The Fast Break: How the pre-NBA legend of Pierre Jackson continues to grow
The legend of Pierre Jackson continues to grow before the 42nd overall pick from last year's draft even plays an NBA game. On Tuesday, Jackson continued to set the D-League on fire with a league record 58-point game that saw him shoot a ridiculous 24-of-33.
Jackson, who has seven 40-plus-point games this season with the Idaho Stampede, is now averaging 30.3 points per game to go along with 6.2 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 2.1 steals. It all makes for one prolific D-League season for the ages and makes you wonder why Jackson hasn't received a call to the big leagues yet, especially when you consider that this isn't the case of some veteran journeyman torching the D-League - Jackson is only 22.
The Pelicans own Jackson's rights after the undersized (5'10) point guard was traded from Philly on draft night as part of the Jrue Holiday/Nerlens Noel deal, but Jackson hasn't even signed his entry-level contract yet and second round picks aren't subject to the rookie scale for salaries. New Orleans won't have much cap space this summer, and signing Jackson before then would obviously cut further into that flexibility, so while anyone and everyone who's heard the name is dying for Pierre Jackson to get on an NBA court this season, there remains a very real possibility we won't see him until next season.
The other possibility, however, and one to monitor over the next couple of weeks, is that Jackson could become a somewhat highly sought after player as trade talks heat up ahead of the February 20 deadline. At this point, a second trade to go along with D-League domination after signing in France without ever playing a game there would be about the only way Jackson's pre-NBA legend could get any bigger.
About last night...
Pacers 89, Hawks 85 - David West had 22 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block.
Timberwolves 109, Lakers 99 - Kevin Love and Kevin Martin combined for 63 of Minnesota's 109 points.
Bulls 101, Suns 92 - Chicago's win means the Eastern Conference now has six teams sitting at .500 or better.
Bobcats 91, Warriors 75 - Al Jefferson's 30 and 13 helped seal the deal for the Bobcats, who completed an impressive 3-1 road trip through Denver, L.A., Phoenix and Golden State and are now just two road wins shy of tying a team record (13) with 15 games away from home remaining.
Line of the night: Kevin Love - 31 Pts (8/19 FG, 2/5 3PT, 13/18 FT), 17 Reb, 3 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 3 TO in 41 mins.
Play of the night:
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The lowlights of the night saw Lance Stephenson and Kevin Love each suffer scary looking (and sounding) falls, though both would stay in their respective games:
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On tap tonight: There are 12 games on the schedule in another busy Wednesday night for the NBA, headlined by the Heat and Clippers matching up in L.A. in the late game of the night.
The evening also features a number of additional big games, however, as the Spurs are in Washington to take on the finally above .500 Wizards, the Trail Blazers are at Madison Square Garden, the Suns are in Houston, the Timberwolves are in OKC, the Mavs are in Memphis and the Raptors are in Sacramento in the first post-Rudy Gay trade meeting between the two teams.