Early Look At Memphis Grizzlies’ Young Star Jaren Jackson Jr

Jaren Jackson Jr has had his ups and downs so far this season. Despite his struggles, it looks like the Memphis Grizzlies might have themselves a future star.

Jaren Jackson Jr has struggled to stay on the floor at times and has had some inconsistency shooting the ball from deep. Despite those problems, he is still making a big impact and he put it all on display in the win over the Denver Nuggets Wednesday night.

Jackson is a guy who has shown in such a short amount of time that he’s the real deal. He has a lot to work on but the skill he has for someone of his age is crazy.

He came off the bench to start the season but was moved into the starting lineup because of the injury to JaMychal Green. At first, he didn’t seem to be a great fit offensively around Marc Gasol but that is clearly not the case anymore.

He can score in a variety of ways as well as making a big impact on the defensive end. His performance against Denver showed everyone what he is capable of.

Foul Prone

This is something he’ll continue to work on but he clearly has struggled to stay out of foul trouble. In almost every game this season he has picked up a couple quick fouls which have kept him from making an impact.

His 3.9 fouls per game are the third highest mark in the league but would technically qualify as second. Kris Dunn fouled out in his only game he played in.

Patrick Beverly has averaged 4.2 fouls per game in the nine games he has played in. That just shows how much he needs to work on staying out of foul trouble.

His aggressive play on both ends is part of what makes him so special though. That’s just who he is. Nobody wants him to not play as hard but he just needs to be smarter about how he defends at times.

The way he defended against Denver was fantastic. He did a really good job guarding their bigs and he held Paul Millsap to just two points.

He had some highlight blocks in that game but when he was defending in the post he defended with his arms straight up which helped him stay out of foul trouble.

It’s not a coincidence that his best game came because he was able to stay on the floor. He got into a really good rhythm and was a huge part of getting Memphis a big home victory.

Attacking The Basket

The biggest surprise of Jackson’s game is how good he is at driving to the basket. Opposing bigs have really struggled to guard him when he is attacking the basket.

He takes such long strides he is at the rim so quickly it’s hard for a slower defender to stop. And if they do cut that off he is able to stop, turn, and hit the post hook over the top of the defender.

He makes it look so easy too. Everyone was excited when he came to Memphis but he has exceeded all expectations thus far.

He has struggled in a lot of ways but he has been huge for the Grizzlies offense. Against the Nuggets he showed off his ability to finish above the rim as well.

He caught some lobs as well as finishing some putback dunks. That 10-0 run he sparked to end the half was huge and it’s very possible they lose that game if it weren’t for that.

It’s clear he still has a long ways to go to become a star but the pieces are there. If Jackson can continue to grow as an all-around post scorer. He’s gonna be special

Three-Point Shooting

His three-point shot has struggled to start the season but there’s no reason to worry. Many young bigs struggle to adjust to the three-point line.

It is clear he still has confidence in himself to knock down the shot so that’s the biggest thing for him. As long as he still believes in his ability to shoot the ball they will eventually start to fall.

The Grizzlies offense has struggled some this season because they don’t have guys who are aggressive and trust themselves to hit tough shots.

Jackson has been the guy who will force some shots which is usually an issue but sometimes you just need a guy who will try to make a play for his team.

He is shooting just 20.8% from deep but he did make two of five against Denver. If he can build off that and continue to knock down open threes he will be extremely tough to defend.

Looking Ahead

Jaren Jackson Jr. can continue to build off of his strong performances as he looks to make an impact on a more consistent basis.

The biggest weakness for him now is his inability to stay out of foul trouble. He has struggled to hit shots from deep but the impact he makes when he’s on the floor greatly outweighs that.

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Memphis got a big win at home against Denver after losing back-to-back games during their recent road trip.

They have a couple of tough teams coming on their schedule with good bigs that they’ll need him to play well in. The Philadelphia 76ers with Joel Embiid and Dario Saric and then the Utah Jazz with Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert.

Both of these games are at home so you would like to win them both if possible. Jackson made some highlight plays that really got the crowd going and he’ll look to do the same these next two home games.

He’s off to a great start to his rookie season. The Grizzlies will continue to rely on him on both ends of the floor.

If he continues to put up big numbers he is going to have a great season. His role likely isn’t large enough for him to have a chance at winning the Rookie Of The Year Award. That doesn’t matter too much though, he is going to do whatever it takes to help this team win.