FanHouse: Ziller: Has Jamal Crawford Found Heaven?

The answer, of course, is that it's too soon to tell but there is a nifty graph of Crawford's historical offensive ratings by usage rate.

Key quote:

Woodson has done a great job keeping legit offensive weapons around Crawford, allowing the guard to use ball movement more than he ever could in New York or Golden State. Crawford has basically served as the point guard behind Mike Bibby, but by playing Jam with Joe Johnson, Woodson has relieved some of the associated pressures. After all, Crawford is a pure scorer who can pass a little. (Wednesday night in Sacramento, Woodson also played Crawford with Bibby and Johnson for a stretch, with Marvin Williams stepping up to power forward as Smith dealt with foul trouble. The line-up had a few incredibly smooth possessions.)

Crawford's played four nice games in a row and Woodson has done a good job of letting Crawford play when he's making shots and pulling him when he's not. That discretion needs to continue as the career 43.8 2PTFG% shooter cools off (however much he does) from his five-game, 60 2PTFG% streak because, outside of 6.4 assists* per 100 offensive possessions, Crawford's contributed little else in his 135 minutes this season: 1 steal, 0 blocks, and 8 rebounds (2.6/4.2 OR%/DR%).

*For comparison's sake, Josh Smith leads the regulars** at 7.5 assists/100. Mike Bibby's averaging 6.5 and Joe Johnson 6.2 on the young season.

**Jeff Teague's averaged 11.3 assists/100 in his limited playing time.