addByline("Taylor C. Snow","Celtics.com","Celtics");
BOSTON – Jae Crowder spent his first two-plus seasons in a Dallas Mavericks uniform attempting to find his identity as an NBA player.
He displayed great athleticism while in Dallas and seemed to have sky-high potential, but the young forward was buried in the rotation and saw limited court time.
That changed on Dec. 18, 2014 when he was traded to the Boston Celtics as a part of the Rajon Rondo deal.
The Celtics at the time were in need of a gritty swingman, and Crowder turned out to be the perfect player to fill that role. He quickly became a fan-favorite in Boston, earning respect by way of his hard-nosed defense and spirit-lifting personality.
Since Boston acquired him, Crowder has become one of the elite defenders in the NBA and is averaging a league-high 3.0 steals per game. His former coach Rick Carlisle says he’s “not surprised at all” with his success.
Still, it’s shocking that one year ago at this time he was riding Dallas’ bench playing an average of just 10.6 minutes per game.
So much has since changed for Crowder. He is the only Celtic to start all 10 games this season and is averaging 30.4 minutes per game.
Tonight he will take on his former team in his new role with the C’s, and his former coaches and teammates had nothing but positive things to say as they prepared to face him.
“He was a young player that was headed for higher and higher levels in this league,” said Carlisle, who played two seasons in Boston during his playing career. “He’s a guy that’s extremely well-thought of in Dallas by both the fans and people in the organization. He’s just one of those great people any NBA team would want to have.”
Dirk Nowitzki, the only player who was with Crowder throughout his full tenure with the Mavs, also saw potential and is glad the 25-year-old is now finding his way in the NBA.
“He was a hard worker with us and he wanted to succeed really bad,” said the 13-time NBA All-Star. “He always worked on his game. He’s a smart player, he worked on his outside shot, got more consistent with that, and we already knew he’s a great defender, a tough kid… I’m happy for him.”
Chandler Parsons attested to the hard work that Crowder put in while in Dallas. The 27-year-old forward worked extensively with Crowder on how to cut and move without the ball, and noticed “he’s doing a lot better now” in that department.
“He’s always been a tough, hard-nosed, solid defender,” said Parsons. “He can shoot the ball a little bit, and an unbelievable kid, so I’m happy for the way he’s playing and I’m happy that it looks like he’s found a home here.”
Tonight the two small forwards will go nose-to-nose under Crowder’s new roof, and Parsons knows that that he will have to play conservatively around his former teammate who has been causing havoc in the passing lanes.
“You’ve just gotta be solid around him,” said Parsons. “You can’t do anything silly. You’ve gotta be for sure with every pass you make, you’ve gotta be strong with the ball and just know he has active hands.”
He added, “You know he’s gonna take chances on the passing lanes and what-not, and then offensively he’s gonna cut, he’s gonna cut back-door, he’s gonna move without the ball very well and he’s gonna get offensive rebounds, so you’ve always just gotta keep an eye on him.”
Carlisle already has his eyes set on Crowder, because preparing for him can be a nightmare for opposing defenses as well.
“He’s a guy that, it’s not like it’s plays they’re running for him, he’s just an activity guy and he gets a lot of his stuff just off of playing the game,” said Carlisle, whose Mavericks stand at 7-4. “Guys that can do that without having to have plays called for them are extremely valuable.”
Crowder has proved his value since the day he slipped on his green and white uniform. He’s discovered his NBA identity here in Boston, and he’ll show it off to his former team tonight at the Garden.