NBA Boston Celtics

Jae Crowder Could Be Long-Term Piece In Boston Celtics’ Rebuild

Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports

Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports

Jae Crowder scored a career-high 22 points in the Boston Celtics‘ 108-100 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday night. His impressive performance provides a glimpse of hope that Boston received a decent player out of trading Rajon Rondo, which brought Crowder, Jameer Nelson and Brandan Wright to town.

Most Celtics fans groaned when they saw the return for their All-Star point guard. All three of the players were expected to be traded at some point, just as Wright was recently.

Crowder may be a player who Danny Ainge would consider keeping on the roster. After two relatively disappointing seasons with the Dallas Mavericks, he now has a chance to prove himself on a young, starless Celtics team.  If he continues to improve, he presents tremendous value and could very well be a permanent piece of the Celtics’ rebuilding process.

Not only did Crowder score, he played aggressively on defense with two blocks and four steals on the night. He was aggressive early and shot efficiently at 9-of-14 from the field. With the recently traded Jeff Green out of the starting lineup, Crowder will be getting the starts for now. Being the gritty, hard-nosed player that he is, he could make for a great Celtics mainstay down the line, when the team is finally ready to compete in the Eastern Conference again.

Kevin McHugh is a Boston Celtics writer for www.Rantsports.com.  Follow him on Twitter @MchughintheBean or add him to your network on Google.

 

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