Damian Lillard vs. Reggie Jackson
For most teams, losing your All-Star starting point guard would be an NBA death sentence. Not so for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Despite playing without Russell Westbrook, who remains sidelined after undergoing yet another knee surgery at the end of December, the Thunder have managed to stay near the top of the Western Conference standings thanks in part to the play of reserved-turn-starter Reggie Jackson.
Though Jackson's performance has hardly been a surprise. In his third season out of Boston College, Jackson is actually only playing six more minutes a game as a starter than he did off the bench, as he played frequently alongside Westbrook in Oklahoma City's "small ball" lineup.
He's be matched up tonight against Damian Lillard, who has started and played in every possible game throughout the course of his NBA career. And while Jackson has done an admirable job filling in for Westbrook, he wasn't able to stop Lillard from putting up a 21-point, 11-assist, six-rebound performance in Portland's come-from-behind victory a few weeks ago in OKC on New Year's Eve.
Damian Lillard
• Is second in the league in three-pointers made (131), third in three-pointers attempted (300) and seventh in three-point percentage (44 percent)
• Is 12th in the league in total minutes at 1,478 after leading the NBA in minutes played his rookie season
• Has covered 103.9 miles on the court this season at an average speed of 4.2 miles
Reggie Jackson
• Is averaging 13.8 points, 4.6 assists and 3.7 rebounds in 30.1 minutes per game as a starter this season
• Averaging 4.2 assists while turning the ball over 3.4 times per game in the month of January
• Shooting nine of 24 from the field and averaging 12.0 points in two games against the Trail Blazers this season