Jim Jackson On Keith Jones Being Named Flyers President

For 17 years, Jim Jackson and Keith Jones have been the TV Voice of the Flyers. Well now Keith Jones is moving up to a new role. It was recently announced that alongside Danny Briere being officially named the Flyers GM, that Keith Jones would step into the role of President of Hockey Operations. The two will work together, alongside head coach John Tortorella, to rebuild the Flyers into hopefully being a competitive team again.

To get some insight into what Keith Jones will be like in his new role, The Best Show Ever talked to the guy who has worked with him more than anyone over the last decade. Jim Jackson. Jim Jackson joined the show and weighed in on some of concerns people seem to have, and why he thinks his longtime partner will do well in this new role.

Here is what Jim Jackson had to say about Keith Jones:

“He has so many contacts. We can walk into a building, and the General manager comes to him to talk. So he is as tied in as any Vice President. So I think he is very qualified that way… He’s unbelievably perceptive… We can be sitting there watching a morning skate. He will pick something up I didn’t even see… I will say yea right Jonesy. Sure enough that night something comes up in the game where that comes to pass. He definitely has some old school in him. Not huge into analytics,. But Danny Briere is, so there is some balance there. 

He can watch a player an not only judge what he can do well, but also how he will fit into the team. All of that will really help him as an advisor to Briere  on the player side.”

You can listen to the full conversation with Jim Jackson below:

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6 Numbers That Should Make You Confident Sixers Win Game 6

• 6

  The truth is, the Sixers have been outplaying the Celtics for a couple of games now. They outscored them in 3 of the 4 quarters in game 5. The one the Celtics won was the 4th quarter. And in that, the Celtics had their deep bench in, so it doesn’t really count. In Game 4, again it was just the 4th quarter that they lost. That one does count, cause the Sixers looked awful letting the Celtics get back into it. But they settled down enough to force OT and then won OT. The two teams tied at 33 points a piece in the 3rd quarter. So that is 6 of the last 9 quarters. including Overtime, that the Sixers have won.

  They are playing better than the Celtics right now. It has shown on the court, and it has shown in them winning the last two games.

• 1.15

  In game 5, the Sixers ran 53 picks and rolls between Embiid and either Maxey or Harden. You may have noticed those plays worked really well. So well the Sixers averaged 1.15 points per play. Joel Embiid got open shots around the Free Throw line 7 times off those picks and hit 4 of them. Both Maxey and Harden got open 3s off them, and both shot very well from deep. Even more lead to fouls and free throws.

  It is lethal and nearly unstoppable. Which is nothing new. They were doing it all season. But it was the first time this series we saw it work that well. Embiid getting the knee brace off may have helped with that, allowing him to move better. But as long as the Sixers have that going, it is incredibly hard to stop them. Either Embiid is getting an open shot, you are giving Harden space to drive, or giving Harden/ Maxey space to shoot.

• 30.8%

  Embiid being healthier, and back in the paint on defense, is making a huge difference. We saw how vulnerable the Sixers paint was without him. It was like an open invitation into the paint for the Celtics. And while him returning helped, his mobility was limited the first few games because of that brace. But in the last game, Embiid was back in full, with no brace. And you could see his impact on Defense. The Celtics shot just 8 of 26 when he was the primary defender. 30.6% from the field. 4 of the misses came on Embiid blocks.

  That isn’t even counting all the times the Celtics drove into the paint but then had to pick up their dribble and pass out because Embiid stepped into the path. He may have been left off the All-NBA Defensive teams, but Embiid can be one of the best defensive players in the league when he wants to be.

• +21

  In that same vein, just in general, the Sixers pummelled the Celtics in game 4 when Embiid was on the floor. +21 in his minutes. They just have no answer to him on either end. Al Horford is too old and slow to keep up with him. And everyone else is too small. He had 33 points in Game 5. And you should not be surprised if he goes off for even more tonight.

• 8

  It has been a thing that James Harden struggles on one day of rest. And tonight is just one day of rest. But the good news is James Harden did not really have to exert himself too much in game 5. He took just 8 shots. Being able to take it easy in game 5, may help him keep his legs in game 6. It is also now two straight games where he looked good despite playing one day of rest. He went off for 42 points in game 4. And then while he scored just 17 points in 5, he looked good while doing so.

  Hopefully, that all means that the Harden from games 2 from 3 won’t show his face again, and at the very least we get the efficient game 5 Harden.

• 84.1%

  The team that wins game 5 after the series was tied, goes on to win the series 84.1% of the time. Obviously, that is what the Sixers did. One caveat is that the Celtics became one of those 15.9% last year vs the Bucks. Can they beat the odds twice though? The Sixers are in the driver’s seat. They are playing better basketball right now. The odds they pull this off, are really good. Not a lock of course. But there is good reason to be confident.