THE BOX OUT PICK AND POPS 1. Lost in this week's hype over Kings vs. Mavs and Shaq vs. Yao has been Kenyon Martin vs. Keith Van Horn in Philly tonight, which leads us to this question: Can you get a flagrant foul during pre-tipoff handshakes? 2. Proof that Jerry Stackhouse means more to the Wizards than a certain bald-headed legend: Tuesday's ugly loss to a decimated, Vince-less Raptors club that dressed just eight players, including three straight out of the NBDL. How embarrassing. QUOTE OF THE DAY “We play real defense, we play tough defense.” —Chris Webber on the difference between Sacramento's man-to-man preference and Dallas' zone tendency on defense. NUMBER OF THE DAY 115 Mavericks assistant coach Del Harris' count of the combined dunks or layups yielded by Dallas in last season's five-game, West semifinal loss to Sacramento. TRASH TALK You had your say. So here are the best comments: Thank you for putting an article on Jimmy Jackson. I have followed his career since his days at Ohio State. ... A nice player and a nice guy, glad to see him with the Kings. He deserves to play for a winner. Byron Jackson, Chicago, Ill. The Mavs are by far the best team in the NBA. Anyone who thinks differently is a moron. Look at their depth, their record and their Big Three!!! Matt Garver, Plano, Texas The Mavericks are the Kings two years ago. A lot of flash and scoring, no D nor knowhow to win. Their fans are in for a big disappointment come playoff time. Billy Mutch, Oakland, Calif. For all you Mavs fans out there, just remember this one (the 123-94 trouncing of the so-called best team in the league) when the playoffs come around. The Kings are and will always be a better team than Dallas. And that's just the way it is. Deal with it, D-Town! Michael Ostrich, Sacramento, Calif. I enjoyed watching the Kings beat up on the allas Mavericks ... I didn't see any D either. Dusty Hoekstra, Ripon, Calif. Well, don't look now, but the Lakers are one of the hottest teams in the league. Looks like Sacramento and Dallas can begin to start having nightmares of seeing Shaq and Kobe in a first-round clash. Ghaith Bruin, Los Angeles, Calif. The Kings are for real. They have been very aggressive and are closing games flawlessly. Even though they do not have the best record in the league, Sac has that killer instinct of a champion. It's their time to shine. Ronald Richards, New Orleans, La.

The question was asked in jest, but Jim Jackson allowed himself to let out a laugh in the all-business, no-nonsense atmosphere of the Sacramento Kings' locker room.

The question: How many other teams do you think could use a Jim Jackson right now?

The answer: All 28. Well, maybe not the Dallas Mavericks, the only other depth-wealthy, minutes-challenged club in the West who face the Kings tonight at Arco Arena (ESPN, 9 p.m. ET).

It's not like Jackson would take their calls anyway. He spent the first month of the season at home checking his caller ID, after deciding to pass on training camp invites and wait until he heard an offer that he really liked. His patience paid off when a certain title contender in Sacramento sought a healthy body at shooting guard.

"I passed on a couple of other teams, but this one fell into my lap," Jackson recalled. "I had to take advantage of it."

The Lakers wished Santa Claus had left a Jim Jackson under their tree, too. Sacramento made its first statement of the season on Christmas night by bouncing back to hang a 105-99 defeat on the world champs, as Jackson keyed the Kings' comeback by helping harrass Kobe Bryant into 7-for-24 shooting.

"You really can't say enough about the job he's done," said Doug Christie, the Kings' usual defensive stopper in the backcourt.

"I knew my purpose when I signed on," said Jackson, who came aboard Dec. 1 to replace the then-injured Hedo Turkoglu. "It was to make the team and make an impact."

But let's not forget Jackson's roots. He can still fill it up when allowed to do so, as evidenced by a 23-point outburst in a 104-80 rout at San Antonio just a week after joining the Kings. It is his defensive prowess, though, that has convinced coach Rick Adelman to give Turkoglu's minutes to the 32-year-old Jackson in the already crowded Sacramento rotation.

"Jimmy has really been a plus," Adelman said. "It's one of those deals where we lose four guys to injuries and two of them are Peja and Hedo, and we had to pick Jimmy up just to give us eight (players). He came in and played well.

"The difference with him is that he knows how to play. He's been in this league 10 years. He has talent. He doesn't go out (and do) what he can't do. He's been good defensively, and he does all the little things for us. It just gives us more depth in adding him, that I can go to him."

The only other time Jackson didn't average 30-plus minutes a night was in 1998-99 when he was with Portland. A 16-point-a-game career scorer, Jackson never thought averaging a mere 8.0 points and 4.6 rebounds in just 20.8 minutes could be so rewarding.

Those lost years from 1996 to 1999 when he got bounced around five teams (Dallas, New Jersey, Golden State, Philadelphia and Portland, for you trivia buffs) - and his falling off the radar the past three seasons in Atlanta, Cleveland and Miami - all seem so long ago.

"I've been looking for this for a long time, to be in a situation like this," said Jackson, now with his ninth team in 11 NBA seasons. "To be on a team like this with great teammates and a great coaching staff is like a blessing."

What's that old saying about patience being a virtue? Count Jim Jackson as a believer.

"It's not like I didn't have any (offers), but I wanted to wait and pick the right one," Jackson said. "It was important for me to put myself in the position of ultimately winning the championship."

Joe Lago, the NBA editor for ESPN.com, writes the Morning Shootaround every Wednesday and Friday.