Richard Jefferson is 34 years old. He was drafted back in 2001. He's played 14 NBA seasons and has 34,421 minutes on his odometer.
And yet somehow, he's still doing things like this:
That would be the Dallas Mavericks veteran breaking out in transition against the Houston Rockets on Tuesday, taking a terrific zip pass from Monta Ellis and throwing down an awesome two-handed reverse.
Forced into starting duty with the knee injury to Chandler Parsons, the Mavericks need Jefferson to look this spry possession after possession if they're to have a legitimate chance of escaping round one. Jefferson averaged 5.8 points and 2.5 rebounds in 16.8 minutes this season but provided some value as a floor-spacer, knocking down 42.6 percent of his outside shots.
Head coach Rick Carlisle used him for only four minutes in Game 1 but he has few options to replace Parsons that don't sacrifice the starting lineup's integrity on at least one end of the floor.
