Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens had some pretty nice things to say about a former Celtics and current Memphis Grizzlies forward.
Jae Crowder returns to TD Garden Wednesday night to face his former team and Stevens detailed what makes him an important member of any organization.
"I just think Jae's a winner, he impacts winning everywhere he's been," Stevens said ahead of tipoff with the Grizzlies. "I don’t know how many guys have been the number of places that he’s played and every one of them goes to the playoffs, regardless of what preseason expectations are. He just impacts winning, and he cares about it, plays both ends of the court."
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Crowder has played for the Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Utah Jazz and Grizzlies. He was part of the 2017 trade with Cleveland that sent Kyrie Irving to Boston, and played an integral role in Boston's 2017 postseason, helping the Celtics reach the Eastern Conference Finals. Stevens added that although Crowder isn't a Celtic anymore, he's still rooting for him.
"I've always really appreciated Jae. It's been fun to watch from afar since he's left," Stevens said. "He's not a fun guy to prepare to play against. He's a good player."
Through three seasons with Boston, Crowder averaged 12.8 points, 1.8 steals and 5.2 rebounds per game while shooting 44.4 percent from the field and 35.3 percent from beyond the arc.
Don't miss NBC Sports Boston's coverage of Celtics-Magic, which begins Friday at 6 p.m. with Celtics Pregame Live, followed by tip-off at 7 p.m. You can also stream the game on the MyTeams App.