Stephen Jesse Jackson laughs last

I have to admit, I really wanted the Warriors to win, and I'm glad they did. Maybe it was pent up frustration from a lack of upsets in the NCAAs, maybe because I always like to see former Celtics do well as coaches.

Before this series, I wasn't sure what I thought about the Warriors. I had seen them play maybe 4 or 5 times during the season, all without Baron Davis, and mostly pre-Stephen Jackson/Al Harrington. But seriously, what a different team they are to watch with these guys here instead of Dunleavy and Troy Murphy. While people can say what they will about his "character", I find Stephen Jackson hard not to like. Although my favorite thing about the the Warriors remains Baron Davis' beard, you have to love Jackson finally in a setting where he can thrive.

For most of his career, Jackson played for top-notch teams with high expectations (Spurs, Pacers). While he was integral to the Spurs championship team he played on, he was often scape-goated for many of the problems the Pacers faced while he was on the team (although the malice at the palace was certainly his own doing, no question). The problem with that PAcers team was that they were playing at their ceiling all season, unlike many other teams in the league. The same thing happened to the Mavericks this year: they had a talented roster who played at its ceiling the entire year, and grew comfortable in its dominance of teams running at 75%. Then the playoffs happened, and they got embarassed.

Now that Jackson is playing for a scrappy yet suddenly fashionable underdog team, he has become one of the MVPs of the young playoffs. When the playoffs started, NBA analysts usually pointed to talented tandoms as the key to winning: Yao and T-Mac, Kidd and Carter, Shaq and Wade, Dirk and Howard, Duncan and Parker, etc. We've heard it all before. But nowhere to be found was any mention of the tandom of Jackson and Davis. Unlike any of the aforementioned tandems, Jackson and Davis are a bit abrasive, were both kicked out of at least one game, and weren't as familiar to audiences due to their absence from TV commercials during the time outs. Its great to see a surprise dynamic duo like these two in Stern's until now "upset-proof" seven game opening series.

With last night's game still up in the air in the 3rd quarter, Jackson put on an absolute virtuosic performance. It is captured on video here:



I don't see how you couldn't like this guy. Or at least why you wouldn't want him on your team (unless you or one of your family members is a stripper). Just look at what he did on his way out of the Mavericks' American Airlines Arena the other night:

DALLAS – They were walking past the windows of the Old No. 7 Club in the corridor between the home and away locker rooms, the three stragglers shuffling past the postgame bar and grill of Dallas Mavericks fans. Long past midnight now, these people started standing and screaming through the glass, barking at Baron Davis and Don Nelson, clutching his Bud Light, and finally the most hated Warrior in the house, Stephen Jackson.

Davis and Nellie smiled and nodded on the way out of Game 5 on Tuesday night, but Jackson is Jackson and this wild series has brought out the best and worst of him. He wore his Yankees cap sideways along with his diamond studded crucifix, and finally he reached into his pocket, pulled out his money clip and waved a big, fat wad of the Golden State Warriors house money at those cursing him.

Cocky, yes, but boy does he back it up. Money!