The Jazz have long known, dating back to Jae Crowder’s first games in a Utah uniform, that the 27-year-old forward is not one to back down from a fight.
Joe Ingles, though, knew long before that.
As the two gave a light-hearted joint interview at Wednesday morning shootaround ahead of Game 5, Crowder — who was ejected Monday night after getting into a spat with Russell Westbrook — was asked about his willingness to throw himself into the middle of confrontations for a teammate.
Ingles chimed in with his own observation: “He tried to fight me in Boston!”
The game was a memorable one: The Celtics were already a presumed landing spot for free-agent-to-be Gordon Hayward last season. The crowd at TD Garden chanted for him during pregame introductions when the Jazz visited Boston for a January 2017 game.
Crowder was fired up and scored 21 points — and got in Ingles’ face.
Now teammates, Ingles seemed to feel now is as good a time as any to re-engage the feud.
“They were cheering for Gordon, and he got mad at me,” Ingles said. “I don’t know why. He should’ve gotten mad at Gordon.”
Crowder offered a retort.
“Gordon wouldn’t talk back,” he said. “I knew [Ingles] would.”
On the heels of a game with seven technical fouls and Crowder’s ejection, the Jazz are looking to close out the Thunder tonight at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Here’s what you need to catch up on from last week:
STARTING FIVE
1. Doesn’t it seem like people are more into the Jazz again? It might not be your average playoff bump in interest. Chris Kamrani took a look at the surge in sellouts and why basketball once again is the talk of Salt Lake City and the state. [Trib]
2. It’s not easy to make two professional careers on two continents co-exist. So Joe and Renae Ingles decided that something had to give when they wanted to be together. Tony talked to Renae about her difficult decision to give up her own athletic pursuits in the name of love and family. It might get a little dusty in here. [Trib]
3. Donovan Mitchell has been great in the playoffs — in part because he’s getting outside consulting. Aaron Falk talked to him and some people on the Jazz to sniff out which veterans he’s getting advice from around the league. [Trib]
4. It’s easy to imagine there are lots of Utahns out there who wouldn’t be thrilled to read another Players’ Tribune piece after what happened last Fourth of July. But here’s one from Rudy Gobert in which he opens up about his early life in France, his frustrations with feeling “invisible” and stories of the Dad Strength of 50-year-old Karl Malone. [PT]
5. How about something different: a video? Rachel Nichols has been a steady and knowledgeable editorial voice on The Jump this season, and she offers this perspective on how the Jazz are changing the concept of what a “super team” is. [The Jump]
LISTEN IN
We checked in from Oklahoma City with special guest Andy Larsen of KSL.com with a few observations that turned out to be pretty relevant as the series went on: Donovan Mitchell’s ability as a closer; Russell Westbrook playing at his team’s detriment; Oklahoma City having an iffy pick-up basketball scene. You can check us out every week on SoundCloud or iTunes.
IN THE ROTATION
• The Thunder just haven’t been able to handle Rudy Gobert. Aaron took a closer look at that. [Trib]
• The Thunder just haven’t been able to handle Donovan Mitchell. I took a closer look at that. [Trib]
• The celebrities at Game 4 were headlined by ... Mitt Romney? [Trib]
• Gordon Monson felt like making his own guarantee — that the Thunder are done in this series. [Trib]
• Is Derrick Favors the matchup problem the Jazz needed? I looked at how he’s an issue for OKC going against Carmelo Anthony. [Trib]
• Eric Woodyard had a story drilling down on how the Jazz are handling Russell Westbrook, who has been flustered and frustrated throughout the series. [DesNews]
• A lighter side of the playoffs — a look at how Vivint Smart Home Arena amps up the crowd with music selection. [DesNews]
• Andy Larsen’s Triple Teams are essential reads for a closer look at game tactics and trends. Here’s his recap of Game 4. [KSL.com]
• Zach Harper has been doing more pieces (and radio spots) for 1280 The Zone. Here’s his keys for the Jazz to win Game 5 tonight in Oklahoma City. [1280]
• Zach Lowe had a handful of observations in a column about Thunder-Jazz, including the thought that Russell Westbrook has been “a disaster.” [ESPN]
• Ricky Rubio didn’t have a triple-double in Game 4, if you can consider that being “shut off,” but Chris Barnewall isn’t so quick to give Westbrook credit for that. [CBS Sports]
• Westbrook is taking it pretty hard this week overall, including this Tom Ziller column that he can’t be a franchise cornerstone for a team that actually wants to win championships. [SB Nation]
QUOTABLE
Crowder expanded on why he’s on the frontlines of every scuffle that the Jazz get into:
“It’s what I’m about. I feel like when I spend this much time away from my family, [the team] is my family. I stick up for my family, and I stick up for them no matter what. It shows up on the court. It’s not a front. It’s just what I’m about. On the court, I feel like these guys are my family. I’m with ’em more times than I’m with my family. When you’re with a group of guys like that and you’re having fun, it’s more natural. It just happens.”
UP NEXT
It could be just one game if the Jazz win tonight in Oklahoma City. It could be two if the Jazz don’t win until Friday night in Salt Lake. However, if the Thunder win two games, Game 7 will be back in OKC on Sunday night. If the Jazz do manage to close out the series in the next two games, the Houston Rockets have moved a concert to accommodate a potential Sunday home game — that would be the likely Game 1 between the Rockets and the Jazz in the Western Conference semifinals (not to get too far ahead).
Follow @kylegoon