Pacers Report Cards: Grading every Pacers player's second-round performance
By Mueez Azfar
Isaiah Jackson
Stats: 7 Games, 12.6 MPG, 5.7 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 1 APG, 0.3 SPG, 1.3 BPG, 0.4 TOV, 2.1 FPG 65.4/0/54.5 Splits on 64.9% TS
I have to admit when I'm wrong, Isaiah Jackson surprised me. Initially, I, along with plenty other Pacers fans thought that Jackson could not be a consistent playoff rotation piece due to his penchant for fouls and physical play, but that was more or less a non-factor in the Knicks series.
The reality was, Isaiah Jackson gave the Pacers exactly what they needed as a physical backup center who can bang down low with the best of them and make life hard for matchups such as Precious Achiuwa and Isaiah Hartenstein.
This showed throughout the series, as during the games where Myles Turner was shying away from contact, Jackson was right there to pick up some slack and bail him out. In the final two games, when Turner started embracing contact and tiring out the Knicks players, Jackson picked up right where he left off and gave them even more trouble down low.
Isaiah Jackson did what he does best in the series against New York. He banged down low, got physical with everyone he encountered, and got some tough buckets using his strength and athleticism. Additionally, Jackson's 1.3 blocks ranked second on the team, and his defense led Indiana's second unit and made sure they did not collapse down the stretch.
With this performance, it is pretty safe to say that Isaiah Jackson has secured himself a spot on the Pacers for the future. Initially, it was between him or Jalen Smith for the backup big man spot, but at this point, it is Jackson's spot to lose and Smith most likely will not get it back anytime soon. Isaiah Jackson was fantastic in this series.