Stephen Jackson Is Hurting the Warriors and Himself

There's no questioning the heart of Stephen Jackson. If he's healthy enough then he's going to play the game he loves. The problem is that he's got an injured left wrist and his shooting has been unbearable since missing a game because of the injury.

Unlike most of today's athletes, Jackson won't let an injury stop him from playing, which isn't a bad thing, especially if the player is helping the team. Yes, Jackson is definitely showing the young Warriors that if you feel like you can play then you should play.

Now that's definitely a great lesson for the young Warriors ball club. After the Warriors' loss, Jackson blamed the team for being too young.

The problem is that, youth is going to cause problems, but also Jackson is shooting only 37.7 percent from the field and 28.2 percent from beyond the arc. The only shot Jackson seems to be hitting with any kind of consistency is the free throw and he's shooting that at a solid 76.3 percent, which is still six percent lower than it was last year.

As mentioned earlier, the idea that Jackson has not shot well since the Oklahoma City game on Dec. 8 is an understatement. Over that span of time he has shot 10-40. That means he has shot 25 percent in the three games since coming back from his injury.

From beyond the arc, he has shot just 2-13. That's just 15 percent from three. Even his free throw shooting has been affected. In those games he's shot 65 percent.

Warriors fans should definitely feel grateful that Jackson is trying to play through the injury, but right now he is more of a hindrance for the team.

Although the injury hasn't seemed to affect other aspects of his game, like rebounding, he's averaged five over the last three games, as well as six assists and 1.7 steals.

The problem is that since the shots aren't falling for Jackson, he continues to shoot even though his shot has been off since his injury. So, Jackson should either rest the wrist and let it heal or become more of the point guard who doesn't attempt many shots.