Grizzlies: Jaren Jackson Jr. is going to shock the NBA in 2021-22

The Memphis Grizzlies‘ media expected more out of Jaren Jackson Jr. in 2021. The 6-11 forward was supposed to return from injury and give the Grizz a huge boost as they headed toward the NBA Playoffs.

This boost, however, would never come.

It would be a stretch to say that JJJ hurt the team in his return, but there was a disruption of team chemistry and a period of time where Jackson Jr. was shaking off some serious rust. Actually, it seemed like he never truly got all of the rust off in 2021.

This much was obvious by a clear dropoff in his stats from year to year. Here’s a comparison of his numbers from 2019-20 to 2020-21.

2019-20: 17.4 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 1.6 BPG, 46.9% FG, 39.4% 3PT FG

2020-21: 14.4 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 1.6 BPG, 42.4% FG, 28.3% 3PT FG

In short, Jackson Jr. was not himself after he returned from injury. The strange part about this is that he didn’t seem physically limited at all. In fact, he looked like he was back to 100%, moving swiftly and not avoiding contact.

That said, it looked like the fact that he hadn’t played basketball in over a half-year was what doomed him this season. His shot was just slightly off, which created a domino effect that caused all of his numbers to seemingly drop.

In a way, it was completely unfair of us to assume that he would improve in any way. Historically, if you look at JJJ’s numbers in early season games, they’re not a strong indication of his overall body of work.

He will bounce back in 2021-22. Here’s how.