Daily Dime: Sheridan: Crawford's Non-Playoff Streak To End

Chris Sheridan:

If ever there was a night when circumstances called for Woodson to insert Crawford into the starting five, it came Tuesday at the Meadowlands against the NBA's worst team as Joe Johnson (Achilles tendonitis) sat out for the first time this season.

But Woodson chose to insert rookie Jeff Teague into the starting unit and move Mike Bibby over to shooting guard, sticking with the axiom that if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Crawford responded by providing his usual fix of offensive explosiveness off the bench, scoring 15 of his points in a brief burst at the end of the second quarter as Atlanta closed the first half with a 19-5 run to take control for good.

Crawford closed the quarter with a 29-foot 3-pointer that he knew would be good from the moment the ball left his hand. The only disappointment for Crawford was that he didn't get to try for his eighth 4-point play of the season, which would have added to his career total of 26 (also tops among active players).

Tops, all-time.