The earth was shaking and Zion Williamson was ripping the ball away from the Knicks en route to a highlight-reel dunk, a slam replayed on NBA television shows for months. Away from the spotlight of a July 5 summer league matchup vs. New York, Pelicans guard Frank Jackson was showing off his improved game.
Prior to a West Coast earthquake halting New Orleans-New York with 7:58 remaining in the fourth quarter, Jackson had piled up 30 points on only 17 shots, including 5/9 three-point shooting. Unfortunately for the Duke University product, a quad injury sidelined him for the rest of competition in Las Vegas, but it was enough to provide a glimpse of the strides Jackson made in the offseason.
“It kind of jump-started my summer,” Jackson said of tallying those 30 points in just 24 minutes. “It gave me the confidence I needed to get my work done, work on my body and just grow as a player.”
“We were a little bit disappointed, as I’m sure he was, with that injury in summer league,” Pelicans GM Trajan Langdon said. “He played such a great first game in Vegas and led us to that win, but wasn’t able to continue to show the progression. But we have high expectations for him.”
Entering his third NBA season but only second on the court – he missed all of 2017-18 due to a foot injury – Jackson has the unique perspective of observing an entire NBA season from the sideline, then playing 61 games (16 starts) and 1,169 minutes in ’18-19. He had a few ups and downs along the way, but posted double-digit points in each of his final 10 games played.
“To have a year under your belt is so big,” the 21-year-old said of officially debuting last season. “I had some good moments, and I had some moments where I had to learn. This summer I was able to look back at some of those instances and think, ‘What can I do differently and how can I prepare myself better?’ It feels more comfortable, too. I’m excited for this year to see how it plays out and how I’m going to adjust and make certain changes.”
Near the top of Jackson’s list of objectives is to be more consistent. From three-point range, for example, Jackson experienced some major swings in accuracy, shooting 14 percent (5 of 35) in February, but then 38 percent (24 of 64) in March. For the season, he shot 31 percent from deep.
During this preseason, the 6-foot-3, 205-pounder has excelled, averaging 11.8 points in 18 minutes per game, but perhaps more importantly, bumped his shooting percentages up to 53 percent from the field and 53 percent on three-pointers (8 of 15). He’s firing more confidently from the perimeter, while also using his strength and athleticism on drives to the basket.
“He’s almost like a running back the way he gets into the lane, and guys bounce off him sometimes,” said Langdon, who describes Jackson as a hard worker. “He’s obviously a very explosive player, with his ability to finish in the lane, but also to elevate over people, to get his shot off. We’re looking for big things from Frank.”
“He’s just been solid, really solid,” Pelicans fifth-year head coach Alvin Gentry said after Sunday’s win at San Antonio. “Where he was last year, at the end of the season, then the way he worked in the summer, he’s just really a lot better basketball player. He understands the game more. The game has slowed down for him, because he’s making good decisions, and he’s shot the ball well.”
Ultimately, what Jackson has done statistically this month won’t be overly relevant when the Pelicans open the regular season in Toronto next week, but he’s been productive in every exhibition game, joining Nickeil Alexander-Walker in a late-game backcourt that’s helped secure wins. Jackson is looking forward to trying to carry over his progress into the 82-game schedule.
“I still have a chip on my shoulder,” he said. “I know I’m always going to play hard and give a full effort, but I want to prove to people what I can do, and what I can do consistently. Players who are successful in this league, they are consistent. That’s my ultimate goal.”
