Stephen Jackson, Savior?

Oakland's collective mind has apparently been blown by the organism that is Stephen Jackson. Don Nelson has repeatedly raved about dude since the January swap meet with Indiana. The media has fallen in love with him. And fans are loving the guy.

Of course, Stephen isn't all rose hips and bergamot. He's sort-of a loose cannon, as you might have heard.

The Warriors, rather mild-mannered in total, haven't properly adjusted to Jackson's occasional madness, according to longtime Jackson teammate Al Harrington.

"He's a grown man. We're not baby sitters. Nobody has to go and hold his hand and bring him to the bench, none of that."

Jackson fouled out against Portland 10 days ago, and he did what you'd expect Stephen Jackson to do: He glared at the officials and took his damn time to get off the court. The Warriors bench unanimously huddled around Jackson, as if to stop him from punching someone. Harrington thinks that was unnecessary.

There's certainly a learning curve when a human torch is added to a quiet bunch, just like Sacramento 2006. In that scenario, Ron Artest jumped into the driver's seat. In this case, the Warriors are elevating their emotion to ease the transition. And by looking at the standings, it's working: The Bay Area is talking playoffs in March.