Suns praise Crowder for more than his stellar shooting vs. Mavericks in playoffs

The Suns and Jae Crowder have repeatedly told the media to not pigeonhole him as just a 3-point gunner.

Known for his dreadlocked ponytail and burly 6-foot-6, 235-pound frame, Crowder brings toughness as a rebounder, along with offensive and defensive playmaking away from and on the ball.

He did all that in the Suns' Game 2 victory over Dallas in Phoenix on Wednesday, helping the Suns go up 2-0 in the Western conference semifinals.

Crowder, Suns coach Monty Williams and his teammates want the 10-year veteran to be credited for doing more than just draining 3s. He's been the team's third highest in 3-points attempts, behind Devin Booker who leads the team, and Cam Johnson, during the regular season and the playoffs.

"I’m a basketball player. I don’t want to labeled as just a shooter. I tell you guys that all the time," Crowder said after Wednesday's game. "I can make plays or I just shoot the ball."

Crowder has produced 26 points (8-of-13 FG, 6-of-10 on 3s), team-high 15 rebounds, six assists, two blocks and one steal in the first two games of the West semifinals.

He scored all of his 15 points in Game 2's first half on a stellar 4-of-6 shooting and 3-of-4 from 3. He was in a shootout with Luka Doncic during a short stretch in the second quarter as Crowder and the Mavericks' superstar scored 10 each (Doncic finished with 35 on 13-of-22 FG, 5-of-10 from deep, 24 in the first half on 9-of-14 FG and 4-of-7 from the 3).

But Crowder did most of his damage in many other ways, as he played nearly 28 minutes through the first three quarters of his 29½ minutes total in the game.

In the second half, Crowder contributed two of his team-best seven total rebounds, two of three total assists, added one steal, one block, and committed just one turnover.

His dribble penetration caused the Mavericks to close out and bite on his pump-fakes because of his early hot hand, which enabled his drives into the paint. That created holes in the Dallas defense, and quickly opened up shots for teammates he found on the perimeter and near the basket.

“I’m just really reading the game, playing the game however it folds,” Crowder said. “The first half, I felt like there were a few open shots I took and was able to make, but I think I’m just reading the game. ...

"The second half was a lot of playmaking, making extra plays, making the right plays. I think you get Chris and Book getting two bodies in sometimes and the full rotation on the backside. You gotta either swing, shoot, or do something quick. We talk about point-five basketball all the time and I think (the Mavericks) put us in a lot of those situations and we’re just trying to capitalize on them."

Crowder's six defensive rebounds minimized his former team's' second-chance opportunities as well. The Suns outrebounded the Mavericks, 85-61 in the first two games of this series. Crowder's eight boards in Game 1 was tied with Deandre Ayton for Phoenix's second-most in Game 1. That's unlike how Phoenix struggled in that category against New Orleans Pelicans' bigs Jonas Valanciunas, Larry Nance Jr., Jaxson Hayes and Brandon Ingram for rebounds during the first round.

“Second round versus first, it’s just a matchup difference," Booker said about the Mavericks during Wednesday's postgame availability. "They don’t have the Larry Nance’s and the Valanciunas’ crashing the glass every time. And that’s something we prided ourselves on last year, just getting extra possessions.

"We’re one of the most efficient teams in the NBA, so if we get more possessions I think it puts us in the best possible place to win.”

Crowder can be highly efficient when his shot isn't falling, such as in Game 1 vs. the Pelicans when he became the first player in playoff history to have a quadruple-one (1 point, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 block). Despite shooting 0-for-4 (all from the 3) in that game, his production could also be called a sextuple-one because of his 11 plus-minus, which was second to Paul's 20 in that victory.

Crowder said at Suns practice on April 18 that he didn't care his shooting wasn't going well in Game 1. He was focused on defending against Ingram, who finished with 18 points on 6-of-17 shooting, his worst performance of that series.

"He does so many things out on the court that are more valuable than just him shooting efficiently," Booker said after Game 1 against the Pelicans. "Obviously he can do that, but his defensive presence, his communication, he's a true winner. He's been to back-to-back finals appearances, so he understands what it takes. So that's the least of our worries.

"We know he's gonna make shots, he's built for the moment, but he does so many things than just pinpoint him out of all of us shooting well and him not."

In Game 1 against Dallas, Crowder produced all of his 11 points (4-of-6 FG, 3-of-5 on his 3s) in the first half and finished with three assists and one block.

That's a turnaround from Crowder's 16-of-48 shooting, including 3-of-26 on his 3s (which he didn't hit until Game 3) against New Orleans.

But it's the little things Crowder does for the game within the game that make him invaluable to the NBA's best team this season.

“That just speaks to his mental toughness and the ability to continue to work even when you’re not making shots,” Williams said after Game 2.

“But it also speaks to Jae can play a game and not shoot it well but still have a huge contribution, and he does that defensively and offensively. I think he’s done a really good job of attacking the paint in point-five, and then you couple that with his ability to knock down shots.”

Have tips for us? Reach the reporter at dana.scott@azcentral.com or at 480-486-4721. Follow his Twitter @iam_DanaScott.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Suns praise Crowder for more than his shooting vs. Mavericks in playoffs