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Cleveland Cavaliers: Can Calderon and Crowder sustain newfound success?

By Nathan Beighle

DETROIT, MI - NOVEMBER 20: Jose Calderon #81 of the Cleveland Cavaliers posts up against the Detroit Pistons on November 20, 2017 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Chris Schwegler/NBAE via Getty Images)
DETROIT, MI - NOVEMBER 20: Jose Calderon #81 of the Cleveland Cavaliers posts up against the Detroit Pistons on November 20, 2017 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Chris Schwegler/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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As the Cleveland Cavaliers looked to maintain their winning streak, Jae Crowder and Jose Calderon, two surprising stars, helped ensure their fifth straight win.

Part of the deal that brought Isaiah Thomas to Cleveland also brought in Jae Crowder, who has severely underperformed so far this season. Early that offseason, the Cleveland Cavaliers elected to sign Jose Calderon as their third-string point guard, to many people’s surprise. That’s how the Cavaliers acquired the two players that helped them win their fifth straight game. The question moving forward is if these two players can continue their excellent play.

For Calderon, this was just the second game in which he started all season. He only started for the Cavaliers because of injuries to Iman Shumpert, Derrick Rose, and Isaiah Thomas. Coming into the season, Rose’s and Thomas’ injury history was known, but the reality of the 82-game season has started to set in and the truth of the matter is that Jose Calderon getting more minutes might be unavoidable. That said, Calderon will earn those minutes if he can sustain his success.

Against the Detroit Pistons, Calderon played under control along with defensively locking down Pistons’ point guard Reggie Jackson. Calderon ended the game with 14 points, which doubled his season total. He also ended with four rebounds and one assist while also going a perfect 2-for-2 from behind the arc.

At 36, Calderon, who was the Cavaliers’ only true point guard, might be asked to play 20+ minutes per night until Derrick Rose comes back. With maintained impressive play, Calderon could even contend for minutes when Rose does return, assuming Rose returns on a minutes restriction. This is the type of impressive play that Calderon was making against Detroit.

If he can continue to knock down from outside, Coach Lue can lock Calderon up for at least some spotty minutes throughout the rest of the season.

Jae Crowder was the other surprisingly player to catch fire against the Pistons.

Crowder, who made an impressive 2.2 threes per game last season under Brad Stevens in Boston, has seen that cut in half, making just 1.1 so far this season. He’s also shooting over 7% worse from downtown as a Cavalier. However, against Detroit, Crowder was able to knock down two triples and score a season-high 18 points. Crowder was also aggressive getting to the free-throw line, making all six attempts from the charity stripe.

We have yet to see Jae Crowder truly be the player they hoped they were trading for. That said, here’s a short clip from Crowder’s excellent game against Detroit that will hopefully happen more often moving forward.

One reason for Crowder’s success was his aggressiveness, and hopefully, Tyronn Lue noticed that and lets him loose moving forward.

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The Cleveland Cavaliers could easily win ten in a row if they continue to get excellent play from both Jae Crowder and Jose Calderon.