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Cleveland Cavaliers: Jae Crowder is turning his season around

By Duane Rohrbacher

CLEVELAND, OH - DECEMBER 06: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers celebrates with Jae Crowder #99 and Kevin Love #0 after leaving the game against the Sacramento Kings at Quicken Loans Arena on December 6, 2017 in Cleveland, Ohio. Cleveland won the game 101-95. 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. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH - DECEMBER 06: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers celebrates with Jae Crowder #99 and Kevin Love #0 after leaving the game against the Sacramento Kings at Quicken Loans Arena on December 6, 2017 in Cleveland, Ohio. Cleveland won the game 101-95. 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. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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I’ve written before on my dislike of how Jae Crowder has played since joining the Cleveland Cavaliers. When we dig deeper into the stats and look at his overall impact, Jae Crowder is a perfect fit for this roster now.

Just as my colleague Nathan Beighle recently wrote, Jae Crowder really is the Cleveland Cavaliers xx-factor, now.

I add the “now”, as a warning because we just don’t know what’s going to happen once Tristan Thompson is firmly back into the rotation, head coach Tyronn Lue integrates Isaiah Thomas and how the team will distribute minutes once Iman Shumpert and Derrick Rose return from their injuries. That’s nothing to say whether the Cleveland Cavaliers make some crazy trade like that includes the Brooklyn Nets’ first-round draft pick in 2018 for Paul George either.

Crowder’s impact is undeniable

When Jae Crowder scores over 10 points, the Cleveland Cavaliers are 13-1. When he scores under 10 points, the Cavs are 10-8. Coincidence? Probably not. If Crowder is hitting his corner three, the Cavaliers are unstoppable. If he’s a threat to score, how can anyone guard the Cavs? With the Warriors, teams can slog off of Draymond Green or Andre Iguodala. With the Rockets, it’s Clint Capela.

If Crowder is scoring, who are you going to leave open? J.R. Smith? He seems to have found his shot. Kevin Love? Not when he’s averaging 20 and 10. Isaiah Thomas? Good joke. If Tristan Thompson is on the court, you can stay away from him, but he’s not going to be on the court in crunch time, so Jae Crowder’s scoring ability makes this Cavaliers team even scarier.

He’s still working on some things

Crowder doesn’t particularly play well in Cleveland, yet. His +/- at home is -1.8, but on the road, it’s 2.4. His +/- in wins is 3.5, but in losses, it’s -9.6. For whatever reason, Crowder has not played well under the pressure of Quicken Loans Arena and that raucous crowd or in situations where the Cavs are losing.

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On a good note, his +/- from October to December has gone from -3.3 to -0.4 to 3.6. He’s made a huge turnaround just by getting some playing time and having a clearly defined role. Where Crowder’s part of the rotation in October and November were questionable, it’s clear who he is on the Cavs now: a three-and-D guy who the Cavs expect to play along LeBron James.

If you look at his advanced stats, they tell the same story. He’s a -3.8 net rating at home, and a 4.0 net rating on the road. In wins, he’s a 6.2, but in losses, a -21.0. He’s improved his net rating from October at -6.4 to December at 5.3. With his current trajectory, Crowder could be a top-50 forward in the NBA.

His buddy is coming back soon

There’s no question that Crowder played well with Thomas last season in Boston. On that team, Crowder had a clearly defined role, and he worked well off of Thomas. Playing with Isaiah Thomas and Brad Stevens is presumably extremely different from playing with James and Lue. Not to mention the added pressure and expectations. I’m sure that J.R. Smith, Kevin Love, and company’s personalities are a bit different from the Stoics in Boston.

In 2016-17, the duo of Crowder and Thomas had a 6.9 net rating in 66 games played together. For reference, the duo of James and Kyrie Irving had only a 9.0 net rating. Just imagine what those three will do together. The Cavs best three-man lineup last year was Irving, James and Jefferson, and the Celtics’ was Crowder, Thomas and Jonas Jerebko.

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Right now, the Cavs best three-man unit is James, Wade, and Korver, at an absurd 28.6 net rating. I’m willing to bet that a Thomas, Crowder, James three-man unit will be right up there by the end of the season.

*All stats gathered prior to December 20th, 2017