Jamal Crawford – A valuable asset in the free agency: NBA Feature (Part 1)
The 31 year old Jamal Crawford is a product of University of Michigan, who started his professional career back in 2000, when he declared himself for the National Basketball Association Draft. Where, Jamal was picked up by the
Cleveland Cavaliers, as the 8th overall in the first round.
However, he was destined to start his career from the Chicago Bulls, which got him from the Cavs subsequent to the draft. In his long career, Crawford has been with four teams and maintains a scoring average of 15.4 points, 3.9
assists and 2.6 rebounds per game.
Crawford played the last two seasons with the Atlanta Hawks, which had made to the playoffs both times. Now the veteran guard is a free agent this summer and therefore had created lot of buzz on the trading blocks, before the lockout
scrapes the free agents market.
Crawford has been rated as one of the top scorers from Atlanta, although he came off the bench in the game. Still he manages to do well and because of his commendable contribution back in 2009-10 season Crawford had won the Sixth
Man of the Year award of 2010. This made him one of the vital players for the Hawks, as they may look to re-sign him from the free agency, whenever the lockout gets settle down.
Crawford, who can play at both shooting guard and point guard positions, has a great set of skills that goes along with his almost 11 years of experience. So whichever team picks him up from the free agents market would definitely
get gain from his inclusion.
It’s hard for teams to ignore such a player from the free agents list, when the next season kicks off and here are the four major benefits of having Crawford in the side.
1. One of the best scorers
Yes without any doubt one can go on and say about Crawford that he is one of the best scorers in the entire league. The 200 lbs holds a terrific scoring record throughout his career that makes him a crucial player that any team
would love to have in the side.
His major scoring comes from the charity strip, from where he maintains an average of 84 percent shooting. Because of this ability, Crawford had ousted several opponents with his outstanding play from the area.
While from the field, Crawford holds a 41 percent shooting record, but the second best area of Jamal’s shooting is three-point range. From where, Crawford upholds a shooting average of 35 percent.
In spite of the fact that Crawford comes off the bench and didn’t get many 50-point games, still the 31 year old managed to have an excellent scoring average and proved a serious threat for his opponents. Crawford holds the record
of scoring 50 points with three different sides and became the fourth player in the history of league after Bernard King, Moses Malone and Wilt Chamberlain.
Besides this honour, Crawford also holds the record in four-point plays. As on February 5, 2010, he completed his career’s 24th four-point play and set a new league record by exceeding Reggie Miller’s previous four-point
record.
It’ll be hard that a player of Crawford’s calibre would go unnoticed when the free agency takes place after the lockout. So it's time when the Hawks should realize that they have to seriously pursue Crawford, otherwise they'll
lose a valuable asset.
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