Jackson, who’s also carried a niggling groin complaint over the last fortnight, had four of his five assists in the first half but was left hobbling after a fall attempting a lay-up late in the second term.

It was a case of poor timing for the 32-year-old, who’s shown glimpses of top form but has taken flak from fans and commentators over the opening six rounds of the season.

“He had ankle-knee [issues], it was an unbelievably physical game, there’s no doubt about that,” Beveridge said.

“He’s not the only one, there’s lots of people who’ve got the ice out. It’s professional sport and he’ll be fine.

“He’s getting better every game, there’s no doubt. When you have that time away [from the league] it does take time to get back where you were at.

“I think that’s half the thing with Cedric, he’s legitimately been a superstar in the league for a long time and there’s high expectations from everybody, including himself.

“We’re just trying to take those expectations away and make him feel good about himself and not have to be that triple-double machine he has been in the past.”

Jackson is part of a back-court that has struggled for consistency in a 3-6 start to the season, but the three-time championship winner isn’t concerned with the criticism.

“I’m not aware of it, that’s not on me,” Jackson said.

“We take care of everything in-house. Everything else outside of that it doesn’t matter. You can’t control what people say or do, we can control what goes on in-house. 

“That’s the biggest thing because we’re the ones going into battle and having each others’ backs. The guys in-house are the ones who really matter. 

“My focus is just on helping this team get a lot better. I’m just trying to do my part to help the team and do a better job personally to climb up the ladder in the win column.” 

Adelaide’s 25-point win over the Hawks snapped a four-game losing streak and looks ominous for Beveridge given they’ll meet the 36ers twice in their next four games.

“[That performance] was always going to happen sooner or later, they’re too good a team,” Beveridge said.

“You’ve got a great coach there in Joey [Wright] and they were in the grand final [last season].

“They were on a losing streak, they’ve made changes, they’ve brought in [Demitrius] Conger so there was a lot energy out there with the group.

“We know what their game plan is and, if you turn the ball over, they punish you. That’s exactly what happened.

“We turned it over way too much, we didn’t rebound well enough at all, it was really, really bad and that allowed them to run. That’s what they do and we allowed them to play that way.”