Reggie Jackson Primed for Bounce-Back Game 2 Against Jazz
By Peter Dewey
Reggie Jackson has been the Los Angeles Clippers best point guard in the playoffs, but he wasn’t nearly as aggressive in Game 1 against the Utah Jazz.
The Clippers only lost 112-109 despite horrible shooting nights from Paul George and Marcus Morris, but Jackson only taking six shots was a head scratcher.
Tonight, WynnBET has Jackson’s player prop projection for points set at just 12.5, with the over (-112) being a slight favorite to the under (-108). The over is extremely enticing given Jackson’s play this postseason, especially now that he’s playing 28.4 minutes per game in the playoffs.
Since being inserted into the starting lineup in Game 3 against the Dallas Mavericks, Jackson has averaged 16.7 points per game on 11.8 field goal attempts. He’s shot 46.5% from the field and 44.0 percent from 3-point range over that span, and the Clippers have gone 4-2 in those six contests.
The one concern may come from the fact that Jackson played a playoff-low 17:01 against the Jazz in Game 1, but it was mainly due to foul trouble. Jackson actually ended up fouling out of the game, and I’d expect him to play much closer to 30 minutes (he’s surpassed 30 minutes in four of the Clippers eight playoffs games) in Game 2.
Jackson has scored 15 or more points in six of the Clippers’ eight playoff games, with his only two performances below 15 points coming in Game 1 of each series.
There’s no question that Jackson helped sway the series against Dallas, and I’d expect him to have a similar impact against the Jazz. If Mike Conley is unable to go again in Game 2, look for Jackson to easily hit the over on his modest point projection.