Phoenix Suns: Jae Crowder will be the X-factor versus Los Angeles Lakers

After snapping their decade-long playoff drought, the Phoenix Suns will be rewarded by playing the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the NBA Playoffs.

Injuries caused the Lakers to slip down to the seventh seed in the Western Conference standings and secured a playoff series against the Suns with their play-in win on Wednesday. Taking on the reigning champions straight away is certainly a difficult first-round set for the surging Suns as many have already labeled them as massive underdogs.

If the Suns will force the massive upset and overcome the Lakers, it will take a herculean effort. The team will need massive contributions from their top tandem of Devin Booker and Chris Paul even to have a chance, which will be an interesting dynamic as they head into the playoffs for the first time together.

Yet, Phoenix also has one of the most well-rounded supporting casts in the association that will be crucial in this series. Among the many rotational players that have carved out steady roles for themselves this season, newcomer Jae Crowder might be the biggest X-factor for the Phoenix Suns.

Jae Crowder will be the ultimate X-factor for the Phoenix Suns against the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the NBA Playoffs.

Suiting up for the Miami Heat in the playoffs last season, Crowder had a series to remember in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals against the Milwaukee Bucks.

The forward was fantastic on the offensive end by averaging 15.2 points across five games, providing an essential spark against what had been the league’s best defensive unit. Crowder was able to exploit Milwaukee’s reputable defense by catching fire from behind the arc as he shot a whopping 22-for-51 (43.1 percent) in that series.

That sweet shooting proved lethal for the Bucks, but the forward’s defense was also on full display. According to NBA.com/stats, Crowder played great defense on last year’s league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo by holding him to just 9-of-22 shooting across 73 partial possessions en route to Miami’s series win in five games.

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His effort on both ends of the floor proved to be among the driving factors for Miami, but he cooled off significantly in the two matchups that followed. After a mediocre showing in an Eastern Conference Finals victory over the Boston Celtics, Crowder and the Heat squared off against these very Lakers in the NBA Finals.

Crowder could not rekindle any of that magic he possessed in the Milwaukee series on offense as he averaged just 11.2 points on 41.8 percent shooting from the floor. His slump was particularly evident from long range, where he shot just 13-of-39 (33.3 percent) over the entirety of that previous six-game series.

Although he was tasked with the difficulty of switching between guarding LeBron James and Anthon Davis on the defensive end, the forward was not much better there. Davis took advantage of the smaller Crowder by scoring 30 points on an efficient 10-for-19 (52.6 percent) shooting from the floor on 70.8 partial possessions. James saw similar success when being defended by Crowder by scoring 24 points on 8-for-12 (66.7 percent) shooting from the field.

It goes without saying that Crowder’s last playoff outing against these Lakers was far from his best work.

However, his dynamic efforts in that matchup with the Bucks proved just how much of a secret weapon he could be on both ends of the floor. The longtime veteran has built a reputation off of his 3-point shooting and robust defense, which he turned up a notch during Miami’s gentlemen’s sweep over the top-seeded Bucks last year.

Another showing like that from him on both ends of the floor would undoubtedly help these Phoenix Suns dethrone the Lakers. The biggest question is whether the 30-year-old will have a series similar to last season’s effort against Milwaukee or his effort against Los Angeles, which could not be farther apart on the spectrum.