Because in fantasy basketball there’s no time for sentimentality, you should jack Reggie Jackson from your waiver wire while the getting’s good. Though the Thunder are certainly in a dark state after losing Westbrook until after the All-Star break, opportunistic fantasy owners have no time for tears. Though the second-year guard won’t provide the near triple-double numbers Westbrook was this year, his stock just took a quantum leap in light of Wesbrook’s downtime.
Already, Jackson was a quality pick-up in mid-deep to deep leagues, averaging 14.5 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 0.7 steals, 1.2 shots from deep, and savory shooting numbers for a wing player in the month of December. This, in about 25 minutes of playing time. In terms of consistency, he’s not exactly at 100 percent reliability but isn’t a J.R. Smith type either. With Westbrook gone, he’ll be called upon as the Thunder’s primary ballhandler, and his minutes should rise accordingly.
His detractors – if he even has any as he’s a major cog in the Thunder’s convincing standing in the West and is an all-effort kid – could point out his disappointing numbers in the beginning of the season, when he was tasked with a similar role as Westbrook was working to get back on the court. But now the 23-year-old is much more accustomed to the pace of the NBA game which should bolster his solid numbers into another stratosphere.
His per-36 numbers look like so:
18.2 points, 5.0 assists, 5.4 rebounds, 1.3 steals, 0.1 blocks, and 3.0 turnovers on 46.8 shooting from the floor, 32 percent from deep (a big flaw in his game), and 94.4 from the stripe.
It would be a stretch to expect such outcomes from Jackson on a daily basis but as his play against the Knicks, Spurs, Bulls, and Lakers in the past weeks show, it’s within his ability to post such statlines frequently.
What are you waiting for? Find some space for him on your roster.
