Jaren Jackson Jr. has been keeping the Grizzlies afloat amidst a ton of chaos.
The team is hoping to get Ja Morant back from his leave of absence and suspension just in time for the playoff push as soon as Wednesday night, but luckily, they have seen a very small drop in the standings. Luckily for the Grizzlies, the team won six of nine games without the All-Star guard due to the play of Defensive Player of the Year candidate JJJ.
Since Morant left the team, Jackson has upped his game, averaging nearly 23 points, over six rebounds and nearly two blocks per game while shooting 51% from the field and 36% from beyond the arc.
The big man was integral to the Grizzlies most recent win on Monday night, rallying to beat the Dallas Mavericks at home in which they allowed 12 points in the fourth quarter. Jackson’s versatility was on display, shutting down Kyrie Irving on several possessions to close out the win.
Isolation defense from Jaren Jackson Jr. on Kyrie Irving
— Jackson Lloyd (@JacksonLloydNBA) March 21, 2023
Shouts to Desmond Bane for being in position to help pic.twitter.com/hayABrwI2z
These Jaren Jackson Jr. switches on Kyrie in the last five minutes ... I mean Kyrie can't even see the rim
— John Hollinger (@johnhollinger) March 21, 2023
Jackson, once a heavy favorite to win Defensive Player of the Year, is the second choice as we hit the home stretch of the regular season behind Brook Lopez of the Milwaukee Bucks.
Memphis is decimal points ahead of Milwaukee in terms of defensive rating, allowing 110 points per 100 possessions vs. 110.1, but JJJ has by far the best on court defensive rating in the league, 104.6, nearly three points per 100 possessions better than the next best, Giannis Antetokounmpo at 107.4. For reference, Lopez checks in eighth in that metric.
Here’s the updated odds for DPOY with three weeks left in the season:
2023 NBA Defensive Player of the Year odds
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.