Kendall Marshall Out For Season Open, Who Starts?

Jul 11, 2015; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard

(55) congratulates teammates after a time out is called during an NBA Summer League game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Thomas & Mack Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

Pierre Jackson

Pierre seems to worry some people, including myself. Thinking of him going in as a starter this year was a tough idea to grasp, since he has never played a single NBA game before. He’s had a bit of experience overseas, and lots of success in the D-League.

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His D-League numbers are fantastic. In his one year playing there, he put up over 29 points per game, 6.2 assists, and 3.6 rebounds. He shot at 44.9 percent from the field, and had a free throw shot of 73.7 percent.

He did so well because he’s an average NBA talent playing in the D-League. Just because these numbers are high doesn’t automatically qualify him to start in the NBA, and I think it would be very naive to believe that Jackson is going to replicate these numbers in the NBA.

Even in the D-League, there was some trouble with these numbers. To achieve these stats, he had to play just under 42 minutes per game, ranking in at first in minutes played in the D-Legaue that year. Despite playing the most minutes, he didn’t place in first in any one statistic (although he was the runner up for points scored).

You could make the case and say Jackson was more well-rounded than most, and didn’t excel in one category. Instead, the argument would be that he was good in all categories, but not great in just one, hence why he did not come in first for any stat.

Still, I find it troubling that he played that much and still only came in as a runner up in scoring (although nearly 30 points per game is nothing to diminish).

Overall, I think Pappy Jack will be a decent player, I’m just not sure he’s ready for a starting role, not having played one NBA game. Don’t get me wrong, his skill set is plentiful, but being a starter and a team leader takes more than that, and I would like to see some samples of him playing in the NBA before he is awarded a starting spot.

Next: Isaiah Canaan