"Larry Brown said post-game that he didn't know previous to this trade how wide Stephen Jackson's skill set is. I've had the same reaction: We all knew Jackson was a scorer and a marvelous athlete. What's harder to detect, until you see him night-after-night, is what a strong defender and playmaker Jackson is. Brown said he has to start devising ways to better exploit Jackson's passing and decision-making with the ball in his hands.

Don't misconstrue this: Jackson isn't a great player (and that's no knock). But he's a very good player, night in/night out. He has no obvious holes in his game. I don't know whether he'll be worth $28 million over the next three seasons, but I do know he's a fix for what most afflicted the Bobcats early.

-- While we're on the subject of Jackson's impact, I'm not sure how this will affect Boris Diaw. He was all but non-existent Wednesday (five points, two rebounds and one assist in 20 minutes). Brown mentioned that Diaw has nagging injuries; I hope that's it. But I wonder if Jackson is negating some of Diaw's playmaking impact, and if he'll have a hard time finding other ways to contribute.

Diaw reminds me a little of another power forward, Anthony Mason -- different personality but similar skill set. Mason didn't care how many points he scored, but he cared intensely about how often he touched the ball. That's because he trusted his decision-making above others' -- he wanted to be the hub of the wheel."