Opinion: Justin Jackson Can Become A Solid Player
Justin Jackson has caught many eyes with his stellar play in the summer league. He has the potential to be a solid player for the Sacramento Kings.
Justin Jackson has been a bright spot in what has become a summer league to forget for the Sacramento Kings. They had the hype and the roster to make it to the summer league championship match but fell to Dallas yesterday to be officially eliminated.
De’Aaron Fox, Frank Mason, and Malachi Richardson have all had injury problems while Buddy Hield, Skal Labissiere, and Georgios Papagiannis all were inconsistent. Harry Giles was not available to play because the Kings wanted to take extra precaution with his knee problems and that was a smart move. So Kings fans, who does that leave us?
You got it, Justin Jackson!
The 15th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, Justin Jackson, has been lighting it up. He’s played in all of the summer league games so far where he has averaged 14.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game. Most recently against Dallas, Jackson went off for 25 points where he showed what he can do.
When I watched North Carolina play last year, Jackson was easy to notice. He’s a great spot up shooter and is not afraid to pull the trigger when it comes to shooting three-pointers. His release is very quick and smooth which makes it tough for defenders to contest. Another key aspect to his shooting is his arm length. His long arms make it even tougher than it already is for opposing defenders to stop him.
His long arms come into play with his floaters as well. I, along with others, have found Jackson’s floaters to be very impressive. He finds the right angles and uses those long arms to smoothly float the ball to the rim (regardless if he makes it or not, his floater is nice).
His body frame allows him to become a solid defender as well and another reason as to why he can be a solid player in his situation.
Next: Sacramento Kings projected 2017-2018 depth chart
Final Thoughts
The Kings have Justin Jackson, Vince Carter, and Bogdan Bogdanovic at small forward, although Bogdanovic can also play as a shooting guard. Playing time should be plentiful for Jackson as he has a great situation to further his development. He will have competition for playing time while also having Vince Carter as a mentor.