Jamal Crawford had an incredulous tone to his voice yesterday when told he’s expected to average between 18 and 22 points for the Knicks this season.
That projection came from coach Mike D’Antoni, who doesn’t seem fazed by Crawford’s sluggish start to the preseason.
“[D’Antoni] actually said 18-22 about me?” Crawford said, clearly surprised by the lofty projection. “I don’t worry about that. The points and that stuff will take care of themselves.”
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Crawford, who led the Knicks last season with a 20.6 scoring average, admits he’s still getting used to the team’s new wide-open offense. In the Knicks’ 116-109 loss to the 76ers on Tuesday, he scored only eight points and is averaging 10.7 points for the first three preseason games.
Simply, Crawford is not getting as many touches as he did last year, when the offense flowed largely through him at both guard positions. Now the wealth will be more evenly distributed, a concept that Crawford is ready to embrace. After all, the Knicks did finish 23-59 last season, right?
“The system is different because it’s almost like an equal-opportunity offense for everybody,” Crawford said. D’Antoni, whose Knicks play a preseason game at Boston tomorrow night, said the fact he’s tried to get plenty of players involved has hindered Crawford, a streak shooter who scored 30-plus points six times last season. For his career, Crawford is a 40.3-percent shooter, including 34.5 percent from 3-point range.
“He’s not a terrific shooter,” D’Antoni said. “He’s not an Allan Houston type. He’s a volume kind of guy, but I haven’t given him that kind of space yet. If he doesn’t average between 18 and 22, I need to go back to the drawing board. He’s that good. He makes great decisions with the ball.
“[Crawford] needs to pick it up himself, but we also need to get him more [involved]. Ask me in December. If that’s a problem, we’ll talk about it. But I don’t think it’s going to be a problem.”