LA Clippers: Reggie Jackson will be an x-factor if playoffs happen

The LA Clippers are expected to go far in the playoffs. Reggie Jackson is an X-factor for this team, and he could be the player that gets them over the hump.

The LA Clippers have to be happy about the fact that the NBA season may happen after all. This team had a major shot to win the NBA championship and they want to win as many as possible. This would be a major missed opportunity if the season was canceled.

The Clippers made moves to improve their depth beyond what they already had. They added a complement to Kawhi Leonard and Paul George in Marcus Morris Sr. to the starting lineup.

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To improve the bench they added Reggie Jackson to the second unit. The Clippers already had the best bench in the league with the contributions of Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell but Jackson adds another dynamic scoring and playmaking element among the reserves.

Jackson will be the X-factor to this team if the playoffs do happen. While teams don’t go deep into their bench during the playoffs, the more players that you have that can contribute the better.

The Clippers have three reliable scorers on their bench which is more than a lot of teams can say. Williams averages 18.7 points and 5.7 assists per game. Harrell averages 18.6 points and 7.1 rebounds per game.

Jackson adds an average of 12.8 points and 4.4 assists per game. He shoots 39.8 percent from behind the 3-point line. In a playoff series having an experienced back up point guard like Jackson will come in handy.

Jackson has a solid field goal percentage of 51.1 percent on jump shots this season and only 44.6 percent of those shots are assisted.

When talented shot creators in George and Leonard go out then the Clippers will have the shot-creating of Jackson and Williams to spell them.

In the playoffs, maximizing possessions mean a lot. They will need players that can create half-court offense because those easy transition looks will be harder to come by. The LA Clippers have the ability to put two shot creators on the court at all times.

The combination of George and Leonard in the starting lineup and Jackson and Williams off the bench will help this team be the best half-court team in the playoffs.

The Miami Heat teams of LeBron James were great but if you could get them in half-court most of the game then they couldn’t impose their will on you as effectively via transition offense.

This Clippers team will not have that problem. Jackson’s ability to shoot the three efficiently will be valuable to this team also. The league today requires you to have 3-point shooters and getting that ability out of a shot creator is a big-time benefit.

Jackson’s playoff experience is another reason why he will be an X-factor. If you can recall he was the sixth man for those Kevin Durant-led Oklahoma City Thunder teams in the past.

In 2012-13 he only averaged 5.3 points per game in 70 games during the season. In the playoffs though, he played in 11 games and averaged 13.9 points per game.

The next year he averaged 13.1 points per game in a bench role and in the playoffs he averaged 11.1 points per game.

When he is asked to be a complementary player in the playoffs he knows how to put points up. He already has big game playoffs experience that will be precious to this team during what is expected to be a long playoff run.

The Clippers have to be one of the main teams that can’t wait to get the show on the road. With the possible lineups that they can produce a Finals or at least a Western Conference Finals appearance should be in their future.