Here’s The Players That The Clippers Should Depend On In The Playoffs
February 19, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard Jamal Crawford (11) reacts following the 119-115 victory against the San Antonio Spurs at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Despite his scoring ability, Jamal Crawford can’t always be on the court in crunch time. His scoring touch is a much-needed one for the Clippers’ second unit, but his defensive ineptitude actually makes Matt Barnes a more viable option down the stretch (which is quite sad).
Crawford should and will be given a healthy dose of minutes early on in games, but to say that the team should put any kind of faith in him is a stretch. Sure, if he’s on fire from the field, by all means leave him in, but on most nights when he’s solid but not exceptional offensively, he should be relegated to 20 to 25 minutes.
Other players in the lineup contributed heavily to his placement on my list: Matt Barnes is a superior defender, yet nowhere near the scorer that Crawford is, but if J.J. Redick is already on the floor firing away from long range, why do you need a defensive liability on the court?
I’m not a fan of Barnes by any stretch of the imagination, but Crawford can easily negate a 15-20 point game (he’s averaging 16.2 points per-game this season) with a few defensive lapses, and in the playoffs, those few lapses can cost a team dearly. In short, the Clippers have enough defensive problems to worry about without trying to force Crawford into the lineup late in the fourth quarter.
Next: Avoid: Spencer Hawes