A day later, Jenkins' breakout game ‘doesn't matter'

Charles Jenkins showed up to Warriors practice on Mondayafter scoring a career-high 27 points the night beforeand he was the same,old Charles Jenkins.Which is about what youd figure.If theres one thing Jenkins has been since Day 1 of trainingcamp, its consistent. The rookie point guard has put in his time, kept hismouth shut, done what the coach has asked, and, finally, on Sunday against theBlazers had a breakout offensive game.In the NBA, you cant get satisfied, said Jenkins, whowent 13-for-22 from the floor and handed out six assists in the 90-87 loss toPortland. One thing I know about the NBA is whatever you did yesterday, itdoesnt matter.It was great, but we still lost. Cant get satisfied withthat. There were things I could have done in the game that could have helped uswin. If we would have won, my mood would be a little better today.REWIND: Warriors spoil career night from Jenkins, fall in Portland
One of the things Jenkins could have done is get theWarriors a better shot on the games final possession. With Portland crowdingthe 3-point line in the games final seconds, Jenkins couldnt make much happenand was forced to take a contested 3-pointer with the game on the line. It waswell short.The good news for Jenkins is hell likely get another chanceTuesday against the Lakers. Nate Robinson, who had been starting at the point,is suffering from a strained right hamstring.That injury helped put Jenkins into the starting lineupagainst Portland and its likely to funnel more minutes Jenkins way againstL.A. When Jenkins has gotten into games in the past, hes mostly tried to playit safe. Hes taken shots when there, but mostly been a facilitator andfacilitator only on offense.Against the Blazers, Jenkinswho is averaging 3.5 pointsper game -- was more aggressive than he had been at any point thisseason.At the beginning of the game, coach told me to have fun andplay basketball, Jenkins said. A lot had to do with that conversation. Aswell as Steph (Curry) telling me Nate is hurt, Im hurtif you make amistake theres a good chance you wont come out of the game.And he didnt, but for eight minutes, and finished with acareer-high 40 minutes.Nobody, of course, is jumping the gun when it comes to howgood Jenkins can be. Hes still a combo guard trying to learn the nuances ofthe point guard position.But if there were concerns before Sunday night that Jenkinscould even play in the league, some of those concerns should be lessened.Jenkins isnt yet ready to challenge Curry for the starting point guard rolenext season. But the question is: Can he be Currys backup?Absolutely, its a realistic goal, Jackson said. Heshould do everything he feels hes got to do to put himself in that position. Its a doable goal. If Im him,Im thinking Ive got to come in bigger, better, stronger, more complete andgive myself a chance to get those minutes that are there no matter who isbattling against me.