Jae Crowder’s Mixed Feelings About Boston Celtics Fans Should Be Mutual

BOSTON—Every team in today’s NBA wants and needs someone like Jae Crowder. He’s strong and quick enough to defend multiple positions, and ignoring him beyond the arc has become a death sentence.  

He’s the epitome of an emotional leader who doesn’t hesitate to call out teammates who aren’t playing up to his standard. Crowder’s fire spilled onto social media after a 21-point performance against the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night (in which he nailed a season-high five threes), when he felt disrespected by Celtics fans who cheered for Gordon Hayward during player introductions.

But the outburst doesn’t change his up-and-down value to the Celtics.

Last season, Crowder knocked down 33.6 percent of his threes, a career-high mark that hung below the league average. Opponents drifted off him and cramped Boston’s spacing, particularly at small forward in traditional lineups. This season, Crowder is up to 43.0 percent on 5.3 attempts per game, shooting splits only been met by 13 other players in NBA history.

There’s more: Crowder is shooting 81 percent in the restricted area (third best among all players with at least 40 attempts). It’d appear his impact has never been more positive. Legitimate 3-and-D weapons who stand 6’6”, can shoot, finish at the basket and guard multiple positions do not grow on trees.

“He picks his spots well,” Celtics head coach Brad Stevens said. “He doesn’t force things, and he’s a really good shooter.”

Exactly half of Crowder’s shots are behind the three-point line, with a touch time of less than two seconds. That’s top-notch efficiency that would earn Crowder upwards of $100 million on the open market if he were a free agent this summer. His skills are easily transferrable and in high demand.

But outside the scintillating three-point shot, it’s hard to identify any one area of Crowder’s game that’s improved from last season. He’s shooting a ton of outside shots, which is helpful. But there’s little off-the-bounce creativity and no growth as a playmaker. Defenses that run him off the arc know he’ll settle for a pull-up two instead of driving into the paint, forcing a help rotation and then kicking it out to the open man.

One explanation for the evolutionary hiccup is the significant change to Boston’s personnel, and how that’s affected their lineups this season. Al Horford and Jaylen Brown are in. Evan Turner and Jared Sullinger are out. Adding a four-time All-Star to any frontcourt will have unknown ripple effects, even one as unselfish as Horford. It’s possible Crowder’s simply making the most of a slightly reduced role.

The loss of Turner has made small lineups untenable on the defensive end. This means Crowder is playing less stretch four than expected, settling into lineups as a wing. Crowder doesn’t benefit from the space those groups used to afford. Seven players on his own team are averaging more drives—1.0 per game, down from 2.2 last season)—but the Celtics haven’t drastically changed Crowder’s responsibilities within their attack.

“We’ve changed some things that we do for him,” Stevens said. “But for the most part a lot of the things are very similar to what we’ve done in the past.”

Another far more popular reason for Crowder’s plateau is the sprained ankle he suffered against the Chicago Bulls in early November. The Celtics went 3-5 with the NBA’s 18th-ranked net rating during the eight games Crowder missed, a harsh stretch that included embarrassing blowout beatdowns handed out by the Denver Nuggets and Washington Wizards, plus a one-point loss against the inept New Orleans Pelicans.

With his team struggling and already thin on the wing, Crowder was anxious to get back on the floor as quickly as possible, an understandable desire considering the club’s high expectations heading into the season.

The Celtics returned to form in his first three games back, and he hasn’t missed any time since, averaging 33.7 minutes in a brutal December. And that’s why the ankle remains a …

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