Allen Crabbe: Tallies nine points in start at small forward Friday

The versatile 24-year-old got the starting nod at the three and turned in a fair performance, albeit one that wasn’t quite on par with his 15-point effort in the opener against the Jazz last Monday. Crabbe is one of three players under consideration for the starting small forward role, but the other two candidates, Evan Turner and Maurice Harkless, reportedly fit more of the profile that head coach Terry Stotts is looking for. Meanwhile, Crabbe’s considerable success off the bench while backing up both backcourt positions has rendered him an invaluable part of the second unit, meaning that Stotts could be loathe to bump him up to the starting lineup and consequently have to forgo his offensive presence coming off the bench. The battle is expected to be waged throughout the exhibition slate, but armed with a new contract, Crabbe figures to be in the mix heavily in the coming campaign regardless of where he slots in.