Again, I am not saying they are the same player. I am saying that, although Jackson is an exceptional athlete with great potential, what he brings to the lineup right now is something that Martin—and to an extent Whaley—is already providing.
Jackson’s passes always look flashy, but many times a simpler pass would be better and more effective. As for his handle, neither he nor Martin should be the second ball handler imo, but they were for most of the game yesterday and the offense was putrid and stagnant as a result.
The simple and inescapable point is that we need another outside scoring threat besides Cole and for most of the game yesterday we didn’t have that. I would love to see our offensive numbers for the first five minutes of each half of basketball this season. It seems we start most games in the hole because of our inability to score. Hurley loves how disruptive Jackson is defensively, but if we are unable to score at the other end it’s still a net negative by the five-minute mark.
I maintain, as I have from the start of the season, that Jackson’s best use would be the first player off the bench at the first timeout. I think he would be more disruptive then, and hopefully playing with a lead instead of trying to dig out of a hole.