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WALTHAM, Mass. – When Jae Crowder returned to the Boston Celtics’ rotation last Saturday in Detroit, it was evident that he was not yet fully comfortable on the court after being sidelined for the previous eight games with a sprained left ankle.
His first two games back were a challenge, as he scored a total of just 13 points against the Pistons and Timberwolves, respectively.
But lately, Crowder seems to be trending back in the right direction.
“You can definitely tell that the ankle is coming along,” teammate Marcus Smart said Saturday afternoon at the Celtics’ training facility in Waltham, Massachusetts. “He’s becoming more comfortable on it. He’s feeling better about playing on it and he’s not babying it. He’s actually just going out there and playing and having fun.”
Crowder has flipped an offensive switch during the Celtics’ last two games, having scored 15 points Wednesday night in Brooklyn, and then 18 points Friday afternoon against San Antonio.
Isaiah Thomas agreed with Smart in that Crowder seems a lot more confident in his approach over the last couple of games and is beginning to contribute more on both ends of the floor.
“When you come back from an ankle injury you’re kind of second-guessing yourself,” said Thomas. “You don’t want to jump. You don’t think you can cut and do the things that you’re normally used to doing. So I think he’s gaining confidence in that ankle and getting back to his old self.”
Crowder, during his last two contests, shot 56.5 percent (13-for-23) from the field, including 43.5 percent (7-for-16) from beyond the arc. During his previous two outings, the forward shot just 33 percent (5-of-15) from the field and made just one of seven attempts from long range.
Crowder said Friday’s performance – a 7-of-12 effort from the field – was without a doubt the best rhythm he’s experienced since his return. He added that it's been difficult to maintain a rhythm during his first few games back because of his 20-25-minute restriction.
His lengthy break during Monday’s matchup in Minnesota caused his ankle to “lock up” while sitting on the bench, and, as a result, he couldn’t return to the game. But he found a better way to stay loose during Friday’s contest by riding a stationary bike while he was not on the court.
“I wanted to do something differently because I do feel like it’s gradually getting better,” said Crowder. “When I’m off the court I just gotta do something to keep the blood flowing because it feels good because when I’m coming off. So (riding the bike) is just one thing I’m probably going to do for a little while now.”
Crowder said the minutes restriction has been frustrating for him, particularly during Friday’s 109-103 loss to San Antonio. He scored 10 points during the opening seven minutes of that contest, but was subbed out with 4:45 left in the first quarter and didn’t return until the 6:24 mark of the second quarter.
Crowder was able to argue his way into playing a few extra minutes, though – he finished with 28.
“(Athletic trainer) Ed (Lacerte) don’t like it, but I’m a player, man,”said Crowder. “It’s tough to just pull somebody out of the game when they feel like they can help the team.”
By the same token, he knows that he has to approach his recovery process carefully.
“I do try to be professional to my body as much as possible,” added Crowder, “so the past few games I’ve been OK with it. Just [Friday's] game I wanted to win so bad, and I felt like we got it going, but we came up short.”
Fortunately, Brad Stevens has a positive hunch about Crowder’s future playing status.
“I think the minutes restriction is about up,” the coach said Saturday afternoon. “He felt good today (during practice), so we’ll see how he feels after practice.”
Hopefully Stevens’ intuition is on target, both for the team’s sake and for Crowder’s personal sanity. The Celtics need their tenacious forward back at 100 percent as soon as possible, and Crowder certainly seems to be heading in that direction based on his last two performances.