Reggie Jackson admits, grudgingly, the past 12 days have been a whirlwind, getting traded from the only NBA home he's known to a franchise thirsting for its first playoff berth in five years and turning the team over to him as its point guard.
"A lot goes into it," he shrugged. "A lot of overthinking. But I've got to just tell myself, it's basketball. I've been playing my whole life."
He poured so much emotion into his Pistons debut, he hyperventilated. After a rocky start, he played a brilliant second half as the Pistons beat Washington and came an eyelash away from a triple-double two days later against Cleveland. But it wasn't a good weekend for him, shooting 5 of 24 against New York and stepping aside during Spencer Dinwiddie's star turn the next night in a rematch at Washington.
An off day Sunday followed by two practice days and maybe, perhaps, Jackson is catching his breath.
"He had a really good practice today, best one he's had since he's been here," Stan Van Gundy said Tuesday before the Pistons boarded Roundball One for Wednesday's game at New Orleans. "He wasn't forcing the issue nearly as much. He was just making plays and that's what he's got to do."
Van Gundy read an article given him by scout Adam Glessner on Monday that talked about "late-developing point guards" and focused on Mike Conley, Kyle Lowry and Jeff Teague. Jackson's numbers over his first three-plus seasons are eerily similar, Van Gundy said, especially to Lowry's, who has developed into an All-Star with Toronto, his third NBA stop, in his ninth season.
"Kyle Lowry is almost an exact match for where he was," Van Gundy said. "And Kyle Lowry spent the early part of his career coming off the bench. You can see the shooting improve in those guys, you could see their numbers improve, their percentages go up. It was good for me, perspective wise, because I'm a guy who wants it all right now and I want you to play like an eight-year veteran right now."
A major reason Oklahoma City parted with Jackson is his impending restricted free agency, where he'll hope to command a contract that starts at eight figures a season. Van Gundy talked to Jackson about the pressure of playing for his first major NBA payday, too.
"There's a lot of things always weighing on your mind as a professional athlete," Van Gundy said. "These guys have to learn to deal with them and overcome that and he just needs to relax and play his game and then all of that will take care of itself. He's in a contract year and I think it's not so much even the money with him. This is a guy that's been wanting to prove to people that he's a starting point guard in this league and he's got his opportunity and he wants to prove it" – and here Van Gundy clenched both first and screwed up his face, emphasizing the intensity Jackson has brought to the challenge of proving himself not just an NBA starter but a budding star – "and it's not that easy. It's not that easy an adjustment, so he's just got to hang in there and play his game."
Jackson steered questions about the pressure of his situation around to team goals and the need to play stingy defense. His teammates have noticed and appreciated that Jackson has gone out of his way to show he wants most to fit in and be one of the guys. While he sat as the Washington game hung in the balance, nobody was a more enthusiastic cheerleader than Jackson while Dinwiddie led the charge. And when Andre Drummond hung his head in disappointment for allowing a key Washington offensive rebound late, Jackson was in his ear with words of solace.
"We're just here to help each other," Jackson said. "I didn't want (Drummond) to feel like he let us down, like he was the reason we didn't win. He was a big part of the reason that we came back. He played extremely hard. I didn't want him to get down on himself, just continue to think about the next play, move on and help the team find a way to get a win."
The New Orleans game marks the beginning of a seven-game grind over 11 days – six games on the road – that could well decide whether a realistic run at the playoffs is in the cards for the Pistons. Getting away for that long with his new teammates might take a little pressure off of Jackson and accelerate the bonding process.
"It would have been good to start out on the road (after being acquired by the Pistons), to be honest," Van Gundy said. "Just have the team and just play and not deal even with what Tayshaun (Prince) had to deal with. Reggie needs to know that we're with him for the long term. He's not a rental that we're relying on to get us in the playoffs right now. We all want to make it, but it was done with a larger picture in mind."