Happy Birthday Jax!!!

[King Taharqa]

Another great in depth article by you guessed it, Mike Cranston. Its amazing how this guy outdoes our local "writers" everytime!

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP)—Stephen Jackson was flat on his stomach on a mat near the practice court as the Bobcats finished Monday’s workout without him.

Charlotte’s leading scorer had just received treatment for his sore left hamstring. His right elbow was throbbing, his left hand was still sore and he had some ankle pain, too.

Not the ideal way to spend your 32nd birthday.

“I feel like I’m older than that,” Jackson said.

Jackson started laughing, but his multiple injuries are creating concerns as the Bobcats (40-36) still have work to do to clinch the franchise’s first playoff berth.

“Hopefully, we get that luxury to get in and I’ll be able to rest a game or two,” Jackson said. “But right now we’ve got to try to continue win and win out.”

Charlotte would be in much better playoff shape if it had held on to a six-point, fourth-quarter lead Saturday in Chicago. But with Jackson unable to play in the final period, the Bobcats struggled down the stretch in a loss that left them three games up on the ninth-place Bulls with six to play. The top eight teams in the Eastern Conference make the playoffs.

“I couldn’t even break a sweat because I was in so much pain,” Jackson said of Saturday’s game, in which he was held to eight points on 3 of 12 shooting. “I took some Advil, nothing worked. I was just hurting out there. I was trying to fight through it, but I just couldn’t get through it.”

A night earlier, Jackson scored 32 points, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with less than a minute to go in overtime in a win over Milwaukee. While the other injuries are painful, it was the hamstring that flared up Saturday.

“The Milwaukee game just took so much out of me,” Jackson said. “I was fighting so much to play through those injuries that I didn’t have any gas in Chicago.”

The Bobcats need their shooting guard at full strength, as his November acquisition from Golden State has keyed their turnaround from a 3-9 start. Jackson has played in all 76 possible games with the Warriors and Bobcats and is averaging 21.3 points with Charlotte.

But Jackson ranks sixth in the league with 39.2 minutes played per game— more than LeBron James and Kobe Bryant—and it’s starting to show.

“He cares a lot. He wants to be out there playing,” Bobcats coach Larry Brown said. “He knows that is, in his mind, our best chance to win.”

Brown on Monday expressed remorse for playing Jackson at all on Saturday, saying he would have held him out if he knew the extent of the hamstring problem.

“He couldn’t run, defend, it was tough,” Brown said. “If he’s not healthy and he’s going to keep aggravating it, we’ve got to use better judgment.”

Trouble is, the Bobcats play four games in five nights starting Tuesday at home against Atlanta. Charlotte could finish anywhere from fifth place to out of the playoffs, so Jackson vows to keep playing through the pain.

“I’ve dealt with injuries a lot, but not at this magnitude at this part of the season,” Jackson said. “I’ve got to be mentally tough, but I’ll get through it.”

Jackson isn’t the only one hurting. Forward Gerald Wallace, who leads the NBA at 41.6 minutes a game, is banged up, too. He’s also four years younger than Jackson.

“It’s April, everybody in the league is hurting right now,” Wallace said. “You want to be sore right now and still playing for something. I think he’s a competitive player and he understands that.”

Added Jackson: “When your body’s not acting right, you’ve got to try to use your mind and outthink guys. Hopefully, I can do a good job at it.”

NOTES: C Theo Ratliff missed practice and traveled to Atlanta after the death of his grandmother. Brown wasn’t sure if he’d return for Tuesday’s game. … C Nazr Mohammed (back) participated in a full-court scrimmage. “He told me he’s ready to play,” Brown said. “So we’ve got to figure out how to use him.” … Brown, a North Carolina product, allowed G Gerald Henderson(notes), a Duke guy, to skip practice and go to Indianapolis to watch the Blue Devils face Butler in the national championship game. “I’m thrilled he’s there, to be honest,” Brown said. “Those are all his friends.” … Owner Michael Jordan watched practice.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ap-bobcats-hurtingjack

[theyhateme45]

I read something similar about his birthday and his injuries on the Observer...

Just saying...

[Liminy]

Happy B-Day Capt. Jax!!

[SOJA]

damn dude has got some insane long arms

[bLACKpANTHER]

Stephen Graham & Larry Hughes please report the Principal's office....

i hope Nazr is "really" ready to go and not just "alright" -

we will need some more scoring with Jax down and he was one of our best scores down low..

[Porn Shop Clerk]

Stephen Graham & Larry Hughes please report the Principal's office....

i hope Nazr is "really" ready to go and not just "alright" -

we will need some more scoring with Jax down and he was one of our best scores down low..

If Chandler would start going for the easy score and stop trying to dunk everything that hit his hands, he could fill that spot.