PORTLAND, Ore. — The Clippers led by a point, and fans at the Rose Garden, who were frenzied as their Blazers built an 18-point lead, grumbled.
To Jamal Crawford, this was the time to do his thing. It’s what he did for the Hawks and what his instincts tell him to do even as Blazers coach Nate McMillan asks him to be something else.
“I’m a scorer to the core,” Crawford had said before the game. “I can make plays for others, but I’m a scorer.”
So when Portland came out of a timeout, down 67-66 and with Crawford at point guard, he pulled up for a jumper. He missed, Clippers star Chris Paul answered with a 3-pointer, and now the Blazers were blowing it.
Twice more Crawford would try to shake his defender and score. He missed on both drives amid the Clippers’ big bodies.
The Blazers lost 74-71 on Thursday for their fifth defeat in seven games. They had lost at home to lowly Washington on Tuesday. In a city where the Blazers are the show, the large headline at the top of The Oregonian sports section Friday blared: “It’s Choke City.”
Blazers coach Nate McMillan said his team’s offense “got stagnant” against the Clippers’ switching defense in the second half, and “it became a one-on-one basketball game.”
“We pretty much went to one pass and a shot, or no pass and trying to penetrate and attack,” McMillan said.
When the Hawks visit the Rose Garden on Saturday they’ll find Crawford in a familiar position. Crawford is a score-first shooting guard who can set up teammates for baskets, but his coach, with few other playmaking options, wants him to be a set-up point guard who also scores.
Slumped at his locker after the deflating loss, Crawford said being the primary playmaker is not a comfortable fit.
“It’s still a work in progress,” Crawford said. “I’ve been playing one way my whole life. It’s definitely a challenge, but no excuses. I’m willing to sacrifice whatever coach asks me to do.”
It’s the same thing Crawford said last season when Hawks coach Larry Drew asked him to be more of a facilitator. The previous season Drew’s predecessor, Mike Woodson, told Crawford to just be a scorer. and he had a career year. His scoring production declined last season though he did have his best season passing in years.
Crawford became a free agent after the Hawks failed to offer him an extension. He signed with the Blazers after the Hawks, their payroll nudged against the luxury-tax line, declined to meet his market value.
Crawford said he misses Hawks fans, who received him warmly when the Blazers played at Phillips Arena last month. He also misses the city, Drew and his Hawks teammates.
But Crawford said he’s still upset the Hawks didn’t offer him a contract extension after they told him he was part of their core.
“I didn’t like the way it ended,” he said.
Crawford’s salary is $5 million this season; re-signing Crawford would have cost the Hawks nearly twice as much because of the luxury tax. Hawks co-owner Michael Gearon Jr. said the team’s surplus of guards also was a factor in not re-signing Crawford.
“That was one of toughest decisions we faced as an organization,” Gearon said before the season. “I hope Jamal kills it in Portland because he’s a great person.”
So far that’s not happening for Crawford in Portland, which is near his native Seattle.
Crawford’s scoring rate is up, but his shooting percentage is the worst since his rookie season. He said the lack of a full training camp because of the lockout made it difficult to mesh with his new teammates and notes that his shooting has improved in the last month or so.
“It’s been up-and-down, but it will get better,” Crawford said.
Blazers All-Star forward LaMarcus Aldridge, who prodded the team to sign Crawford, said Crawford is doing his best to do what the team needs.
“He’s definitely made us better [by] making plays for guys and making his shots,” Aldridge said. “He’s doing what we need, but his natural position is [shooting guard]. That’s where he helps teams the most.”
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