Opportunistic S.O.B. this second-round pick from Latvia. Rodions Kurucs was given extra run Friday night because Rondae Hollis-Jefferson was unavailable and wound up putting in a terrific performance in his longest NBA stint to date.
Kurucs had been somewhat forgotten since he returned earlier this month from an ankle injury, racking up four DNP-CDs and getting three end-of-blowout stints on the floor.
But in 21 minutes against Washington, Kurucs continued to show he’s worthy of a rotation spot. He knocked down a 3-ball, scored nine points in a career-high 21 minutes, played active defense and was on the boards.
There was the requisite rookie mistake, of course. Friday night that was in the form of a blown bunny when he was ahead of the pack at the rim and got caught in the dreaded “layup-or-dunk” internal conundrum engine.
The hits just keep on coming for Allen Crabbe, who added several more bricks to his large collection this season in another sub-par shooting performance.
He didn’t do anything overtly bad to hurt the team — which was at a net of plus-9 while Crabbe was on the floor. But his value comes in taking — and actually making — shots and that continues to elude the sixth-year pro.
After Friday night’s 2-for-8 shooting night that included going just 1-for-6 from 3-point range, Crabbe is shooting .256/.273/14-for-18.
But at least for now, the starting job at second base — I mean, shooting guard — is still his.