Coming out of his shell
Up-tempo offense will provide opportunity for sharp-shooting Crabbe
Back in July 2016, the Nets signed Allen Crabbe to a stunning four-year, $75 million offer sheet. Since then, the Nets saw the sheet matched, waited an entire year to trade for Crabbe and saw him suffer a training camp ankle injury.
On Sunday, after all that time and those twists and turns, they’re expected to finally see Crabbe take the court. He and fellow wing Caris LeVert returned to practice Saturday and are listed as probable for Sunday’s home preseason game against the Knicks.
“[Crabbe’s] a player. And we’re challenging him defensively right off the bat,” coach Kenny Atkinson said. “He’s going to find his way in this offense. ... He’s a quick decision-maker, he’s an efficient player. That’s why we brought him in. He’s going to help us a lot.”
The 25-year-old Crabbe is slated to start helping Sunday. His absence, and that of LeVert, provided minutes for the likes of Spencer Dinwiddie, Joe Harris and Sean Kilpatrick. That the Nets won those first two games — over the Heat and Knicks — only bodes well. But getting Crabbe and LeVert back bodes even better.
Crabbe shot 44 percent from 3-point range last season with Portland, second-best in the NBA behind only Kyle Korver. But he averaged just 8.2 shots, 3.8 3-point attempts and 28.5 minutes, all numbers that should rise this year.
“For sure, definitely,” Crabbe said. “Fitting in and finding my shots within the system. I’m pretty sure it’ll be higher than what it was in Portland. That role is going to be able to expand here. It’s going to be an opportunity for me to show a little more of everything offensively and defensively. I’m looking forward to it. I’m ready for the challenge. It’s going to be a recipe for success here.”
Crabbe got a taste of that recipe watching how Korver blossomed under Atkinson’s tutelage in Atlanta.
“Yeah definitely. Coach Atkinson comes from that system when Kyle Korver was there, and I just feel like he’s implanting that over here,” Crabbe said. “He’s giving me a lot of freedom, he’s giving me the green light to shoot the ball, so I don’t see why I wouldn’t be able to succeed in that. That’s what I do, I shoot the ball.
“Playing with unselfish guys, and he’s built in that culture, make the right play, make the best play. So even if I’m not shooting but being involved in the offense and just helping my teammates out as well, that’s a recipe for success.”
So is better defense. Crabbe and Atkinson readily admit his defense took a step backward in Portland, and the numbers bear that out. Crabbe’s defensive rating fell from a solid 101.9 rating in 2014-15 to a subpar 106.1 in 2015-16 and 108.9 last season.
“In Portland my first two years, they didn’t need me to score. They had Damian Lillard, LaMarcus Aldridge, Ni- colas Batum, Wesley Matthews, so really I didn’t need to come in and do anything,” Crabbe said. “For me to get noticed and recognized by the coaches, and for me to even get some type of opportunity, it was me showing out defensively. That’s where I earned my niche over there in Portland in the beginning. It wasn’t my shooting, it was defense.
“I want to prove I can play both sides of the floor. That definitely is one of the things I’m looking forward to this season, and I’m going to take hard to it.”