Thunder News: Reggie Jackson Being Frozen Out?
The latest Thunder news has grumblings about a selfish Reggie Jackson being frozen out
The last thing any NBA player wants to be labeled as is “selfish,” but that’s where Oklahoma City Thunder guard Reggie Jackson is right now. NBA teams are like families and when a family is going through a tough time, those signs of wear are going to show. Losing Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook to injury has caused the Thunder family to start turning on each other.
The Thunder are last in the Northwest Division at 1-4 and it doesn’t look like there’s any help on the horizon. Jackson, the 6-foot-3 guard out of Pordenone, Italy, has taken it upon himself to provide offense for a team that badly needs it. The problem is, he’s taking ill-advised shots, he’s playing out of control and he’s hurting the team — and the team has noticed.
Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman had some choice words for Jackson:
"“He played selfishly at times in his season debut at Brooklyn on Monday, putting on a one-man show and what seemed to be a dribbling exhibition designed to search for his own shot… Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins grew frustrated with Jackson by the third quarter. Both big men began freezing out their point guard, refusing to pass him the ball to lead the break following defensive rebounds. After the game, Thunder coach Scott Brooks even publicly criticized Jackson for not moving the ball.”"
Being frozen out isn’t something that we’ve seen much of in this era of basketball. If the Thunder weren’t so remarkably short due to injury, I would have expected coach Scott Brooks to sit both Perkins and Ibaka for their actions. It’s just getting uglier in OKC right now.
Jackson hasn’t exactly endeared himself to teammates or fans in the time he’s been in Oklahoma City (at least early this season). He’s shooting just 35.3 percent from the field and although he’s averaging 9.5 assists in his two games, he’s also at 5.5 turnovers and 5.0 fouls per game. The Thunder don’t have better options right now, which is why they don’t have much recourse.
It’s not like Jackson is helping himself, either. This is what he had to say about his game and the current state of the team:
"“(I’m) just trying to play my role while I’m here…I don’t play for the fans so I’m not worried. As long as my teammates know that my heart’s in the right spot, that I’m trying to do everything I can to go out there and compete and help my teammates and that we’re all trying to rally and get a win, that’s all I care about.”"
If I’m a part of the Thunder organization, I view that as yet another bad shot taken (pun intended). Talking as if he’s on his way out isn’t the way to conduct yourself and it doesn’t scream “professional” to me. Maybe he’ll get what he wants — but who on earth wants to get away from Durant and Westbrook?