Maggette and Crawford talk about their reputations as non-winners

December 8, 11:51 AMGolden State Warriors ExaminerMatt Steinmetz

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Corey Maggette: One playoff appearance for career 

In the past five months, the Warriors have acquired two players Corey Maggette and Jamal Crawford _ who have had little to no playoff success.

Maggette has gone to the postseason one time in his nine seasons, and Crawford has never played in an NBA playoff game during his eight-year career.

The Warriors are currently 5-15 and already are 6 ½ games in back of eighth-place San Antonio. Warriors coach Don Nelson has all but conceded making the playoffs.

What that means is that once again Maggette and Crawford won’t be able to make the case they are not NBA “losers.”

Here’s how Maggette and Crawford answered some questions about their lack of NBA success.

MS: "Does it bother you that regardless of what you do, whether you and Jamal score 20 points a game or not, that people always can say you guys aren’t winners?"

Corey Maggette: “I’ll give you my side on that. I’m going to speak for myself as well as Jamal because I understand the question.

“Because we don’t win, most people think we are losers. We get 20, but it doesn’t make a difference. But at the end of the day, there are still individual things you have to do as a player and there are team things you have to do as a player.

“Each year I try my best and my hardest to help my team win. By helping your team win, you have to score, rebound, do the dirty work.

“In my defense and in Jamal’s defense, we’ve tried to compete every night. I know I’m competing, giving 100 percent. If we don’t win, it hurts us. But we’re still giving all we can. If we don’t win, you can put it any perspective you want.

“But it takes a team effort to win. I know individually we do whatever we can. What he needs to do is score; what I need to do is score. He needs to pass, I need to rebound.

“The sense is that when you’re losing that you’ve given up. We’re not those kind of players, that give up and sit out with phantom injuries.”

MS: How frustrating is it that your history of losing kind of trumps any and all of the other stuff about your game?

Corey Maggette: “You have to come with an attitude that if you gave 100 percent, then you feel fine. I’m blessed with the ability just like Jamal to go out there and play this game. We get paid a lot of money to do this sport. I love this game and I’ll play it just to play it.

“Each day you’ve got to go out and give all you can to help your team win. There’s going to be a critic somewhere throughout your career. That’s just the way it is. You have to take it, suck it up and continue to push on.

“Me and Jamal we definitely try to do that. I was in the worst situation with the Clippers. Everyone knows the Clippers were the worst team as far as winning, but you still have to try to compete every single day. That’s what I try to do.”

♦

Jamal Crawford: Zero NBA playoff games 

MS: Does it bother you that no matter how good of a player you are there are always going to be people who say: “Crawford’s never made the playoffs; he’s not a winner?”

Jamal Crawford: “It bothers me more that I actually haven’t played in the playoffs than what they’re saying. It bothers me I haven’t been there.

"I wrote about it in my blog: One person doesn’t win games.

"As good as Kevin Garnett is, he’s been out of the first round just one time (twice now). T-Mac, never.

"I’m not saying I’m on their level but it it’s a situational thing. I went to Chicago where they were rebuilding after (Michael) Jordan was gone. I was there for four years.

"In New York, things kind of speak for themselves about what happened in the past. I don’t make excuses; I’ve just got to get better.”