One of the great pastimes in the NBA is to go through and look at which stars are set to hit the free agent market the next offseason, and just happen to be putting up the best numbers of their career. It’s looked upon as a statistical aberration, but it’s NOT an accident.
Jamal Crawford Thinks You Should Be Grateful He’s Not Being Selfish
It's tradition! In the NBA, players put up bigger numbers in the final year of their contract. Don't question it, just accept it, and hope you're favorite team's GM doesn't get duped when someone like Andray Blatche decides to try hard for an entire season. In a contract year, of course.
All of which brings us to the curious case of Atlanta’s Jamal Crawford, currently A) in a contract year and B) struggling through one of the worst seasons of his career. Which...
Whaaa?
Does. Not. Compute.
Yeah... Quite the phenomenon down there in Atlanta. But don’t let it shake your faith in the tried-and-true theory. Crawford, himself, says he deserves credit for not acting like everyone else in the NBA. You know, hijacking the offense to put up numbers:
“I think I should be commended for not trying to [force things]. A lot of people on their contract year take a whole bunch of shots I’ve actually gone the other way.”
We should mention it here. By all accounts, Jamal Crawford's one of the classiest dudes in the league, and it really is admirable that he's sacrificed offense to fit into the Larry Drew's system in Atlanta, even if it comes at his own expense. The real problem for Atlanta is that Crawford's at his best when he is being selfish, gunning every time down the floor. He's not a superstar in that role, but on any given night, he can be deadly. That's what makes him such a great sixth man.
Sure, Crawford’s message translates (roughly) to, “You should be applauding me for not being an a-hole this year, because that’s what most other guys would do here.” But you know why pro basketball’s great? Because in the NBA, that makes perfect sense!
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