One key reason why the Memphis Grizzlies have lost 4 of their last 7 games

The Memphis Grizzlies have been one of the hottest and most exciting teams in the NBA this season.

The team has superstar Ja Morant playing at an extremely high level, the team currently boasts the second-most wins in the Western Conference and the team will soon get back the services of starter Dillon Brooks.

But the good times have hit a bit of a snag— the team has lost four of their last seven games, including an embarrassing showing in a rare nationally televised game vs Boston.

Memphis has lost to a Damian Lillard-less Portland, Minnesota, Boston and Houston— the worst team in the NBA this season— during the last seven games the team has played.

Jaren Jackson slump a major contributor to Memphis Grizzlies poor performance

Our star big man, Jaren Jackson, has played poorly during the past seven games. Whenever he’s having a bad game, the Grizzlies have usually have bad game.

Jackson has been an elite defender this season, hovering at or near the top of the league’s leader in blocked shots per game. During the past seven games his impact on the game has been mitigated due to excessive fouling— he’s recorded four or more fouls in five of the last seven games.

The fourth-year player out of Michigan State has failed to score more than 13 points in five of the last seven games. He’s 2 for 18 from beyond the arc during the streak, too (11.1%).

Jaren Jackson Jr. averages for the past seven games:

• 11.8 ppg
• 5.1 rpg
• 37.6 FG%
• 11.1 3P%
• 4.1 fouls per game

Jaren Jackson Jr. season averages for 2021-22

• 16.5 ppg
• 6 rpg
• 41.4 FG%
• 31.2 3P%
• 3.4 fouls per game.

Curiously, even during the wins over Chicago and San Antonio, Jackson sort of disappeared. He had five fouls in each game, but played 20-26 minutes, logging just 8 and 6 points, respectively.

Every player has bad shooting slumps or a string of games where they lose their mojo. Hopefully this is one of those cases for Jaren Jackson Jr. The team needs their $105 million man to step-up and get back to how he was playing before the All-Star break.

If the team hopes to compete for home court advantage in the 2022 NBA Playoffs, they need Jaren Jackson Jr. playing his best basketball down the stretch in the final weeks of the season.