Every day we are going to look at an individual performance and examine just what happened.  Was it just a spectacular performance?  Was it poor defense?  Was it brilliant playcalling?  Find out here.

Against the Rockets, Stephen Jackson really went to work.  He scored 43 points on only 22 shots.  The key to Jackson’s efficiency last night (and for most of the year – as a matter of fact) is cutting down the three point attempts while attacking the lane.

Smart Three Point Shots

Jackson was 3-5 from three.  He was so good from deep because he was taking smart shots.  Shots that he got when he was open:

After bringing the ball up, Jackson swings it to the Bobcats big man to get the offense started.  After the post, Jackson does a nice job of floating to the open area.

As the play gets swung around to D.J. Augustine, there is a backscreen set in the lane by two Bobcats.

The backscreen action draws Jackson’s defender, Trevor Ariza, into the middle of the lane.  Stephen Jackson spots up and D.J. Augustine makes the pass.

Jackson makes the catch and steps into a wide open three pointer.  Trevor Ariza doesn’t even get his hands up here, and Jackson knocks it down.

Getting In The Lane

Jackson also did a fantastic job scoring in the paint.  Jackson was 9-12 inside of 10 feet, most of it was his willingness to attack the basket, but some of it was great play design by the Bobcats’ coaching staff.

The Bobcats run a stack play off of an inbounds here.  The play is designed to be a quick-hitter, getting the ball to Stephen Jackson in the paint for an easy bucket.  He starts at the back of the stack formation and swings around the front, uses the stack of guys as a screen.

As Jackson swings around, you can see Luis Scola trying to help.  His ability to help is limited because his man, Boris Diaw, is poping out.  Scola needs to go out on Diaw because he has proven to be a capable shooter.

As Scola steps up, the lane is now clear for a lob pass to be thrown.

Jackson makes the catch, throws a pump-fake, and then finishes the lay-up.

Getting To The Line

The third and final part to Stephen Jackson’s efficient night was the fact that he got to the foul line.  Jackson got to the line 11 times, hitting on 10 of them.  The reason he got to the line so many times was that he showed a willingness to attack the basket.

Here, the Bobcats starts the possession by getting the ball to Stephen Jackson on the wing.  He has a very good defender in Shane Battier covering him.

So the Bobcats run a screen for him on the wing.  Scola comes out to hedge, but he comes out too soft (because he wants to keep Jackson from going baseline), giving a big lane for Jackson to get through in the middle.

Jackson splits the trap, and he could have settled for a jumper right here.  He doesn’t though.

He takes another dribble and goes in for a lay-up even though Chuck Hayes is there defending.  Jackson gives up the body, draws the contact, and gets himself to the foul line.