https://youtu.be/RNg-9XUo2EU
I guess the secret to unlocking Justin Jackson’s potential was just to have somebody ahead of him in the rotation get injured so that he could get more minutes and more touches. In this case, that “somebody” is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and it’s more than just Justin Jackson who’s benefiting: Kenrich Williams is also playing inexplicably well in the absence of the Thunder’s young star. We can crow on and on about “development” and “G-League” and “confidence”, but sometimes, literally the only thing you need to do to get a player to play better is to give them a larger role so they can play how they want to.
Note that this method doesn’t always work. Just look at all the scrubs that played for the Sixers during the Process. They got to play however they wanted and most of them are out of the league now. RIP Tony Wroten, you were a real chucker.
Do I wish that Justin Jackson, the guy who was getting DNP’s early in the season, had picked a different game to showcase his newfound ability to be an effective basketball player? Yeah, I kind of do. Jackson hit the late three-pointer that closed the coffin on the Bucks, capping an impressive night for him stats-wise. I had stopped watching the game after the Bucks scored two points in the first five minutes of the second quarter, so I didn’t witness Jackson’s clutch shot in real-time, but I’m being forced to witness it now and I’m not very happy about it. I spared my mental health by turning this game off. I don’t want or need the deterioration of my mental health to resume just by watching Justin Jackson, who has never been a part of any team’s end-of-game lineup as far as I know, splash a late triple and then smile a creepy smile.