The Oklahoma City Thunder have seen more injuries than a "South Park" dance-off this year. On top of that, there is apparently a bit of tension growing in the locker room between Reggie Jackson and some of his teammates.
Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman surmised the rising tensions.
"He [Jackson] played selfishly at times in his season debut at Brooklyn on Monday, putting on a one-man show and what seemed to be a dribbling exhibition designed to search for his own shot," Mayberry wrote. "He finished with a game-high 23 points but took 20 shots. ... Jackson had five assists but committed five fouls and seven turnovers. Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins grew frustrated with Jackson by the third quarter. Both big men began freezing out their point guard, refusing to pass him the ball to lead the break following defensive rebounds. After the game, Thunder coach Scott Brooks even publicly criticized Jackson for not moving the ball."
Perkins admitted to his actions after the game, and said that he and Ibaka were wrong to keep the ball from Jackson.
However, Jackson could be using his increased role for his own personal gain, as opposed to team success. The third-year guard has made it known on several occasions that he wants to be a starter and be paid as such. That is unlikely to happen in OKC with a healthy Russell Westbrook set to return sometime in December. Jackson may view this time as an opportunity to show teams he is capable of being a quality starter.
"(I'm) just trying to play my role while I'm here," Jackson said. "I don't play for the fans so I'm not worried. As long as my teammates know that my heart's in the right spot, that I'm trying to do everything I can to go out there and compete and help my teammates and that we're all trying to rally and get a win, that's all I care about."
Jackson is coming off of a stellar season in which he was one of the finalists for the Sixth-Man of the Year award. He averaged 13.1 points, 4.1 assists and 3.9 rebounds in 28.5 minutes per game last year.
Jackson is set to become a restricted free agent this summer.
