Ball or Nuthin' » Jamal Crawford

Nash? Crawford??…C’mon LeBron

T Lamont — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 19:54:49 +0000

Enough already…

I’ve defended LeBron James’ by reminding people that the Cleveland front office management didn’t do anything to assist The King in achieving his stated goal of bringing a championship to Cleveland.

I’ve defended LeBron James’ tendency to not take over games offensively by acknowledging that his natural abilities encourage him to be a playmaker – and not necessarily a brute scorer.

I’ve defended LeBron James’ by saying that he doesn’t owe explanations of his infmaous ‘decision’ to anyone.

But, after this week’s news of James’ tweet, I am quickly running out of motivation to defend the former two-time league MVP.

Here’s what showed up on Mr. James’ Twitter account a few days ago:

Would love to see @JCrossover in a Heat uni! What u guys say?

But oh no…he wasn’t done. He followed up with another tweet:

Maybe @SteveNash in a Heat uni! So we can help each other get our 1st ring

Surprise! LeBron is petitioning for more help in South Beach.

Now, this alone is not a criminal act. But from a player who tried to align himself with two perennial All-Stars in an attempt to hasten his hopes of attaining a title, it is indeed convicting. Getting to the NBA Finals is no small feat. Miami had to dispose of the reigning Eastern Conference Champion Boston Celtics, as well as the conference’s top seeded Chicago Bulls. But the fact that James conspired to team up with Wade and Bosh, and now is hinting at hand-selecting more players is simply outrageous.

Aside from that, as someone who isn’t a consistent tweeter, I was taken back when I came across LeBron’s page. Many would not classify the Akron native as humble, yet I chuckled to myself when I saw the wallpaper on his page. Granted, I’m sure that James probably has some philosophical manner in which he can explain the background containing dozens of fans sporting his new Heat digs, but it still screams one thing…

…just a hint of narcissism, perhaps?

Apparently, LeBron has a little too much ego to recognize when to stop giving the critics the fuel to power the locomotive that continues to steamroll right over top of him.

But, if he doesn’t figure out how to tame his social networking jabs, he’s also going to lose those who stayed with him in the midst of his disintegrating public image.

So c’mon LeBron…enough is enough…

Johnson and Crawford Take Down Chicago

T Lamont — Tue, 03 May 2011 03:46:50 +0000

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Derrick Rose may be the player who’ll soon be named NBA MVP, but he and his Chicago Bulls became the victims of simple math.

Two playmakers are better than one.

Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford exploited the mismatches they had, using their abilities to propel the Atlanta Hawks to a 103-95 victory over the Bulls in the United Center.

To say that Johnson (34 points on 12-18 FGs, 5-5 3FGs) had it going tonight would be a grand understatement. J.J. patiently seized the opportunities that presented themselves within Atlanta’s offense, and made critical shots and plays to close to game – including 10 points in the final quarter. His size and ability to create (for himself and others) has been overlooked at times. Nowadays, Johnson is easily one of the most heavily criticized players from a productivity standpoint, particularly because of the ridiculous contract that the Hawks signed him to in the offseason. (Ironically, the Bulls were one of the team who were heavily in the running for Johnson’s services.) But Atlanta knows that J.J. is fully capable of doing what he did tonight, and efforts like that can only be matched by a select number of players in the Association.

What truly makes the Hawks special, is having a performer the caliber of Jamal Crawford – coming off of their bench, nonetheless. Chicago knows Crawford (22 points, 3 assists) well, as the 6’5″ lead guard spent the first four seasons of his career there. He’s an established scorer (averaging over 17 ppg in 8 different seasons) with the unique ability to create opportunities for others. He’s earned the role of Atlanta’s ‘last shot taker / playmaker’, as his ability to create space and command help from additional defenders is unparallelled.

The Bulls will have to find a way to slow down five-time All-Star Joe Johnson.

Tonight, Tom Thibodeau had the unenviable task of wondering how he would defend these multi-talented players. Chicago had Keith Bogans and Ronnie Brewer at its disposal, but more often than not they’d be coming in for one another due to their inability to play the point. And when Kyle Korver hit the court, the Hawks were clearly going to let their guards go to work.

While shooting over 51% from the floor against one of the league’s best defensive units, the Hawks were also able to severely limit Rose’s effectiveness in Game One. Gifted with speed, a crafty handle, and amazing change of pace, Rose has also improved his outside shooting. Unfortunately, it remains a liability which was on display tonight. Atlanta went under every screen, daring Rose to launch triples (on which he was 2-7). Rose is rightfully the leading candidate for the season’s MVP award, but his incompleteness may keep his team from being as good as it can.

Neither team sported a discernible advantage in the paint, meaning the game’s deciding moments were determined by perimeter play.

And when all was said and done, Atlanta was more than prepared to contain the running of the Bulls.

Hawks Sweep Celtics

T Lamont — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 04:56:21 +0000

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If the Boston Celtics plan on making it to the Eastern Conference Finals, they’d better avoid finishing the season with a #1 ,#2 or #3 seed.

Finishing the season with either seed would set them up with a possible match-up against the Atlanta Hawks in the 2nd Round of the playoffs. And based on their regular season meetings, that would effectively end Boston’s season.

Tonight, the Atlanta Hawks completed the season sweep (4-0) over the Boston Celtics with a 100-91 victory at Phillips Arena. Jamal Crawford had 28 and Joe Johnson had 27, as they continued their dominant play against the Celtics’ defense.

Joe Johnson scored 16 points in the fourth quarter.

Atlanta won this game by out-shooting Boston, 47% (37-78) to 42% (31-74). The Celtics are among the league leaders in field goal defense (2nd in the NBA allowing 43%), but the Hawks are able to attack with a two-pronged approach. Johnson, an All-Star for the 4th straight season, and Crawford provide the Hawks with two players who are equally able to break down the Boston defense off the dribble. This ability generates ball movement which, if done effectively, can soften up the toughest defenses. This has been the attribute that sets the Hawks apart from other teams, and enables them to give the Celtics fits.

Apart from Paul Pierce’s impressive performance (11-15 FG, 12-13 FT, 35 points), the Celtics had little else going to them. Ray Allen struggled (4-13 FG) and Kevin Garnett had a modest game (15 points, 7 rebounds). First time All-Star Rajon Rondo dished out 8 assists, but was only 3-13 from the field.

Last year, it was Boston that swept the season series over the Hawks. However, the addition of Crawford has seemingly turned it all around for Atlanta. If he keeps up his great play, his Hawks may very well be rewarded with a postseason sweep over the Celtics.

Jamal Crawford Gives the Hawks Wings

T Lamont — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 04:10:27 +0000

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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.