Dime is the premier basketball magazine, covering the NBA, NCAA, High School, Playground and International basketball - as well as sneakers, fashion and music.
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THE NEXT EPISODE Jamal Crawford is one of the top specialists in NBA history. We spoke to the super sub about the role he plays for a legitimate NBA championship contender. IN T E RV IE W. AUSTI N L. BURTON PHOTO. A N DR E W D. BER N ST EI N / G ET TY I M AG ES D uring a 13-year NBA career in which he's played for six teams, Jamal Crawford has just about done it all. He's been a rookie project and a go-to veteran. He's been a solid starter and an explosive backup. He's been a point guard of the future and a shooting guard with a past. He's played for winners and losers and whatever we call the in-between. He owns the NBA record for most career four-point plays, and he's only the fourth player in history to record 50-point games with three different teams. But even today, with his 33rd birthday looming in March, Crawford is fnding new experiences in his basketball journey. Averaging nearly 17 points a game as of press time, Crawford – the league's 2010 Sixth Man of the Year award winner – is the top reserve for an L.A. Clippers team that is a serious contender for the 2013 NBA championship. At press time he was the team's second-leading scorer, and Crawford is often the man with the ball in his hands when the game is on the line, despite the presence of All-Stars Chris Paul and Blake Griffn, and "Mr. Big Shot" Chauncey Billips on the roster. Crawford has never been on a team this good, which means he's never played a role this important on a team this visible. And so the man who's seen just about everything continues to open the public's eyes to his particular set of skills. game I'll watch how the team played the night before. Dime: What is your gameday routine? JC: Well, for a 7:30 p.m. start, I get up at 8 a.m., get myself together, get ready, eat breakfast. Then I go to shootaround, which starts at 9:45 or so and goes to like 11, 11:30. Then I get in the cold tub, shower, eat lunch, then go to sleep at like 1:45. Get up at 3:45, get my stuff together, get to the arena at maybe 4:45 or fve o'clock. Get on the court and shoot, then go back and exercise with the strength and conditioning coach, then get focused for the game. Dime: How do you warm up? JC: I have a specifc routine that I've been doing for a while. Different spot shots, one- and two-dribble shots, threepoint shots. Dime: What do you usually eat on gamedays? JC: For breakfast I usually eat toast, bacon and oatmeal. For lunch, I usually get Subway – have a nice sandwich with some chips or something. After the game, it depends on what's open. I usually want to get something in my system pretty fast afterwards. Dime: Do you listen to music or watch flm before a game? JC: Oh yeah, I listen to music all the time. I always have the iPod handy. I also watch a lot of flm: What happened last game, how the team played us, player tendencies, the other team's schemes, stuff like that. After the game I'll watch the flm like two or three times. Before a 35 Dime: Anything else that's a ritual you do during a game? JC: Well, I chew gum until I enter the game. Then I throw it out. Dime: When do you go to bed after a game? JC: After the game it's hard for me to get to sleep, so I stay up pretty late. I watch TV, mostly. It stays on NBA TV's "Gametime" or "SportsCenter." Dime: What do you always have to take with you on a road trip? JC: I travel light, but I always have my iPad and my iPod. Dime: Is gameday preparation any different when you're starting as opposed to when you're a sixth man? JC: I wouldn't say the preparation is different, but you go into the game with a different mindset. As a sixth man, I know I have to come in and make something happen. When you're starting, you know you're going to play 35, 37 minutes and you have a chance to feel the fow of the