New Orleans Pelicans: 3 players who need to step up after All-Star Break

Frank Jackson

Not a key member of the team’s future or present, for the time being, second-year guard Frank Jackson could solidify his standing with his current team and the NBA with a boost in his play from now until the end of the regular season.

Playing a lot of minutes as the team’s backup point guard to Lonzo Ball this season, Jackson has had a lot of the same ups and downs as in his first season with the New Orleans Pelicans.

Seemingly the eighth or ninth option off of the bench for the Pelicans, Jackson has been a fine back up, but he’s not someone to be trusted in a last seven minutes of a close game.

Jackson has to prove he’s a little more sturdy under pressure than we’ve seen up to this point in the season. He was in the lineup when the second unit nearly let the Chicago Bulls erase a 25-point-plus deficit in the final six minutes of what looked to be an easy New Orleans victory.

Averaging 5.9 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 0.8 assists with a 48% effective field goal rate while playing 13.2 minutes per game in 44 appearances, it’s been a down season from his rookie year in terms of production for Jackson.

Even more discouraging has been his 99 offensive rating next to his 116 defensive rating; this isn’t a news flash, but a -17 net rating is pretty horrendous. It doesn’t help his case that the New Orleans Pelicans have been -5.2 with Jackson on the floor.

While the offense is the key job for any point guard to initiate, perhaps the best route forward for Jackson is to get a lot better on the defensive end. He’s clearly got a lot of power and strength, it’s really just a matter of focusing that physicality into his defensive pursuits.

Still just 21-years-old and playing with a lot of energy in limited opportunities, there’s still plenty of room for the sophomore guard to clean up his game. However, on such an affordable deal in such a replaceable role, it would benefit Jackson to step up his game before the end of the year.