Isaiah Crawford
If you have been following along on our website, you know that I love me some Isaiah Crawford. When I was at the 2024 NBA Draft Combine, I kept hearing the best things about him from scouts, and now I'm convinced that he could be the next Bruce Bowen (an undrafted player who becomes a nice 3-and-D role player).
For that vision to come to fruition, Crawford is going to need to show some flashes over these next couple of weeks. Similar to Jones, he projects as a 3-and-D player. But rather than be a 3-and-D guard/wing, Crawford is more of a 3-and-D forward (he's been compared to the likes of Robert Covington).
When watching him, we will want to focus on three things. First, Crawford's 7'1 wingspan made him a defensive playmaking machine (he had 122 combined steals/blocks in his final season of college). But that was in college. Everyone in the NBA has some length. Will his affinity for event creation translate to the next level?
Second, how does Crawford's jumper look? He was a better shooter than Jones in college (39.3% on 321 career 3-point attempts). But his volume was pretty low (2.8 attempts per game), and his free throw percentage (69.9%) doesn't ease the mind, either. Can Crawford hit enough threes to be a credible spacer in the NBA?
Lastly, how much can he do off the dribble? If Crawford is a good shooter, defenses will try to run him off the line (aka the "fly-by closeout"). How comfortable does Crawford look when he's forced to take a dribble or two? If he wants to have a long career in the NBA, the answer to that better be pretty damn comfortable.