NYT: (Jamal) Crawford Wants His Shot, on the Court and in the Lineup

[boutons_]

October 7, 2007
Crawford Wants His Shot, on the Court and in the Lineup

By HOWARD BECK

CHARLESTON, S.C., Oct. 6 — He came to the Knicks as a basketball-playing Prius, a hybrid whose best attributes were not strength or size, but versatility. Jamal Crawford could handle the ball like a point guard and score like a shooting guard, and if he was not the perfect fit at either spot, that was O.K.

When Crawford arrived in 2004, the Knicks needed someone who could spell Stephon Marbury and Allan Houston and score in quick bursts off the bench. Easygoing and eager to please, Crawford smiled and nodded and did whatever was asked.

Every year, another guard arrived — Quentin Richardson in 2005, Steve Francis in 2006 — but Crawford kept smiling and nodding. He started when called upon, played sixth man when needed and never raised a fuss.

That smile might have been Crawford gritting his teeth. When someone asked about his role last week, the affable Crawford turned comically agitated.

“Is Kobe Bryant getting traded here or something?” he asked in a rare burst of sarcasm. “Is Dwyane Wade coming? Is somebody else coming I don’t know about?”

His point was made: Crawford now wants and expects to be a full-time starter. For once, there will not be much debate. Richardson, who is coming off back surgery, is a better fit at small forward. The ill-fated experiment of pairing Francis with Marbury ended in June, when the Knicks traded Francis to Portland.

The Knicks’ other guards are too young (Mardy Collins), too small (Nate Robinson) or too limited (Fred Jones) to start at shooting guard.

“I don’t see anybody else,” Crawford said. “No disrespect, but I’ve worked really hard and I feel like I’m just as good as any two-guard we have.”

It seems that Coach Isiah Thomas, who acquired Crawford from Chicago three years ago, agrees.

“He’s 99 percent correct,” Thomas said with a smile, leaving himself wiggle room in case something changes.

Thomas generally refuses to name his starters during training camp, but he said that Crawford “hasn’t done anything yet to persuade me not to go that way.”

Crawford, 27, has been the Knicks’ best clutch performer, with seven game-winning shots in three seasons. He is not the Knicks’ most efficient shooter (40 percent last season), but he is easily their most fearless when the game is on the line.

Crawford, a reedy 6 feet 5 inches, packed on 15 pounds of upper-body muscle over the summer, raising his weight to 204. The intention, he said, is to better absorb contact when driving the lane, but the added weight and strength could also help him as a defender.

Starting every game, without looking over his shoulder, could give him an even greater boost.

“I think I’m a more effective starter, no question,” said Crawford, who has started 130 of the 208 games he has played for the Knicks.

As a starter last season, Crawford averaged 20.8 points, 4.9 assists and 3.6 rebounds in 36 games (42 minutes a game). In 23 games off the bench (30 minutes a game), he averaged 12.7 points, 3.6 assists and 2.5 rebounds.

When the disgruntled Francis sat out to rehabilitate a sore knee in January, Crawford seized the opportunity, starting 15 games in a row. A stress fracture in his right ankle cut short his season in late February, and the Knicks — who also lost Richardson and David Lee around that time — went into a tailspin that killed their playoff hopes.

But the ankle is fine now, and Crawford’s role seems secure — at least until the next challenger walks through the gym door.

REBOUNDS

Isiah Thomas said he had not discussed his sexual harassment trial with Commissioner David Stern, who on Friday called the case “very troubling.” “David Stern has known me a long time, personally and professionally,” Thomas said, “and I’m confident that he knows the person and the man that I am and how I’ve represented myself in this league.” Stern said he would not sanction Thomas or the Knicks, but he vowed to increase the N.B.A.’s efforts regarding respect in the workplace. ... The Knicks conclude training camp with a practice Sunday morning, then will fly to Columbia, S.C., where they open the preseason against the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night.

[mavs>spurs2]

Crawford has been one of my favorite players to watch since he came into the league

Hopefully this is the year he really breaks out and plays to his potential