We've keyed so much on the rookies, Justin Jackson's performance last night has gone without much mentioned. he played like the player we hoped he would when he came onto the team last year. Smooth shot, picked his places well, played under control. Looked very comfortable with the shot. Did a good job getting to the rim and finishing with the floater. Best case scenario, you have in him a potential 15 to 18 pt a night guy. It will be interesting to see how he comes out this year
Justin Jackson
- Thread starter SCKingsfan
- Start date
I don't like to talk about the mental state of players very often because it's something we really have no way of knowing about but I just can't think of any other reason for Justin's struggles other than his lack of confidence.
He dominated a summer league game last year after half of the other starters went out with an injury. He got sent down to the G League at one point during the season and dominated a few games down there as well. On the flip side he has completely disappeared from games unlike any player we've had on the Kings since I can even remember. We've watched a lot of bad basketball but I can't remember a player that routinely put up as many near goose egg box score lines than JJ has.
I think it's a mental thing for this dude. He has the skills. Look at his highlight clip from last night and it's not just floaters and 3 point shots. He knocked down a turnaround fade away and also had a sweet pull up mid range jumper over a defender that looked exactly like the move Kevin Durant destroys teams with.
If he fails out of the league, I don't think it's going to have anything to do with his physical skills. I think it's going to all be in his head. I don't think anything else holds him back other than that.
The thing is he's had some really good game with the Kings at different times. Never consistent of course, but there were games where he was universally praised for his contributions. At different times he showed a variety of skills just never had it all together. I'm just hoping he does more consistently this year. I think we can afford patience, but he needs to be taking steps forward.
Jackson has certainly showed flashes. I thought he was great last year in the OKC game in which he was moving without the ball and getting the better of Paul George of all people. But then there are the inexplicable disappearing acts. It's hard to know exactly what is going on, but I do sense that he is a nice, cerebral sort of guy, and sometimes those kind of individuals spend too much time in their head. It's like he wants to be the perfect teammate and he doesn't want to stand out, just blend in. He looks like the kind of guy that needs permission to be aggressive and shoot the ball, and not just from his coaches, from his teammates as well. I hope they all can figure it out because he does have a creative sort of talent to score the ball and it would be a shame for it to go to waste.
The mental make up of a player is a huge part of the battle in professional sports. Everyone has talent, but its the guys that have an edge between the ears that prevail. JJ has all the talent but when hes in a room full of alphas he seems to disappear and that's a real concern going forward. One thing that helps players is getting strong in the weight room. Physical prowess over your opponent is a great way to give someone the confidence to get the mental edge needed for them to succeed. It's not always that simple but it definitely couldn't hurt.
if he can become more than simply a spot up shooter, then he could be a productive starter for the Kings until they fill that role with a better player. Last season he would just stand in the corners and launch three's and with the Kings struggling to score anyway, why not attempt to be more of a aggressor and try some of those patent floaters he has knack for making.
Not everyone on the team has to be an alpha. In fact if that were the case, think of how that would work. It wouldn't.
If JJ disappears in games, while he should get some blame, we should also look at the PG as to why he's not getting involved.
Like Klay Thompson, he's usually not going to create his own shot.
If JJ disappears in games, while he should get some blame, we should also look at the PG as to why he's not getting involved.
Like Klay Thompson, he's usually not going to create his own shot.
I think it's also a problem of us having too many young players. Coaches have to focus on all of them, and put a system in place. The priority is given to those who are considered the future of the franchise, and guys like Justin get overlooked. Part of it might be his personality too.
When a team adds one or two rookies, a system is usually in place, and most players know their roles. Even vets who are signed as FAs or traded for are known commodities in terms of their strengths and weaknesses. Young players. picked around the position Justin was, learn from them, and play few minutes with a well defined role. In our case, we are trying to do all of it together.
Some players will inevitably lose out in this process. I hope Justin avoids that, since not only does he look like a good guy, who is willing to play the role asked of him, he is pretty much the only regular SF we have. Getting some good, consistent minutes out of him will do both him and us a world of good.
Good news. He seems to be getting it. He missed the first few shots, but stayed aggressive. For a big part of the game, he was the only one keeping us in it. Being the vet on the floor helped him I think.
I think the coaching staff needs to give us orders to be more aggressive and look for his shot. It's tough to do so, when you have to find minutes and shots for players higher up in the pecking order. However, I think that others will find their shots eventually. Justin needs to get in that role, at least at the beginning of the season.
When a team adds one or two rookies, a system is usually in place, and most players know their roles. Even vets who are signed as FAs or traded for are known commodities in terms of their strengths and weaknesses. Young players. picked around the position Justin was, learn from them, and play few minutes with a well defined role. In our case, we are trying to do all of it together.
Some players will inevitably lose out in this process. I hope Justin avoids that, since not only does he look like a good guy, who is willing to play the role asked of him, he is pretty much the only regular SF we have. Getting some good, consistent minutes out of him will do both him and us a world of good.
Good news. He seems to be getting it. He missed the first few shots, but stayed aggressive. For a big part of the game, he was the only one keeping us in it. Being the vet on the floor helped him I think.
I think the coaching staff needs to give us orders to be more aggressive and look for his shot. It's tough to do so, when you have to find minutes and shots for players higher up in the pecking order. However, I think that others will find their shots eventually. Justin needs to get in that role, at least at the beginning of the season.
