Jamal Crawford’s skills finally get a chance to make a difference.

A quick search of Crawford’s profile will reveal that he has never participated in the NBA playoffs.  In fact, he’s never even come close.

Crawford has played for rebuilding teams in Chicago (2000-2004), New York (2004-2008) and Golden State (2008-2009).  On those teams, Crawford has been a good player – with his game peaking over the last three years.  That time span has seen him average 17.6, 20.6 and 19.6 points per game.  Most NBA followers recognize his name, but Jamal’s been toiling in obscurity for teams that haven’t made their presence felt in the league.  This year things have changed.

The Atlanta Hawks traded for Crawford in June, giving up seldom-used guards Acie Law and Speedy Claxton in the process.

Hawks general manager Rick Sund:

“I’m definitely happy with what we’ve done. We got a player who scores 20 a game for two players who probably didn’t fit into what we were going to do in the future.”

Crawford played hard for Golden State, bue he wasn't in their plans for the future.

Anytime you get a player that you intend to play in exchange for players that you never play, it seems a good deal to me.  Even more so when you get a player with the set of skills that Crawford has.  The 6’5″ Crawford could be referred to as a combo guard, but that would belittle the ability that he has to play both the point guard and shooting guard positions with good effectiveness.  Jamal has slick moves and has the ball on a string.  He has legitimate three-point range and plays big in clutch situations.  More importantly, he pairs with Joe Johnson to give Atlanta a couple of guys who are true playmakers.

For the first time in his career, it looks as if Crawford will get into the playoffs.  And the Atlanta Hawks are more than happy to have him.  The Eastern Conference is stacked with tough, deep teams, and the odds will be against them making it past the second round.

But then again, it wouldn’t be the first time that Crawford has played for a team that wasn’t expected to win.