Stephen Jackson

[spectre]

As well as he's been playing for us it's a shame there's not a thread just for him in the first couple of pages. Just like Crash he's starting to get some media love...

Stephen Jackson Playing All-Star Basketball in Charlotte

MIAMI -- Charlotte's Stephen Jackson always thought of himself as an NBA All-Star, even when no one else did.

Maybe now, they will agree.

Jackson, the talented but temperamental shooting guard, opened 2010 Saturday with his second consecutive 30-point-plus game, outdueling Dwyane Wade and Miami Heat.

This is what Larry Brown and the Bobcats had in mind when they traded for Jackson, whose questionable behavior has overshadowed the on-court accomplishments throughout his career.

~more at the link~

[Dcarnys]

There's always 2 people I vote for the all-star game always. Crash and Steven Jackson. It's only a matter of time before we see what these guys can really do.

[BobCatsFanInTx]

The only problem for Stephen Jackson is that people tend to remain stuck in the past when it comes to players like he and Ron Artest unless they play for an LA Lakers, Boston Celtics type team who is a serious contender for a title. For that reason Artest will have a much better shot at being an All Star since he is a Laker.

Stephen Jackson will have the demons of Indiana haunting him most likely his whole career. In Golden State I don't think anything Stephen Jackson did was that big a deal.

Golden State was a rising team and the front office tore that team apart and also nobody likes Don Nelson. Don Nelson can throw his players under the bus or whine and cry about his dissatisfaction but when his players do it they are trouble makers or bad teammates. Stephen Jackson is a good guy and we are seeing that in Charlotte. As long as the organization acts in the best interest of the team and the fans I am sure we will have few issues where Mr. Jackson is concerned. Hopefully Stephen will voice his concerns in private. That is as long as teammates and LB does the same thing.

[110oldeast]

I think Jack has done something in particular that often does not get spoken of which has helped. His ability to draw a double team in the post has opened things up for Crash's slashing and given Felton better open looks where he can shoot with his feet set. I think again, with a functioning Diaw (which I know many folks have given up hope on), you have many skillsets that complement each other. I think that he also gives us ANOTHER late game/4th quarter option, which makes us more difficult to defend in the end. There are very few Wades, Bryants, or Jameses who you can run 1 4 sets for continually at the end of the game. Having multiple guys who can create for themselves and others helps make your team more difficult to defend in late game situations.

I think we have a perimeter core in Jackson, Wallace, and Felton that are very challenging to guard while also having the ability to play strong defense themselves. We have had stepping up from the C position with the play of Gana and Nazr. Boris has stopped forcing bad passes, but I am wondering if he will get back to the point of taking the wide open pick and pop shot that he feasted off of last year. It will only stretch floor more for the other guys who to work in the paint.

I hated losing Raja, but feel that his injury made him a shell of himself of on offense. This greatly affected the offense completely, has teams did not have to devote much attention to him. Add Diaw and Chandler struggling to come back from injury as well and it should be crystal clear why we struggled offensively before this trade.

[BobCatsFanInTx]

I think Jack has done something in particular that often does not get spoken of which has helped. His ability to draw a double team in the post has opened things up for Crash's slashing and given Felton better open looks where he can shoot with his feet set. I think again, with a functioning Diaw (which I know many folks have given up hope on), you have many skillsets that complement each other. I think that he also gives us ANOTHER late game/4th quarter option, which makes us more difficult to defend in the end. There are very few Wades, Bryants, or Jameses who you can run 1 4 sets for continually at the end of the game. Having multiple guys who can create for themselves and others helps make your team more difficult to defend in late game situations.

I think we have a perimeter core in Jackson, Wallace, and Felton that are very challenging to guard while also having the ability to play strong defense themselves. We have had stepping up from the C position with the play of Gana and Nazr. Boris has stopped forcing bad passes, but I am wondering if he will get back to the point of taking the wide open pick and pop shot that he feasted off of last year. It will only stretch floor more for the other guys who to work in the paint.

I hated losing Raja, but feel that his injury made him a shell of himself of on offense. This greatly affected the offense completely, has teams did not have to devote much attention to him. Add Diaw and Chandler struggling to come back from injury as well and it should be crystal clear why we struggled offensively before this trade.

110 what you have added is very accurate. If Diaw will get into the mix more as a scorer we could really take off. Maybe Diaw will become more involved soon. We can only hope. Let us hope we get a better TC when he returns also.

[110oldeast]

I think Diaw being more assertive (not even saying aggressive), but TAKING GOOD SHOTS WHEN AVAILABLE will do a lot for TC and everyone as teams have to account for him.

Again, I do like the adjustment he has made from a passing/ballhandling standpoint.

But, again to bring it back to Jax, I think the relationship he had with Felton coming in mixed in with Crash has given 2 guys (in Ray and Crash) another consistent running buddy to be tough and gritty as well.

I think Jax has had a tremendous impact on our team and he gives us 2 wings with good height and length to work on the other teams with 1 strong wing. Battling Crash is one thing. Battling Jax is another. Battling the combination can wear folks down over the course of a game.

[TheBeagle]

Good thread, spectre! Jack does definitely deserve an appreciative thread all his own. I'll be the first to admit, I fell for the propaganda that Jack was just a "thug" and more trouble than he was worth. When rumours started that this may be a destination via a trade, I voiced my concerns, and when the deal was done and Raja was included, I was a little bitter. Still, we were an abysmal team at that point, and I knew Raja's best days were behind him, so I luke-warmed up to the trade. Then I find out he is going to make the trip to ORL the day of the trade to help out his otherwise outmanned teammates? Well, maybe there's more to this guy than meets the eye....

Well, we've all seen the benefits of Jack as a Cat and how far the team has grown, despite subpar play from Meow and Chandler, and I'm a confirmed Jack homer. Hell, I bought his replica jersey as soon as it arrived at the team store. The guy brings so much more than I ever thought he was capable of. Sure he takes the unconscionable shot more than we'd like, but damn if he doesn't make his fair share of them to be sure. Also, anybody who utters the phrase, "I make love to pressure" should be lionized if not canonized.

However, for all he brings offensively, it is at the other end of the court where he amazes me. He is, quite frankly, fucking tenacious on the ball and you can see him get under the skin of his man many times. He would be an even more effective defender, if he didn't have such a......tenuous relationship with the zebras who give him little to no leeway at any time...how many more forced TOs would he force if not for bad calls?

I had no idea at the time, but as it turns out, the only person I'd be willing to see Raja traded away for happened to be the dude we got.....JACK!

[KT#20]

All-Star basketball? That's a huuuuge stretch, but he has been what we needed.

[jazzer89]

All-Star basketball? That's a huuuuge stretch, but he has been what we needed.

Name a couple of two guards, in the east, that can guard nearly every position. Have the balls to take over a game when their team needs it and actually pulls through. Im talking about in the EAST. i can think of 2 Wade and Johnson, even Johnson really has not played up to expectations so far IMO. To me Jack is play exceptional ball right now and deserves to be an allstar same with Wallace, too bad the love is not gonna be there.

Just an opinion though. Jack might just be the MVP of this team, him and Wallace are neck and neck in my eyes

[polarcat]

Good call on giving Captain Jack his own appreciation thread spectre! The trade that brought him here has done wonders and he is playing amazing ball. B2B 30-point games often threatening to hit over 30 as well, and is a catalyst for the rest of the team to take off. G-Force, Felts and others are sprung by the attention payed to Jackson and his presence has taken this team to the next level. As Jazzer89 stated, he is capable of playing and defending all of the positions, not to mention being able to play 3 of them solidly. He's averaged a hair over 20ppg since arriving which puts him in the top 20 scorers in the league. Not to be a homer, but Jackson is All-Star worthy. He makes those around him excel and take their game up a notch.