Given that he’s playing on one of the most talent-deficient rosters in the NBA, the remarkable job that newly appointed “point-forward” Stephen Jackson has been doing to run the Golden State offense thus far this season will probably go undeservedly overlooked.
From what I’ve seen, however, he’s not only overachieving at this task to a staggering degree, he has overhauled the entire way he approaches the game of basketball as he embraces the challenge and responsibility to quarterback the team. As collateral damage, the Golden State unfortunately lost most of his violent energy bursts that, along with Baron Davis’ coolest-kid-in-school persona, came to characterize the modern Warriors, but those by-gone days ended when Beardy jumped ship to Hollywood anyway, and the Extreme Makeover Cpt. Jack appears to be a much better player, even if he is now somewhat less dynamic (and, of course, infinitely more boring).
Just watch the way he now expertly leads the pick-and-roll with unsavvy role players such as Andris Biedrins and Ronny Turiaf. There is a constant steadiness and efficiency of movement that has migrated throughout his entire game and is now evident in everything from his purposeful, bland dribbling motions to his calculated, fundamental entry passes. His entire demeanor, gait and movement drips with a calm, collectedness that sits in such utter defiance of his signature minute-to-minute fits of explosiveness that it is hard to believe this is the same player who was yelling while drilling dagger threes nightly last spring or dusting off Baron’s shoulders after he emasculated Andrei Kirilenko during the “We Believe” 2007 Playoff run — let alone the unhinged maniac following Ron Artest into the Palace of Auburn Hills crowd.
This isn’t to say that none of the things that make Stephen Jackson be Stephen Jackson remain. He’s still wont to throw out the three-finger Calderon after a big triple or brashly head-nod and talk to himself after a flashy assist, but the deliberate consistency has pushed those to the background and, from what I’ve seen, these things seem to come more when he’s playing off the ball while Don Nelson is trying to pretend that either CJ Watson or DeMarcus Nelson can run an NBA offense. It seems like he has a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde switch.
As a fan with zero interest in what the Warriors record looks like at the end of the year (spoiler alert: not gonna be pretty), all of this is a horrible development — the unpredictability and wild antics of the Mr. Hyde Stephen Jackson are one of the more enjoyable subplots that this League has.
But in a pure basketball sense, this growth and maturity of his playing style are laying the foundation of a much more nuanced game that will keep him balling at a high level even as his athleticism begins to fade and, ultimately, prolong his career.
And in the near-term, what it really should do is prolong Monta Ellis’ career as a shooting guard (presuming, ya know, he returns some day from his moped fall).
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