Do you realize what the hype would be like if Richard Jefferson were five years younger, if the 25 points a game with a bald head and a few dunks thrown in had come when he was 22? Yep, he'd be on the list of Next Jordans.</p> You know, just like his teammate Vince Carter used to be. Or Grant Hill, way back when, before his wheels broke down. The hype machine loves youth, feeds on potential, always casts projections that are impossible to reach. Jefferson is 27 now, so the leap between potential and reality isn't as large. How about this, then: At this level, he'll turn this season into what will be the first of multiple All-Star appearances.</p> For a while last season, Jefferson was looking more like the next Hill, when ankle problems limited him to 15 games and his scoring dipped to 16.3 points per game, the lowest since his second season. He took cortisone shots. He experimented with different treatments, tried different exercises. Finally, he had ankle surgery.</p> </p> <div class="sp-inlinePhoto" style="padding-right: 15px; padding-left: 15px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-top: 0px"> <div class="photoEnlarge">[+] Enlarge</div> <div style="clear: both"></div> <div style="width: 200px"> <p class="photoCredit">Noah Graham/NBAE/Getty Images</p> <p class="photoDesc">Jefferson's been showing he's got some "Airness" in his game.</p> </div> </div> </p> "I pretty much spent the entire season last season -- not depressed, but just upset that I couldn't do it," Jefferson said. "You know how it is: 'What have you done for me lately?' Now, all of a sudden, they're talking about, 'This person is better than you, that person is better than you. You're not stepping up.' People start to question your effort."</p> Folks might have been skeptical about Jefferson's gimpy ankles, but by now we should know not to doubt a prideful athlete who's coming back from a wounded ego.</p> "I think a lot of people forgot how good he was, just because he wasn't playing," Nets coach Lawrence Frank said.</p> Now they're seeing Jefferson better than ever. He's more of a scoring threat than ever, with 25.2 points per game. Sure, he got some extra touches when Carter missed five games with an injury, but even when Carter played 40 minutes and took 23 shots against Memphis Tuesday night, Jefferson still got his: 27 points on 10-for-21 shooting.</p> The main thing has been his consistency. He always seemed too talented not to be this good on a regular basis. He has only had two games with less than 21 points his season.</p> "I'm just enjoying this," Jefferson said. "Last year, I was hurt all year long. To start off this season, I was just happy to be out there."</p> He's the only player among the league's top 10 scorers whose average has improved by almost nine points over last season. It's a jump worth noting -- even if it doesn't evoke comparisons to the Jumpman logo.</p>
hahahaha WOW</p> so I thought Sean : Amare comparisons were out of this world, but now Jefferson is being compared to those who would be considered the next Jordan, and he's apparently going to be a perennial all-star?</p>
