Reggie Jackson: Is he "clutch" or does he save his job at the end of games?

[313 Professor]

I don't see how this is even a question. Yes, he makes lots of bad decisions through the course of a game, but they guy is clutch. Some switch goes on in his head and he just lights it up.

If want to ask "can the pistons be contenders if their 2 best players are inconsistent", that is really a separate question.

If Reggie Jackson is 2 for 15 from the field, and the game is tied 96-96, and he hits a 3 at the buzzer for a game winner.... is that clutch? What about those 13 possessions he bricked away, potentially the turnovers, and the possessions where he stalled the offense and we got a bad shot? Is all just forgotten? Lol

The "switch" might be "Man I've sucked! I gotta do something.... my job is on the line! SVG might bench me!"

Clutch is the ability to hit the shot when the game is on the line. The game wasn't on the line while RJ was 2-13 and the game wound up being tied at 96; since the game was tied you can't say that RJ's 2-13 lost the game as the game isn't lost yet. Clutch is about performance at a particular point in the game, not performance during the whole game.

By definition sure, but the word "clutch" has a VERY positive connotation. In that example by definition yes he hit a clutch shot, but if he does this 4 games in a row (which to a lesser extreme is what Reggie has done) he doesn't deserve all the perks that come with being considered a clutch player. He's truly making up for his bad performances with good endings.... a.k.a. saving his job in quite a few games. I might log them when I have time.

Calling a player clutch is one of the biggest compliments in sports.

[DarkSyde]

I think the point is everyone is going to have a bad game here or there. It's all about match ups. Fortunately for us, Morris and Harris have been solid every game. Baynes with his hustle plays. Blake, although slow, is very smart. KCP with with crazy stamina from hell. He needs to pass whatever he is sippin to RJ. RJ at times looks like he is going to die out there.

[313 Professor]

I think the point is everyone is going to have a bad game here or there. It's all about match ups. Fortunately for us, Morris and Harris have been solid every game. Baynes with his hustle plays. Blake, although slow, is very smart. KCP with with crazy stamina from hell. He needs to pass whatever he is sippin to RJ. RJ at times looks like he is going to die out there.

I swear. He'll be so sluggish out there I'll think he's injured

[fpower]

I swear. He'll be so sluggish out there I'll think he's injured

I think part of Reggie's problem is that nothing is easy for him. The only thing that really comes naturally to him, and that he's very good at, is driving the ball to the basket. To do that, he often has to dribble around for 20 seconds and make multiple moves before he gets a shot. Playing like that on offense is probably the most exhausting way to play basketball.

Look at KCP. He typically makes one quick move. If he isn't able to create an advantage, he immediately passes. On the other hand, Reggie takes forever to decide what move to make. And if it doesn't work he then dribbles around some more, and starts the whole process over again. It's exhausting to watch, let alone play that way.

It makes sense that Reggie is good at the end of the game, because getting to the hoop is the most reliable way to get points if you have that ability. But playing that way all game long...no wonder he always looks like he's dying out there.

[TurboTitan]

Done it too much and too consistently for it to be just luck, He's the real deal

[Manocad]

If Reggie Jackson is 2 for 15 from the field, and the game is tied 96-96, and he hits a 3 at the buzzer for a game winner.... is that clutch? What about those 13 possessions he bricked away, potentially the turnovers, and the possessions where he stalled the offense and we got a bad shot? Is all just forgotten? Lol

The "switch" might be "Man I've sucked! I gotta do something.... my job is on the line! SVG might bench me!"

Clutch is the ability to hit the shot when the game is on the line. The game wasn't on the line while RJ was 2-13 and the game wound up being tied at 96; since the game was tied you can't say that RJ's 2-13 lost the game as the game isn't lost yet. Clutch is about performance at a particular point in the game, not performance during the whole game.

By definition sure, but the word "clutch" has a VERY positive connotation. In that example by definition yes he hit a clutch shot, but if he does this 4 games in a row (which to a lesser extreme is what Reggie has done) he doesn't deserve all the perks that come with being considered a clutch player. He's truly making up for his bad performances with good endings.... a.k.a. saving his job in quite a few games. I might log them when I have time.

Calling a player clutch is one of the biggest compliments in sports.

I completely agree that being called clutch in sports is a very high compliment; I never argued that it wasn't. I was simply defining the term. A guy who scores 20 PPG on 50% shooting but misses every potential game tying/winning shot is obviously a solid, dependable player. However you would not describe him as clutch. Conversely, a guy who rides the bench because he scores 7 PPG on 40% shooting but can somehow always make the big shot WOULD be called clutch.

[Spider156]

Done it too much and too consistently for it to be just luck, He's the real deal

Real deal yes. He's talented. I've seen him defend really well sometimes too but that's really sporadic. Thing with him is he's really good at setting up his own offense but bad at setting up others. That really needs to be addressed unless we're going for a team ball movement type of game. I love that he's the best in the game in the last 2 mins and driving to the lane. I think SVG gives him 1-2 more years and if he doesn't gel his assists out of chemistry then that's a problem. Have you seen Teague run the offense? That guy is a legit starting PG. Jackson can be and IS one. He's won so many games for us. But there's still potential in him if he starts making the right decisions. He needs to improve with that mindset. Maybe it'll come with experience and chemistry which I'm sure is the case. I'm just tired of seeing him forcing shots when it's not there. Get the rest of the players in the game and move the ball. With 7 seconds left, it's all yours to create a play. I think he'll get better at it. It's the primary reason why the PG game is so hard specially when the league is filled with guard talent. I do believe every player on the roster has weaknesses but I also believe they cover each other's weaknesses. Drummond's got the rebounds but not the FTs. Harris doesn't have to rebound the ball that much. Morris has got the shot but not the drive, that's Harris. Jackson can't defend and play offense at the same time so you plug in KCP. The only player that can do it all is Stanley Johnson which is why his development is the most important out of all players. He's going to get better in every aspect of the game next season. He really is the only player that can do it all on our team. If he learns out to create a jumpshot for himself, he'll be our best player. But that's probably after next season.

[313 Professor]

I think a legitimate argument could be made that Reggie has blown all 3 playoff games... in the "clutch" smh