Memphis Grizzlies PF Jaren Jackson Jr. will be out longer than expected
The Memphis Grizzlies have been without their star power forward for the entire season so far. After an injury sustained almost 7 months ago, he hasn’t seen the court at all this year.
The team has missed him, but they’ve stayed afloat without their young up-and-comer. That being said, they had been playing under the expectation that he would return to play after the NBA All-Star break. At least that’s the last update we were given.
Thursday, we discovered that it could be longer. Thursday afternoon, Chris Herrington of the Daily Memphian tweeted out some new information about Jaren Jackson Jr., and it was not good.
Per a team source, Jaren Jackson Jr.'s status will be officially updated again "later this month or early next month," suggesting his absence will extend for a few more weeks at minimum. But Jackson is still, per source, "fully expected to play this season."
— Chris Herrington (@ChrisHerrington) March 11, 2021
Herrington states that Jaren Jackson Jr.’s status won’t be updated again until later this month or early next month. This would mean that we’ll be watching a Jackson-less Grizzlies team for at least a few more weeks, possibly even over a month.
This is bad news for a team that is in desperate need of some extra talent to help them make a playoff push. They look like they can hold their own without him, but his absence will catch up to this team eventually.
It was also stated that the team was following a similar protocol as they did with Justise Winslow‘s injury, which seemed to last longer than expected.
As with Justise Winslow, source says team is following "objective markers" along a set rehab process, with focus on Jackson's long-term prognosis.
— Chris Herrington (@ChrisHerrington) March 11, 2021
We may not get Jackson back as soon as we’d like, but rest assured he’ll be fully healthy upon his return. We’re nearing 7 months for an injury with a 3-6 month recovery, so clearly JJJ is taking some extra precautions in his recovery.
Memphis Grizzlies C Jonas Valanciunas has been holding down the paint
Thankfully for Grizzlies fans, Jonas Valanciunas has stepped up in a huge way with Jaren Jackson Jr. out. He started the year a bit slow, but has hit his stride lately with big game after big game. Between him and Ja Morant, this team is still capable of playing with the big guys.
But this can’t last forever. If Jackson isn’t back soon, teams will start to eat the Grizzlies alive when Valanciunas isn’t in the game. This team has a scary lack of size coming off of the bench and you can see it in each game.
This team will not be able to rely on Brandon Clarke, Xavier Tillman, and Gorgui Dieng against teams that have power down low. Despite a win, we saw Robin Lopez eating Tillman alive in the paint.
Next. Jonas Valanciunas flirted with a 30-20 stat line. dark
Hopefully Jaren Jackson Jr.’s injury won’t have any more delays and we’ll see him back in a Grizzlies uniform soon.