Believin' in Stephen

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><span id="iba2_siteCss"><span id="iba2_siteCss"> OAKLAND &mdash; If Monta Ellis is the Warriors' Lamborghini, screeching through defenses at 180 mph, then Stephen Jackson is the team's souped-up'68 Chevrolet Impala, doing a slow roll across the lane.

But as a certain tortoise might point out, speed is not the end-all, be-all, even in the NBA. And where Jackson was often considered an afterthought on the attack with previous stops in San Antonio and Indiana, with the Warriors he is becoming as indispensable at the offensive end as he already is on defense.</p>

So far this season, Jackson has been option No. 1A in the Warriors' attack, ranking alongside Baron Davis as the team's most consistent offensive threat. Although Jackson's average of 21.6 points per game lags slightly behind Davis' 23.1 points, it still would represent a career-best by almost three full points.</p>

After years of making his reputation with his defense and cleaning up whatever scraps there were behind Tim Duncan and Tony Parker in San Antonio or Jermaine O'Neal and Ron Artest in Indiana, Jackson is happy not to have to fight for the right to take a shot or two.</p>

"It feels good to know that when I come down after stopping a guy two or three times, I don't have to worry about getting the ball," Jackson said. "I know they're going to come to me. So I think that it makes it easier for me to let the offense come to me, knowing that coach is going to call plays for me, and I'm one of the guys that he expects to get the offense going."</p>

<span id="iba2_siteCss"> Outside of one season spent with the talent-strapped Atlanta Hawks in 2003-04, this is the first time Jackson has been one of the top scoring options on his team.

"I didn't know Jack had it in him to really be a first or second option because he was never the first or second option with San Antonio (or Indiana)," said Artest, who's now with the Sacramento Kings. "It was me and Jermaine, thenfrom Sports 1</p>

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Steve Jack. Then Jack got a chance to shine, and coach (Don) Nelson saw something in him. I was like, 'Wow, Jack is really that good.' He's proven that he's a really good player."</p>

He's an unusual player, as well. With his combination of 6-foot-8 size and long arms, Jackson is not the prototypical initiator for an NBA offense. When he's dribbling along the perimeter, searching for an opening, the ball is so far away from his body that it seems at times like a turnover is inevitable.</p>

"He's capable of making a play; I wouldn't call him a ball-handler," Nelson said. "He's vulnerable to a steal because he's a little casual sometimes. He keeps the ball out in front of him. Maybe he needs to do that to get to the basket. But he's another guy who can make a pass. I can go through him."</p>

One of Jackson's favorite ways to force open a seam in the defense is by waiting on a defender, then crossing them up on the dribble and using a burst of speed to glide into the lane. Once there, he'll often switch up his direction and tempo before taking his second step; a defender who's too slow to react will still be fighting to get where he initially predicted the move would finish up while Jackson sneaks past them for a short floater or finger roll at the hoop.</p>

"A lot of guys my size can't really stop on a dime that fast, and I'm good at changing speeds, so I've got an advantage on guys there," Jackson said. "I take those European kind of two (steps), those Manu Ginobili two steps in the lane. It's not two quick steps, it's two long steps, to take up a lot of space."</p>

Things are no different at the 3-point line, where Jackson is making 36.0 percent of his shots. It wouldn't be technically correct to liken Jackson's shot to a catapult, ratcheting slowly back behind his head before springing suddenly into action, but it wouldn't be that far off, either.</p>

But Jackson is speedy enough when he needs to be to create some separation, and that's all that matters.</p>

"(Jackson) is maybe not the fastest guy with the ball, or the quickest guy, but he's deceptively quick," said Milwaukee Bucks forward Desmond Mason, who guarded Jackson in the Warriors' win Wednesday. "He takes his time on his moves. He's never in a rush, really. Same thing on his jump shot &mdash; he just stares a guy down and just takes his time and shoots the ball. But if you get up on him, he'll pump fake and go by you."</p>
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Source: Inside the Bay Area</p>
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