Despite losing Jamal Crawford's return to the Clipper bench as early as next week would be the key to solving one of the Clippers' main problems: bench play.
Crawford leads all bench players with 16.4 points per game and is ranked 12th overall in Offensive Real Plus Minus among shooting guards. He can get hot at any moment to take over a game, evidenced by his 21-point fourth quarter against the Denver Nuggets in January, or shift the momentum back to the Clippers' side with a four-point play -- he has the most four-point plays in NBA history.
It would be easy to assume Crawford would not only be the best player on the Clippers' bench but one of the key components of a potential championship run.
How will he impact the Clippers?
Crawford vs. the Rest of the Bench
A good question to start with is how Crawford compares to the other bench players on the Clippers' roster in terms of overall impact.
The table below shows the Real Plus Minus and position ranking of the Clippers' key reserves, according to ESPN's Real Plus Minus.
| Player | RPM | Position Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Spencer Hawes | -1.3 | 58 |
| Austin Rivers | -4.1 | 83 |
| Hedo Turkoglu | -0.33 | 31 |
| Glen Davis | -1.28 | 57 |
| Jamal Crawford | -1.45 | 48 |
Based on how apparent the bench struggles have been, it would have been easy to assume our algorithms, Crawford's defensive issues could be magnified if and when he is responsible for guarding the likes of James Harden and Klay Thompson.
This not only affects the one-on-one match-ups but also the Clippers' ability to switch on defense, to play small-ball, and to have a steady crunch-time rotation, as Doc Rivers will likely have to switch between Crawford and Cool Story" quote from Draymond Green.