Jaren Jackson Jr. Could Be The NBA’s Best Defender — If He Can Stay On The Court

Jaren Jackson Jr. is a defensive machine that blocks shots and steals the ball. Memphis Grizzlies’ 4th year forward / center NBA General Manager He wasn’t disappointed before the 2021-22 campaign started.Grizzlies was suffering from postseason injuries Fell into the golden state In the second round, Jackson was named NBA All Defensive First Team For the season.

JJJ was pleased with the honor One of his goals..But he didn’t win the trophy He really wanted: Defensive player of the year.

“Of course, I think I’m the defensive player of the year,” said Phenom at 6’11. ESPN NBA Countdown In late March. “Blocks are cool, but get blocks from shot conflicts. I can do much more than most people get many blocks. I can switch to security guards. Yes, I can talk.

“You have to be a defensive quarterback, and I think that’s what people are missing.”

Only 22 years old, Jackson led the NBA with 177 blocks (2.27 blocks per game) in 78 of his career’s best regular season games.He had 27 games He recorded more than 3 block shots and 250 “stocks” (Steal plus blocks) Leaded all NBA players. men are”Block the panther— Jackson Submitted trademark By that name in 2018 — blocked 53 shots Only in January.

So did he file a DPOY proceeding?

Jackson has an opponent 41.7% He fired when he was the primary defender, and his opponent shot 6.0 percentage points below average when protected by him. Both were ranked second in the NBA among the players who played at least 900 shots.

The award was given to Marcus Smart in Boston — First guard Jackson finished fifth in the polls, with 10 votes in first place, for a total of 99 points. Also in front of him were Mikal Bridges in Phoenix, Rudy Gobert in Utah, and Bam Adebayo in Miami. Let’s see how JJJ overlapped with other finalists.

Of course, in Brock, it wasn’t a contest. Jackson set a whopping 40 more record than his closest top five DPOY finalists. Stealing is another story, and as expected, Smart stole the ball much more often than the big guys in his competitors. Jackson finished fourth with 73 steals. Gobert was only a few finalists.

Other statistics tell the same story. According to the second spectrum, Jackson was second only to Gobert in the effective field goal rate of his opponent among the five.In Hustle Play, Jackson was tied for third place Deflection,The second Disputed three-point shoot And third The loose ball has recovered..

Jackson experienced the most when the game was in progress. JJJ led five finalists Clutch defense With 96.0 mark.

And JJJ continued that in the postseason. Opponent just shot in 12 playoff games 39.2% from the field When Jackson was the main defender, it was 7.7 percentage points worse than average.Around 48 minutes in playoffs, He averaged 11.7 rebounds, 4.3 blocks and 1.3 steals.And of course he led the playoffs 2.5 blocks per game..

The proceeding against Jackson is that it cannot be defended without fouling. He committed 272 fouls during the regular season, behind Jae’Sean Tate in Houston.Jackson average 7.6 Foul The Grizzlies opening playoff round with the Minnesota Timberwolves averaged only 24.5 minutes per game due to foul troubles per 36 minutes. But if he can get out of foul trouble and find a way to stay on the court more often, his defensive stock could rise further.

Until this season, Jackson had been injured throughout his short career.He is Meniscus rift In the NBA Bubble, he played 11 regular season games in 2020-21. But Memphis knew what was in Alum, Alum.Last October, Jackson and Grizzlies $ 105 million new contract extension for 4 years To solidify his place next to Ja Morant as a core anchor for young Memphis.

“”[Jackson’s] Protection not only allows us to get out and run, but also prevents other teams from scoring, “Morant said after the January match against the Chicago Bulls, where Jackson scored five blocks. Told. “Even if he doesn’t block the shot, he’s still influencing the shot, where he’s forced to take tough shots. It works in our favor and we rebound. Allows you to do. “

Jackson’s defensive strength helped Memphis finish in 6th overall Defensive evaluation.. The Grizzlies have become the third NBA team to lead the league in both steel and block since the start of the 1982-83 season.

“I read what’s going on,” Jackson said. “I have no way of understanding it. It’s a kind of on-the-fly. Everything happens so fast. Chase down is self-explanatory. You have to take the right steps on the half-court and trust that the guard doesn’t foul. Everything else is to make sure you’re timing and ready. ”

Memphis often calls on the versatile Jackson to defend 1 to 5. In all the same games, he defends the rims, blocks shots, forces turnovers, drops the ball to the court and plays wing positions.

In February, Jackson GQ magazine About his defensive tips: “For my team: I need to switch to the guard and block the ball and off-ball shots. Protect the rims, jumpers, spin fast to the corners, close and fill the guard. You have to catch it. Speed. There are a lot of small things I have to do. I don’t know if everyone else has to do it on their team, but it’s difficult I have all the different jobs. My height is 7 feet. Not only do I switch on the guards, I start with the guards. I’m the guy there. It tells you where I am. It should tell you a lot. I wish I only had to block the shots. Believe me. If that was all I had to do … [laughs]”

Jackson may not have fully claimed the defensive player of the year this season, but he was the second Grizzlies player to be named to the All-Defensive first team. Franchise.

For now, Jackson must be happy to be one of the best defensive players in the league. But his teammates know that he is a respectable force.

“He’s an important time,” Morant said.

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