Basketball remains a team sport but point guards tend to take the record a little more personally than most.
"The point guard position is measured by wins and losses," Reggie Jackson said after Monday's Pistons practice. "We're 1 and 10 since I've been starting."
And it's wearing on him. You don't need to be inside his head to see the evidence. His teammates surely can see it. So they used some of the three-hour window provided by their return flight from Utah, where their losing streak reached 10 games Saturday night, to tend to his mental bruising.
"They were on me pretty heavy about going out here and not being someone different – just go out and be myself," he said. "I'm in my own head quite a bit. I've definitely been thanking them. We all had a good day of practice. I felt like it was one of my better ones, just going out here and being who I was made to be vs. trying to fit this mold of perfect point guard."
Jackson understood his circumstance in Oklahoma City – playing point guard on a team with one of the front-runners for MVP, Russell Westbrook – blocked his path to a starting role. But that's what he wanted and it ultimately factored into turning down a contract offer from the Thunder, practically forcing the team's hand in trading him.
The Pistons won the bidding at the trade deadline, but things haven't gone off without a hitch. Stan Van Gundy knew the schedule was about to get unforgiving and he understood he risked meddling with a chemistry that took his first three or four months on the job to get right. Throw in Jackson's desire to prove he was worth the investment, his emotional nature and the fact he's playing for a contract and you have a recipe for a player performing as if he's under great duress.
Jackson doesn't deny any of that.
"Just trying to prove, probably trying to fit the mold of what everybody believes a point guard is," he said. "So the team was on me on the last flight home, some of our older guys and those who are familiar with being here, and then coach today, just about going out there and being Reggie Jackson, being myself, letting plays happen."
It hasn't helped Jackson's assimilation that the Pistons need him to be all things right now – mistake-free playmaker, efficient scorer, disruptive defender. The 3-point shooting that was so integral to their 12-3 run after Christmas has regressed badly and sits at 28 percent over the 10-game losing streak. That gives them almost no margin for error. The number of attempts per game also reflects the transition the Pistons are in as they struggle to find an identity. Twice in the 10-game losing streak they've taken more than 30 triples and on three other occasions they've taken less than 15.
"The less than 15, I don't think that's necessarily good for us with those big guys," Van Gundy said. "But I don't want them forcing them up and I don't know that we're getting down in the paint and sucking defenses in enough. And we're not shooting the ball real well, so I think some of the guys are a little slower on the trigger. That's been a concern. Shooting has definitely been a major concern."
The Pistons have to get their 3-point shooting from their two wing positions in the starting lineup, given the staple of Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond as their anchors. While Jackson brings greater size, strength and speed to the position, he doesn't represent the same 3-point threat at point guard that D.J. Augustin did. But the Jackson trade also cost the Pistons their most accurate 3-point shooter, Kyle Singler, something the Pistons haven't been able to replace at small forward, and shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is mired in a deep slump. Over his last nine games, Caldwell-Pope is 6 of 38 from the 3-point line – 2 of 28 if you throw out his 4 of 10 night against the Lakers.
"He's struggling, no question. I don't know, fatigue or what," said Van Gundy, noting Caldwell-Pope has already played more minutes (2,038-1,583) than he did his entire rookie season. "It's a different deal. He's hit that point in the year. That could be part of it. But he's got to get through it to make his next jump. It's 82 games at 30-plus minutes a night and he's got to learn it."
Jackson does his best to push thoughts of his teammates' shooting struggles aside, just as he's trying to remove the clutter from his head over the rest of his challenging circumstances. He's trying to strip the game down to its most essential elements: make plays, find shooters, do what comes instinctively.
"The team has told me, don't necessarily always worry about what I may think how they're feeling," he said. "Don't make tentative mistakes rather than having stretches where I'm very timid and turning the ball over and wondering too much, trying to keep everybody happy. That definitely goes into my job description, but for the most part, everybody's just telling me to be aggressive.
"The staff and the players, especially, have been doing a great job of welcoming me and making me feel like it's an easy transition. They're trying to bring me along and I'm trying to integrate myself and trying to get to know my teammates and be open with them so they can get to know me, as well, and try to build some continuity on the court."
Nobody thought the process would be easy, or happen overnight. Then again, nobody foresaw 10 straight losses. That complicates everything, but it's nothing that can't be solved with a few balls going through the hoop and a few wins accumulating because of it.
"I think I've been overthinking myself at times," Jackson said. "I'll just continue to find my teammates. All great shooters. Just got to move on to the next shot. I don't care if they miss 20 in a row, I'm going to keep coming back to them."