Stephen Jackson Has Other Pressing Commitments

Quick, when is crime good for the NBA? That would be when court appearances force a player to travel on game day. Remember, there were a couple times when Kobe stood before the judge, arrived just in time for tip-off, and then dominated more than usual. Charges or no charges, that's some impressive basketball heroism.

So far, this has been a dream postseason for Stephen Jackson. Once the NBA's poster child for bad behavior, he's now the second-best player on the league's hottest team. And while he'd been reduced to a punchline, you now hear very few people trying to clown him. Instead, Jackson's become a media darling and, more importantly, been so necessary to the Warriors' run.

Given all of this, it'll be interesting to see what happens if S-Jax can't delay his trial any further. From the San Francisco Chronicle:

If Jackson's court date is not pushed back, it appears several things would have to happen for him to avoid missing any games. At the least, Jackson would have to leave immediately after Wednesday's game in Utah and hope his trial wraps in one day -- and a ruling is reached in his favor.

Needless to say, if Jackson misses a game, he'll get called a knucklehead all over again. But if he can beat the case and then show up to save the day on the court--well, he might just make the world forget all about one Kobe Bean Bryant.