Old friend Crowder moved to the Bench

[Eja117]

I don't feel bad for millionaires that bounce a ball for a living. He belongs on a bench on a real contending team though

No, he doesn’t. He’s a top-15 SF.

In China

[Eja117]

Hayward would probably start for any basketball team without the name "state" in it.

It'll be interesting to see if he's better than Jaylen and Tatum next year

[DefenseWinsChamps]

Hayward would probably start for any basketball team without the name "state" in it.

It'll be interesting to see if he's better than Jaylen and Tatum next year

I'm on the hype train for Jaylen and Tatum, but Hayward is a really, really good basketball player.

Hayward is a ball-handler. Brown and Tatum are both wings. They may all play small forward, but their game play is different. I don't feel the need to compare or wonder if they will be better, because they can all play together. Hayward is a great team player who can do anything you need him to do. Like Horford, Hayward makes the game easier on everyone, including Brown and Tatum.

The beautiful thing will be when we have 5 guys on the court who all average 12-20 points. Each guy picks their spot. Each guy plays for the team to get the best shots possible. Each guy with the potential to go off for 25-30. How do you defend that?

All 3 of them will be similarly-sized cogs in that undefendable machine. Does it matter who is better?

[cltc5]

Maybe this will teach him to keep his mouth shut and not complain

[BitterJim]

Soooo, the Cavs are abandoning their small ball experiment (Love at C? Who the hell thought that would work?), and Crowder isn't gonna start over Lebron!?

None of this should come as a surprise (except that Tyronn Lue figured out it wasn't working)

[liam]

Soooo, the Cavs are abandoning their small ball experiment (Love at C? Who the hell thought that would work?), and Crowder isn't gonna start over Lebron!?

None of this should come as a surprise (except that Tyronn Lue figured out it wasn't working)

Ty Lue has got to be the worse coach to ever win a title.

[mainevent]

I don't feel bad for millionaires that bounce a ball for a living. He belongs on a bench on a real contending team though

No, he doesn’t. He’s a top-15 SF.

Lol you can't be serious!!! Top 15 SF in what league? G-league? Your comments get more and more bizarre.

[Roy H.]

I don't feel bad for millionaires that bounce a ball for a living. He belongs on a bench on a real contending team though

No, he doesn’t. He’s a top-15 SF.

Lol you can't be serious!!! Top 15 SF in what league? G-league? Your comments get more and more bizarre.

Please try harder to add something of substance.


13th in scoring
3rd in threes made per game
7th in 3PT%
12th in assists per game
12th in rebounding
Good defense

That’s top-15, pretty indisputably.

[More Banners]

I don't feel bad for millionaires that bounce a ball for a living. He belongs on a bench on a real contending team though

No, he doesn’t. He’s a top-15 SF.

Lol you can't be serious!!! Top 15 SF in what league? G-league? Your comments get more and more bizarre.

Please try harder to add something of substance.


13th in scoring
3rd in threes made per game
7th in 3PT%
12th in assists per game
12th in rebounding
Good defense

That’s top-15, pretty indisputably.

Confirming that top-15 at a position means he's pretty mediocre beyond being a 3 and D player.  15 out of 30 starters...  Unless you're suggesting he's got something special beyond that? 

[Roy H.]

I don't feel bad for millionaires that bounce a ball for a living. He belongs on a bench on a real contending team though

No, he doesn’t. He’s a top-15 SF.

Lol you can't be serious!!! Top 15 SF in what league? G-league? Your comments get more and more bizarre.

Please try harder to add something of substance.


13th in scoring
3rd in threes made per game
7th in 3PT%
12th in assists per game
12th in rebounding
Good defense

That’s top-15, pretty indisputably.

Confirming that top-15 at a position means he's pretty mediocre beyond being a 3 and D player.  15 out of 30 starters...  Unless you're suggesting he's got something special beyond that?

Nobody said he’s special. He’s a solid starter. The idea that he can’t start for a contender is silly; very few teams have pretty good starters coming off their bench.

If Cleveland had Horford instead of Love, for instance, Jae would be a valuable starter for them. 

[jpotter33]

I don't feel bad for millionaires that bounce a ball for a living. He belongs on a bench on a real contending team though

No, he doesn’t. He’s a top-15 SF.

Lol you can't be serious!!! Top 15 SF in what league? G-league? Your comments get more and more bizarre.

Please try harder to add something of substance.


13th in scoring
3rd in threes made per game
7th in 3PT%
12th in assists per game
12th in rebounding
Good defense

That’s top-15, pretty indisputably.

Confirming that top-15 at a position means he's pretty mediocre beyond being a 3 and D player.  15 out of 30 starters...  Unless you're suggesting he's got something special beyond that?

Nobody said he’s special. He’s a solid starter. The idea that he can’t start for a contender is silly; very few teams have pretty good starters coming off their bench.

If Cleveland had Horford instead of Love, for instance, Jae would be a valuable starter for them.

I mean, this is the same thing as the AB argument last year - it's context-dependent.

No, Crowder is not starter-level on Cleveland, but that's mainly because he has Lebron and Love in front of him. (He should've never started in the first place; Lue's lineups have been pretty questionable so far.)

Same thing can be said for almost all of the other contenders - Boston (no with Hayward/Morris/Tatum - who I think probably still would've started over Crowder due to his rebounding), GS (no with Durant and Green), SA (no with Leonard/Aldridge/Gasol), and no with OKC (George and Melo). Houston would be the only one that he'd probably start on.

But that's mainly due to the contenders having the top-5 small forwards in the league in Lebron, KD, Leonard, Hayward, and George, let alone Melo being there, too.

He's certainly a competent-level starter on a championship team, but similar to the Pachulias, Robersons, and Thompsons of the world, you need the right pieces around him in order for it to work.

[More Banners]

I don't feel bad for millionaires that bounce a ball for a living. He belongs on a bench on a real contending team though

No, he doesn’t. He’s a top-15 SF.

Lol you can't be serious!!! Top 15 SF in what league? G-league? Your comments get more and more bizarre.

Please try harder to add something of substance.


13th in scoring
3rd in threes made per game
7th in 3PT%
12th in assists per game
12th in rebounding
Good defense

That’s top-15, pretty indisputably.

Confirming that top-15 at a position means he's pretty mediocre beyond being a 3 and D player.  15 out of 30 starters...  Unless you're suggesting he's got something special beyond that?

Nobody said he’s special. He’s a solid starter. The idea that he can’t start for a contender is silly; very few teams have pretty good starters coming off their bench.

If Cleveland had Horford instead of Love, for instance, Jae would be a valuable starter for them.

Oh okay. I think the notion of "top-" whatever might have misled to the idea he was something other than a solid NBA role player.

The thing with role players, as is happening to Jae now, is that where they fit in the rotation often has more to do with the rest of the roster than their skills on their own. Role players, by definition, fill out [roles] around other, usually better, players.  Jae thinks he's a starter?  Okay, unless and until there is a star on the roster at that spot. The Cavs have LBJ, we picked up a much better SF who would've forced him to our bench. Him starting is about finding a team for him that has stars at other positions (e.g. Memphis) or that just sucks (like NYK or PHX). If he wants a crack at the big money on his next deal, starting is the most assured path. Bench minutes vary too much.

Always appreciated his grit and hustle, and wish him well. Cleveland has some depth with Korver there also, plus JR who could play SF with the bench. Not enough minutes to go around, but his defense is his best shot at getting minutes there. And LBJ resting, of course.

[Beat LA]

Soooo, the Cavs are abandoning their small ball experiment (Love at C? Who the hell thought that would work?), and Crowder isn't gonna start over Lebron!?

None of this should come as a surprise (except that Tyronn Lue figured out it wasn't working)

Ty Lue has got to be the worse coach to ever win a title.

Over K.C. Jones?

[makaveli]

I often emphasized that Crowder is a overrated player AND defender. He can only guard average/good 3's.
If you compare his defense with the one of Marcus Smart, you get that Marcus can guard pretty much any size/speed/postion combination, while Crowder was limited to guys his own size and that's it.
on offense all he does is jack up three's and every now and then gets  a wide open layup.
He can be a good/great bench player, but like many of you guys said, i dont think he will like that role right now.
p.s. i love the mess  that the cavs are right now, with a tendency of getting worse.

[ChillyWilly]

I'm taking a different angle, the Brad Stevens effect.