Memphis Grizzlies: Comparing Jaren Jackson Jr. With Other Top Picks
By Chris Kern
Marvin Bagley III
Marvin Bagley III hasn’t started a single game this season. The Kings are playing good basketball so they will keep him in the second unit as long as that’s the case.
Despite not starting he has still had some big moments. His best game so far has been his game against Denver.
He finished that game with 20 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 blocks. He made 9 of 11 shots in that game as well.
Bagley hasn’t shot many threes to start the season but that will change as he gets more confidence. He wants to get his inside game down before focusing on his three-point shot.
He was a solid shooter in college so it’ll just take some time to adjust to the NBA three-point line. Expect that to be a point of emphasis for his offseason training next summer.
The Kings and Grizzlies have already matched up twice this season and we’ve seen both ends of the equation for Bagley.
In the first meeting, he played well while in the second meeting he didn’t have much of an impact at all.
The first matchup was in Sacramento and Bagley finished with 13 points and 6 rebounds which ended up being a Kings win.
In that first game, we saw him and Jackson battle inside on multiple occasions. It made every question whether these two could be some of the next star big men in the NBA.
Then in the second game, he didn’t have much of an impact at all. He had just seven points in that matchup despite playing over 20 minutes.
The Grizzlies were able to pick up the win in that game to get revenge from the previous meeting. Bagley has followed that up with two really good performances so maybe he’s heading in the right direction.
He had his first career double-double in a win over Oklahoma City as he finished with 15 points and 13 rebounds.
Many Grizzlies fans wanted Bagley in Memphis instead of Jackson. It is still early but so far, Memphis has had the better player who fits in the Grizzlies lineup much better than any other rookie would’ve.