What are my expectations for the Phoenix Suns in the loaded Western Conference? They’re looking at a lottery pick again. You go out and draft a defensive specialist and all-around great player at Kansas in Josh Jackson. To me he is probably a top-five shooting guard at such a young age. Here’s what they had to say about the Suns: TNT held a conference call with NBA analysts Reggie Miller and Chris Webber on Wednesday to preview the season. We need guys out there who have been there and done that.” Outsiders’ view “As we saw through preseason we need veteran leadership to start the game,” Watson said. Watson wouldn't divulge what that lineup will look like but he seemed to give a hint that Tyson Chandler will be his starting center with this statement: Warren sat out Wednesday's game with a back contusion – he'll likely go with his regular-season starting lineup in Friday's preseason finale against the Brisbane Bullets. Watson said that if everyone's healthy – T.J. “Get out there and be able to make the mistakes, get back out there and get another shot at it.” Hinting at lineup? “I think that’s the best way to learn,” Jackson said. The mistakes he’s making in the preseason, they believe, will help him in the regular season. One of the attributes the Suns like most about Jackson is that he’s a quick learner. “You can still play fast while doing all those things at the same time.” “A lot of my turnovers have come from not being able to read what the defense is doing and trying to force a play when it wasn’t there,” Jackson said. If he’s going to make a mistake, make it playing hard and then learn from it. Phoenix doesn’t want Jackson playing cautiously. Watson said Monday that he’d like to see Jackson “slow down and make good decisions.” But it’s a fine line. As an offensive player you have to be able to know what you have to do off what they give you.” “A lot of things out there I see happening on the court it’s just read and react. “It’s different from college because it’s more of a thinking game,” Jackson said. Through three preseason games Jackson is averaging 13 points and five rebounds per game and, encouragingly, is shooting 60 percent from 3-point range.īut Jackson also is averaging 5.7 turnovers per contest, a result of, like Westbrook, sometimes playing too fast for his own good. Like Westbrook, Jackson is an elite athlete who plays with great energy and can fill up a box score. When Suns coach Earl Watson compared rookie forward Josh Jackson to Russell Westbrook, when Westbrook was a rookie in Oklahoma City, he meant it as a compliment.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |