Makes Love to Pressure

The wins just keep piling up for the Golden State Warriors with Stephen Jackson in the game, now at an astonishing 33-15 this season.

Jackson played in his 2nd game back from the injured ankle and put up an efficient night while playing lockdown defense on Andre Iguodala. Jackson forced Igoudala into one of his worst games of the season. With Jackson on the floor hounding him, Igoudala scored only 10 points on 3 for 13 shooting. When Jackson sat down, Igoudala exploded for a dunk and a 3pt shot in 30 seconds of play. When Nellie reinserted Jackson into the game, Igoudala disappeared, giving a strong case for Stephen Jackson to be on the all-defensive team of the year.

On the offensive side of the ball, Stephen Jackson played within himself. He limited the amount of crazy out-of-control drives into the lane and settled for open shots. The rest of his points came on post-ups against smaller defenders where his size and length allowed him to get easy shots over them. Jackson also had a nice inbounds play where he threw an alley-oop to Monta Ellis. Him and Barnes are the best at the inbounds alley-oop plays.

Taken by Ben Margot for AP Photo

Jackson wasn’t alone in this win though. Brandan Wright started his second straight game and provided the energy and defense which the Warriors sorely needed. He had a great first quarter, scoring 11 points, pulling 4 boards and blocking 2 shots. Chris Webber had his best game to-date with 8 points, 7 boards and 3 assists. His passing skills have not diminished with age.

But the man of the hour was Jackson’s injury replacement, Mickael Pietrus. Pietrus scored 23 points in 21 minutes and played decent defense on the opponents’ guards. Some of the shots Pietrus took were Davis-like–a step back three, a drive for a finger roll and the fadeaway jumpers.

This win was a much needed win since the Houston Rockets won their 14th straight tonight and the Los Angeles Clippers collapsed in the last minute of their game to give the Denver Nuggets the victory.

Stephen Jackson’s Line:

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Stephen Jackson’s first game back from the ankle injury resulted in a Warriors win. The season record now stands at 2-7 without Jackson and 32-15 with him.

Earlier in the day, Jackson was on the tarmac instructing a jetliner to land. The plane carried the winners of the Stephen Jackson Essay Contest sponsored by the Golden State Warriors and Southwest Airlines. The contest was held in Jackson’s hometown, Port Arthur, Texas. Ten third-grade students won the contest including Jackson’s niece. His mom came along as a chaperone.

Right off the bat, Jackson seemed to force things a bit. He may have tried too hard to impress the kids or Coach Nellie just gave him the green light to get back into his groove. He missed a couple threes and lost the ball a few times dribbling into traffic.

However, Jackson contributed in other facets of the game. He ended up second in the game with seven rebounds to Barnes eight. Jackson also played decent defense and slipped in the veteran move of pulling the chair on Jeff Green when he tried to be too aggressive down in the post. His shot started to fall later in the game and he was rewarded for his aggressive drives into the paint.

Taken by Rocky Widner via Getty Images

The player of game award went to Stephen Jackson’s teammate from his Indiana Pacers’ days, Austin Croshere. Croshere provided the energy the team needed in the 2nd half, sparking the team to play a more aggressive in-your-face style defense and cleaning up the offensive glass for easy buckets. Croshere’s hustle and the return of the high percentage shooting of Monta Ellis were the reasons the Warriors were able to put away the Sonics late in the game.

Stephen Jackson’s Line:

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Taken by Ben Margot of AP Photo

Stephen Jackson’s expression above sums up the game against the Atlanta Hawks pretty well. He’s probably thinking to himself, “This wouldn’t be happening if you guys just play some defense.”

Sitting out his second game due to the sprained ankle, Jackson was joined on the injury list by the Warriors’ starting center, Andris Biedrins. With Biedrins and Jackson out of the lineup, the Warriors lost their best interior and perimeter defenders.

The Warriors started the game as if the perimeter defenders expected someone to be inside to clean up their mistakes. Davis and Ellis routinely used the matador defense, allowing their man to drive past them with ease. Webber was too slow-footed to cover for them and Harrington did not have the hops to do much but watch the layup drill.

Throw in the inconsistent offensive performances by Harrington, Barnes, and Pietrus, and the recipe for a loss became a sure thing.

The only positive to take away from this game was Brandan Wright’s play. Wright was an integral part of the third quarter’s comeback try. His length and rebounding sparked the Warriors to run roughshod over the Hawks. His most memorable play was a thunderous slam over Josh Smith, the shot-blocking machine of the Hawks.

Stephen Jackson’s Replacement’s (Mickael Pietrus) Line:

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Stephen Jackson had to sit out this night’s game against the Boston Celtics due to the sprained ankle injury he incurred the night before against the Utah Jazz. Without Jackson in the lineup, the Warriors had a 1-6 record this season. With him in the lineup, the Warriors were an amazing 31-15.

Without Jackson’s clutch shooting, defense and distributing skills, the Warriors had to dig deep and rely on their star player, Baron Davis, to play an efficient game. He did just that shooting 50% from the field and making the game-winning shot in the closing seconds. Davis had a variety of help from his teammates.

Taking over as the 2nd go-to guy on the team with Jackson out, Monta Ellis played an admirable game. He racked up 9 assists in the game to match his career-high. He also scored 12 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter to keep the team close. His bullet pass from the 3pt line to Biedrins down the middle of the lane past four Celtic defenders was a thing of beauty, reminiscent of the bullet passes Jackson routinely makes.

Andris Biedrins was a monster on the boards with 13 and clamped down on defense in the middle as well. Biedrins kept Garnett in check for most of the 2nd half, playing him one-on-one and inducing turnovers and harried baskets. He also chipped in 21 points to make up for the loss of scoring with the missing Jackson.

Off the bench, Al Harrington really sparked the team, both offensively and defensively. His accurate shooting and penetration in the 3rd quarter gave Baron Davis enough rest for his late-game dramatics. The most amazing stat on the game sheet for Harrington were the 12 boards he pulled down. Against a frontline of Garnett, Perkins, Powe, and Big Baby Davis, the rebounds were unexpected; but, very much needed.

Stephen Jackson led the team on the bench as much as he could. He was always the first one up to congratulate people during timeouts. There was a shot in the game of him instructing Pietrus on how to defend a play when MP sat down for a breather. He encouraged the fans to cheer louder as the game got tighter. He also helped Nellie out with his coaching duties during the game, making sure the guys on the court were in the correct positions.

Taken by Ben Margo of AP Photo

Stephen Jackson’s Replacement’s (Mickael Pietrus) Line:

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The toe injury from the year before finally caught up to Stephen Jackson. Jackson didn’t play his usual aggressive style in the beginning of the game. He settled for shooting 3s and passing off to teammates.

When he came on for the second half, he was really limping around the court. Jim Barnett commented on the injury a bit into the third quarter, mentioning Jackson’s gimpy walk during the layup drills. Midway through the 3rd quarter, Jackson had to head back into the locker room to get treatment. He did not come back to the court.

Jackson’s dismal night was compounded by drawing Andrei Kirilenko as his defender:

Taken by Melissa Majchrzak of AP Photo

Stephen Jackson’s Line:

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