversation because he has come a long way since his time in Dallas.
Crowder plays 32.0 MPG, which is second on the team behind Isaiah Thomas (32.5 MPG), which is crazy to think about seeing that he was not even the main piece of the Rajon Rondo trade from last season. The Celtics won that trade in a big way, and the Mavericks are certainly missing Crowder because all he needed was an opportunity to shine.
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Boston has certainly given Crowder the opportunity to shine and he has not disappointed.