Reggie Jackson Has Emerged as a Third Star in Clippers Playoff Run

The Los Angeles Clippers have, at times, looked like they were in trouble this postseason. In the first round of the playoffs, the NBA odds were not on their side as they fell behind the Dallas Mavericks 2-0 before rallying to win four of the next five games and advance to the second round.

There, they met No. 1-seed Utah, a team that promptly repeated what Dallas did in round one and put the Clippers in a 2-0 hole. Los Angeles has once again rallied, tying the series 2-2 after a second-straight blowout win in game four.

The two biggest reasons for the Clippers’ success are obvious ones. Kawhi Leonard is still one of the five best players in the league, and Paul George is an All-Star who seems to have solved the woes he experienced in last year’s disappointing playoff performance. But beyond those two players, the Clippers were a far less complete team than they were a season ago.

Their two best bench scorers from a season ago, Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell, are no longer on the team. Rotation guards Patrick Beverley and Rajon Rondo and forward Nicolas Batum are defensive specialists but mostly non-threats offensively. Serge Ibaka was signed to be a floor-spacer on offense, but he’s now out for the rest of the playoffs after having back surgery. Luke Kennard, acquired in the offseason to provide scoring and shooting off the bench, has not worked out as planned and has barely been in the rotation in the playoffs. Overall, this version of the Clippers is far more one-dimensional offensively than they were a season ago.

That is, until Reggie Jackson was inserted into the starting lineup in round one in place of Beverley. Jackson had a quiet game four against Utah, but he is averaging 15 points per game in the Jazz series and is making more than 60 percent of his three-pointers. That includes a 29-point performance in game two.

After scoring just two points in game one against Dallas, he moved into the starting lineup and saw his role increase. He averaged nearly 18 per game the rest of the series and had 25 points in a key win over the Mavs in game six.

Jackson has elevated his game nicely in the postseason after averaging just 11 points per game in the regular season. His playoff performance has had fans and media excited, and is even more improbable considering where Jackson’s career was at when last season began. 

Jackson was a member of the Detroit Pistons, dealing with a series of major injuries, and not a factor in the rebuilding Pistons’ plans. Jackson had been so depressed as a result of his injuries, that he had once considered retiring late in his Pistons career.

Instead, eventually joined the Clippers after being bought out by Detroit and made some nice contributions down the stretch last season. Jackson re-signed a modest one-year deal with the Clippers in the offseason and figured to contribute again. His offense has become vital in the playoffs, though.

Marcus Morris is typically the team’s third scorer, but his offense also hasn’t been reliable in the playoffs. Without Jackson, the Clippers would likely be facing a second straight disappointing playoff exit. His performance should not exactly be shocking, though. In Detroit, in the rare instances that Jackson wasn’t dealing with serious back problems, he had become a fringe All-Star. 

In 2015-16, Jackson helped lead the Pistons to a playoff appearance in part because he was one of the best fourth quarter scorers in the league that season. He had a series of impressive clutch plays that season that were a critical factor in Detroit’s modest success.

Jackson isn’t perfect – his defense leaves a lot to be desired, which is why he lost minutes to Beverly in game four of the series. The Jazz are also likely to make adjustments, and a big one will be if they get point guard Mike Conley Jr back in game five. Conley is an efficient scorer and a great defender, so he’s likely to make things much tougher on Jackson if he plays.

But Jackson has undoubtedly solidified himself as a critical piece for the Clippers if they’re going to live up to their championship aspirations this season.