Enemy Chatter: Jordan Crawford’s game is grotesque

We often wonder what opposing teams, their beat reporters and bloggers are saying about the Celtics. Here’s a look at some enemy chatter from Minnesota.

I just couldn’t take my eyes off him when he was on the court. I’d heard about the horror show that is Crawford’s game, but I’d never really paid attention to before. Man, is it grotesque. Every single thing about his body language on the court says, “I’m taking this thing over and I don’t even have to try.” And yet: I don’t think he could take over a game of hopscotch.

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Watching all this, I couldn’t help but laugh. I got excited every time he had the ball in his hands because I had no idea what was going to happen. And listen: I’m one of the first guys to man the battlements when people talk about how “so-and-so is a bum” or “this guy isn’t a real basketball player.” No matter how lame the competition, watching Brian Scalabrine definitively destroy some average joes should put to rest the notion that any player playing at the NBA level could be anything other than completely dominant at most other levels of basketball. I’m sure Jordan Crawford would do very well at your weekend pickup game, thank you very much. In many very important ways, he’s a skilled basketball player. But he doesn’t seem like a professional human being.

A Wolf Among Wolves

Ouch.

John had a similar take on Crawford in last night’s game recap:

I’m sorry, I’m just at a point where I think he should be let go this summer.  The stat line tonight suggest he was ok (11 pts (5-11 fg) 6 reb, 5 ast) … but I just don’t like him out there.  I don’t think it works.  There’s no way I could have predicted that stat line having seen what I saw.

It’s safe to say there’s a lot of room for improvement in Crawford’s game, but to bail on the kid (he’s only 24) after 6 weeks is silly.

Give him another year in Boston. If he doesn’t learn from vets like Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo, then he might never get it.

Here’s a low-light reel of Crawford’s gaffes from last night. He does look a tad hyper out there.