Because he is only 6 feet tall, Jameer Nelson continues to be underrated by NBA fans. People have a hard time believing that a small PG without exceptional athletic ability can succeed in the NBA, but Nelson makes it work game in and game out. After helping the Orlando Magic get back into the NBA playoffs, people are starting to notice his skills.

Part of the reason why Nelson is underrated is because people tend to think of him more from his college days, where he was a legitimate star at St. Joseph's under Phil Martelli. As a senior, he helped lead St. Joe's to an undefeated regular season and a deep trip in the NCAA Tournament. In his final season, he averaged over 20 PPG to go along with 5.3 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 3.0 steals. He finished 2nd in the nation in steals as a senior.

He was picked in the first round by the Denver Nuggets, but was traded to Orlando and has played with them for his whole career. It hasn't always been a smooth ride for Nelson. He has struggled at a time to lead a team in the offense, posting mediocre assist to turnover ratios for his career (until this season). He has also had some struggles in his career in finishing at the hoop against bigger defenders, and with defending bigger guards. For the most part he has been able to overcome his size limitations to be a solid NBA point guard, but there are ways where it hinders his game.

However, he has always been an excellent shooter. He shot a very respectable 41.6% from downtown in 2007-08, making him a threat from anywhere on the court. This makes him especially deadly when matched with other offensive threats such as Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis, and Hedo Turkoglu.

Nelson was able to show glimpses of being an even bigger contributor in the NBA Playoffs, when he upped most of his numbers considerably. As compared to the regular season, he scored 5 more points per game in the playoffs, and shot an excellent 49% from downtown. The Magic have to be excited about his future after a stellar playoff campaign.

Jameer Nelson has overcome his size limitation to become a very effective starting PG in the NBA, helping the Orlando Magic procure their first playoff series victory in years. With a young roster and continued improvement from Nelson and the rest of the young Magic, they should continue to be contenders in the Eastern Conference. It will be interesting to see if Jameer Nelson can take a strong playoff performance and use it for momentum heading into the 2008 season.

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