Homecoming month for the Pistons wraps up with Reggie Jackson’s return to Oklahoma City tonight. It will be the tiebreaker to determine whether it’s been a good or bad thing.
Marcus Morris scored 20 points and grabbed six rebounds Nov. 6 when the Pistons won at Phoenix, Morris booed every time he touched the ball for the sin of being traded by the Suns. Ersan Ilyasova drew polite applause when he went back to Milwaukee earlier this week, but whether he was emotionally undone by his first regular-season game in the only NBA home he’d ever known or just had a bad game, the results weren’t pretty. Ilyasova shot 0 of 7 and the Pistons suffered their worst loss of the season to the Bucks.
Jackson is banking on a reception much more like the one Morris got in Phoenix. He was vocal about his desire to be somewhere as the starting point guard and he knew that wouldn’t happen so long as Russell Westbrook was employed by the Thunder.
“I know what to expect,” he said. “I know how it is. I was booed when I came out to start last year” – Westbrook missed the early part of last season coming off of an injury, and Jackson’s pinch-hit showing as the starter helped convince the Pistons he was suited for such a role – “so I expect the same treatment.”
Jackson, it turns out, has something more in common with Westbrook than their Oklahoma City bond. Since coming to the Pistons at the February trade deadline, Jackson has now played 42 games – half an NBA season, plus one game. Over that time, he’s averaging 18.2 points, 8.0 assists and 4.5 rebounds. And the list of NBA point guards who averaged that over the full 2014-15 season is a short one: Westbrook and Chris Paul.
Jackson’s scoring is up and his assists down from his 27-game run with the Pistons to close last season. Through 15 games, he’s averaged 19.3 points and 6.0 assists. The Pistons rank in the lower third in most offensive categories, fashioning their 8-7 record against one of the NBA’s toughest schedules mostly on the back of their defense and, especially, their rebounding.
But Jackson’s assist totals are a little misleading due to uncharacteristically poor shooting from the players around him. The Pistons are 26th in shooting at .418 and rose from 30th to 25th in 3-point shooting with Wednesday’s 16-of-31 showing against a Miami defense that ranked in the top three in most key defensive measures. With shots falling around him, Jackson’s line read: 18 points, seven assists, one turnover in just 26 minutes.
They might need to approach that same level of offensive efficiency to hang with the Thunder, who rank No. 2 in scoring (109.8) and shooting (.474) to unbeaten Golden State – and they’ve put up those numbers despite playing without Kevin Durant for six of 16 games.
“It’s another test for us against a good team,” Jackson said after the 23-point demolition of Miami. “They’ve got one of the best point guards in the league, attacking all night. And Kevin Durant’s back. We’ve got a tough task in stopping the two-headed monster down there.”
It was going head to head with Westbrook in practice for Jackson’s early years that helped spur his growth – and to give him the confidence he was ready to steer his own ship. With Jackson headed for restricted free agency last summer, the Thunder got what they could for him – two solid rotation pieces from the Pistons in D.J. Augustin and Kyle Singler plus a future second-round pick.
The deal contained a minor degree of risk for the Pistons. Jackson could have shopped himself over the summer and come back with a contract offer above what the Pistons might have expected. But dynamic point guards don’t come available all that often – and the front-office scouting staff Stan Van Gundy and Pistons general manager Jeff Bower put together were convinced Jackson fit the description.
After a half-season plus one game, their assessment is all but validated. Numbers that put him in the company of Westbrook and Paul attest to that much. Jackson might not have known what to expect to find in Detroit at the time of the trade, but now says he wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.
“I’m happy where I’m at,” he said. “Happy trying to make a legacy here. We’re trying to build something special. I’m enjoying this locker room, enjoying this group of guys.”
