To get a taste of what Jarrett Jack could bring to the Raptors I spoke with Tom Lewis, the main blogger over at Indy Cornrows. He saw Jarrett Jack play all 82 games for the Pacers last year and we talk about his character, his defensive make-up, what he brings offensively and what Raptors fans should expect from the man Colangelo has spent the prized MLE on. He also tells us how much Jack is valued by the Pacers and their chances to match the contract, he also sheds some light on how he might help rookie DeMar DeRozan out. We also talk about ex-Raptors Roy Hibbert (technically speaking) and Rasho Nesterovic who he loves but doesn’t figure to be in the Pacers long-term plans. If you want to preview what Jack will bring, this is a must-listen podcast.
You can listen to the podcast by clicking on the play button below or directly in iTunes. If you’re on a mobile device you may download the file (8.8MB).
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Thanks again to Tom for dropping some knowledge. There’s a bullet-point summary of the podcast after the jump:
- The Pacers would like to match the deal and if they hadn’t signed Dahntay Jones, they would’ve. If the offersheet was around 3.8M the Pacers would match but 5M is too rich for them.
- Jack can hold his own against SG’s by using his strength. to keep them out of the paint. He has had trouble with players shooting over him but at least he keeps them out of their comfort range. Overall, he’s a great team-defender.
- Jack came off the bench last year in Indiana but when T.J Ford got injured he solidified his role as the starting PG and when Ford returned, Jack retained his starting job.
- He’s a streak shooter who surprised many with his outside shooting (35% 3FG and 45% FG). He doesn’t settle for the jumper but is confident when given the space.
- He’s a great character guy and he gives Jack the majority of the credit in setting the T.J Ford dispute right.
- He helped out rookie Brandon Rush a lot with his struggles and could also mentor DeMar DeRozan.
- Jack hasn’t shown a real post-up game in Indiana but that could be because of Indiana’s style of play, not his inability to do so.
- He can become turnover prone when asked to create on his own consistently but overall he’s a solid floor-general that can run a team’s offense.
- He played 33+ minutes in Indiana which is one of the reasons he averaged 3.3 turnovers. He’s ideally a 22-25 minute guy and if he’s restricted to that he will do well.
- Jack likes to throw his 197 lbs around and shooting guards feel him when they’re defended by him. Although lacking the size at 6′ 3″, he doesn’t give up anything easy.
- He prefers to drive than shoot and has a bullish way of getting into the paint when he needs to.
- He has some quickness issues and is susceptible to be taken advantage of by quicker guards as he himself doesn’t have the lateral quickness to consistently defend smaller, quicker point guards.
- The Pacers love Rasho Nesterovic but can’t afford to re-sign him and prefer giving time to Roy Hibbert who figures more prominently in their future plans.
- Danny Granger’s knee injury is not serious and not looked at as a cause for concern by the Pacers.
- They still love the Jermaine O’Neal deal.
20 Raps
I might be wrong ( please clearify) but I thought the guy said that Jack DOES settle for the jumper !!! I hope I heard it wrong and you are correct.
The question was misunderstood. What Lewis said was that he’d take what the defense gave him, and his shot is good.
Thanks for clearification
Here’s a play-by-play for all you sleeping cats:
first of all….. Jarrett Jack is a funny, FUNNY dude. holy shit.
second of all….. He’s basically convinced he’s in Toronto already so the Pacers probably already told dude that they’re not matching.
Bosh told Jack to get a “line up” (aka HAIR) cause it’s cold in Toronto, Jack said he’ll be alright, he’s just gonna get a jacket.
Jack asked Bosh about his record deal in Canada that he keeps hearing about, Bosh said, “yeah you gonna drop a record?”
Jack says “Man I know you’re not singing or rapping so what the hell you doing with a record company??”
Bosh asked him if he’s gonna jump on a track (he’s obviously JOKING) and Jack said that he’s be the guy that finishes his sentence at the end…. the exclamation point. He even gave an example that Bosh would be rapping “driving down the track” and Jarrett would be like “TRACK” at the end, LOL.
Then he straight CLOWNED Bosh about his dreads. HAHAHA.
Jarrett is like, “Man, I don’t know what you’re doing with these dreads anyway? How come you’re the only one whose had dreads for like 5 years and it stays the same length the whole time, we debated this too a bunch of us…. we were like, why does everyone elses hair grow but Chris’ just stays the same length. You need to cut that shit” HAHAHA
Then Chris asked Jarrett if he’s going to Caribana in Toronto?
Jarrett said that he will definitely be there and added, “Gotta come up there and find a place of residence anyway…. unless your bunk bed is gonna work out still (they were roomates at Georgia Tech).
Chris said no, he doesn’t have a bunk bed and Jack said he’ll have to find a place of residence and he can’t wait to “see what ya’ll got going out there in T.O.”
There you have it….. Jarrett Jack = Funny. Let’s hope he also = good on the court.
Where are you getting this from???
Sorry, that question was directed at “anon” on the interaction between Bosh and Jack.
BTW- the above conversation took place late last night when Bosh did a “live-twitter-stream” from his house in Dallas. Dwight Howard called in a talked for a minute, then Bosh called Jarrett Jack and put him on speaker phone for everyone to hear.
anyone got a link to this audio?
Hi Arse thanks for a great interview.
Lets work on the intro/closing beats. May I suggest a little 93 til infinity beats by pharcyde or maybe some Method man.
Larry Don’t match I like this kid a lot…………..
GO RAPS
I’ve played every single type of music in those podcasts. It was time for a cultural shift. We’ll return to Tribe Called Quest in the next one.
I’m all for changing shit up…good to expose people to new music.
Of course, I listened to it at 2:30am on headphones and nearly crapped myself, but it saved me from eating bran today, so thanks.
Excellent piece. Thank you for doing this. (and like the music intro).
Small correction, he has 2.2 turnovers per game (opposed to 3.3 as quoted). Still not great at all, but 2:1 assts/turnover not horrible either for a guy that slashes that much.
Like the comment “He’s a great character guy …”
The Raptor team that won the Atlantic Division had great team guys , such as Rasho , Garbo , younger AP and MoPete. We were known for great passing and being selfless. Giving up a good shot for a great shot. The teams from the pasted 2 seasons seemed to had some chemistry issues for whatever reasons. You didn’t see the extra pass anymore and with a team that lacked dribble pentration , the movement in our offense went stagnent at times. Hopefully with good character guys like Jack , better talent level overall and good chemistry next season , we can over achieve.
Great interview. I think this is the best Raptors Republic podcast so far.
I’m excited about the Jarrett Jack era. Kind of miffed I missed the live stream yesterday.
We should be getting plenty of Bosh/Jack sightings around town this season (Chris is single now, right?). Chris has a youtube co-star now. I can’t wait for this shit.
buddy stop cutting off the man you’re interviewing. calm down, and pronunciate your words. listen to how collected someone like bob mccown is, he often pauses and takes his time.
Riiiight, compare me to Bob McCown, somebody who’s been doing this for 40 years. Rather high standards you’re holding this operation to, eh?
it’s not that hard to make a conscious effort to relax when you’re talking. even tom sounded more composed than you did. whatever…my opinion is probably worth nothing to you anyway. i’m just giving you my thoughts. and really i would take any sort of critism if i was an aspiring journalist.
I hear ya man, thanks for the input.
solid interview agreed, you’ve had a bunch on here, great! but mr. arsenalist, a kind suggestion: try to ask your subjects ONE question at a time. this is one of the early pitfalls of many interviewers, talking too much. sometimes you ask a terrific question, and then proceed to sort of answer it yourself, and then talk about some other related questions, and then finish with another question (i.e. the TJ Ford/JJ controversy rings out). as you continue to grow as an interviewer, focus on putting the spotlight all on the subject… ask your smart, brief questions, and you will be able to follow up with more questions later if needed. bravo for the effort and work on this site, please take this as constructive feedback from someone in the interviewing business, not as a shout down of your work.