MEMPHIS – Jaren Jackson Jr. can’t count how many times he’s heard basically the
same thing.
He’s heard it over and over, from basketball coaches and analysts at every level
about his talent and potential. From youth league coaches to the NBA’s Gregg
Popovich, Rick Carlisle and David Fizdale, they’ve all reached the same
conclusion after seeing Jackson impact a game.
They appreciate Jackson’s production in the moment.
They salivate at the limitless heights of his upside.
And then they offer what, to Jackson, barely registers anymore as a compliment.
“He doesn’t know how good he can be,” Jackson said, playfully mocking the
frequent line he’s heard. “I don’t get caught up in the whole potential,
how-good-can-I-be, when-I-can-be-it thing. I’ve been hearing that since I was
13. I’ve heard that from every person on earth. So when you hear it, you’re
like, ‘Eh, well, okay. I guess that’s a compliment.’ It’s just a compliment of
the work you’re going to put in and the work you’ve been putting in. Just stay
the course, do what you do and everything should follow along.”
Following Jackson through his first months in the NBA has required keeping up at
a record-setting pace. Emerging from a breakout November and heading into
December, the 19-year-old power forward has already lived up to most – if not
all – initial expectations. Honestly, he’s exceeded many of them for his rookie
year.
Jackson’s meteoric development, Mike Conley’s productive return from heel
surgery and Marc Gasol’s resurgence as arguably the league’s most versatile
center have all fueled the Grizzlies’ 13-9 start entering Wednesday’s game
against the Clippers.
On Thanksgiving, the Grizzlies sat atop the West standings after a 12-5 start.
By Christmas, they hope to remain firmly among the West’s top contenders
following a stretch that includes eight of 13 games on the road. And come New
Year’s Day, the Grizzlies’ resolve to return to the 2019 NBA playoffs.
Memphis didn’t wait for the holiday season to unwrap a gifted prospect in
Jackson, who keeps on giving with a big-time game, enormous work ethic and
gigantic smile. Picked fourth overall after a decorated freshman season at
Michigan State, Jackson is one of only three rookie lottery picks currently
starting on a team with a winning record.
Through his first 20 NBA games, Jackson became just the fourth player in NBA
history to score at least 250 points, block 40 or more shots and make at least
20 steals. The three others are Hall of Famers in David Robinson, Patrick Ewing
and Bill Walton. Those are lofty footsteps to follow, but Jackson has taken some
impressive early leaps in what should be a long and productive NBA journey.
“Future All-Star,” said Fizdale, the Knicks coach, after Jackson tied a Memphis
franchise record with seven blocks on Nov. 25 against New York. “He already
plays both ends of the floor. He’s got an offensive package. He can play from
different ranges. He blocks everything at the rim. He can switch onto people.
He’s a serious talent.”
The Grizzlies have lost four of their past five games, but Jackson’s progress
has been a platinum lining. During that same stretch, he’s averaged 18.6 points,
5.2 rebounds and 2.8 blocks while shooting nearly 60 percent from the field
overall, 50 percent on threes and 90 percent from the free-throw line.
His raw numbers from the season overall barely jump out, but the 6-11 freakishly
athletic phenom is becoming an advanced metrics superstar. And that’s where
Jackson’s production compares most favorably to his lottery peers. His overall
defensive rating, which charts his team’s impact per 100 possessions when
Jackson is on the floor, was a drastic 10 points better than No. 1 pick Deandre
Ayton’s in Phoenix. Jackson’s offensive rating was higher than both Sacramento
No. 2 pick Marvin Bagley and No. 3 pick Luka Doncic in Dallas.
Meanwhile, Atlanta’s Trae Young was the draft’s most prolific three-point
shooter, but Jackson’s accuracy beyond the arc was nearly 10 percentage points
higher than that of the No. 5 pick. Carlisle, the Mavericks coach, admitted his
front-office staff strongly considered targeting Jackson before ultimately
striking the draft night deal for Doncic, who was named Western Conference
Rookie of the Month.
“Very much, very much,” Carlisle confirmed about Jackson before the Mavs’ Nov.
19 game in Memphis. “There are just varying opinions on who would be best for
those top four spots, best with this team or that team, things like that.
Jackson has shown it right now, why he was a high pick. It’s not a fluke. The
guy is a very, very good player overall and a first-rate defensive player.”
Popovich echoed a similar sentiment about Jackson being an ideal fit for the
Grizzlies, especially alongside Gasol. It was Jaren Jackson Sr., a role player
on the Spurs’ 1999 NBA championship team, who compared the Gasol-Jackson Jr.
dynamic to what he saw in San Antonio when a young Tim Duncan arrived to play
alongside the veteran Robinson.
Despite some breakout performances, Jackson is still sorting through growing
pains with his NBA indoctrination. Some of the fouling issues that limited
Jackson’s minutes in college have resurfaced to also plant him on the Grizzlies’
bench at times. Through those same, impressive first 20 NBA games, Jackson was
disqualified on fouls once and had five fouls in eight other times.
“You’ve got to pick your battles better,” Jackson said of trying to adjust. “If
I’m beat, sometimes a defender just got one. These are NBA players, so you can’t
get everything. But sometimes, I do that extra reach or bump or anything like
that to gain ground. Or, I’d go for it on a chase down, and I’m out of control.
I didn’t need (coaches) to tell me. I can see it. But they know and talked to me
about it as well.”
These are ongoing lessons – with a few harsh rebukes – from coach J.B.
Bickerstaff on Jackson needing to improve timing and technique. Bickerstaff has
also said Jackson is sometimes an unfortunate victim of the NBA’s increased
emphasis on rules protecting an offensive player’s freedom of movement.
“Because he’s aggressive the way he plays, we don’t want to pull that back,”
Bickerstaff said of Jackson. “We want him to be aggressive. With those new
rules, there are going to be some calls we may disagree with, but we’re going to
keep working the technique of how he can be good defensively early, so he
doesn’t find himself in situations where there are questionable or marginal
calls going against him.”
Finding that balance between defensive aggression and avoiding contact has been
the hardest part of the NBA to figure out.
“That line is tough sometimes, because you have to focus and think about so many
things on defense, like coverages, drops and helps,” Jackson said. “So you’re
already thinking a lot. But you have to limit how literal you take everything.
Things change and you have to adapt. If you’re adapting to the way the game is
being played, then you’re more fluid. Change little things.”
Conley often sees Jackson making those tweaks, mentally and physically, on both
ends of the court. Sometimes, literally on the fly during games.
“You can tell he’s out there having fun,” Conley said. “But he’s still looking
at Coach every other play, like in the middle of a fastbreak, trying to figure
out where he’s supposed to go. You can just tell he’s very green. He’s still got
a lot of room to improve, obviously. Hopefully, he just keeps getting better.”
Jackson is already good enough to have become the third-youngest player in NBA
history behind LeBron James and Kevin Durant to score at least 36 points in a
game, which he did last Friday against the Nets.
He’s also already good enough to have become only the third player in NBA
history to knock down four three-pointers and block seven shots in the same
game, like he did the previous week against the Knicks.
And he’s also good enough already to have become the Grizzlies’ first rookie
since Pau Gasol in 2002 to post a double-double along with five blocks, which
Jackson did the week before that against the Jazz.
That unique impact started from Day One of the season when, a month after his
19th birthday, Jackson became the youngest player in franchise history to appear
in a game. He had 10 points, five rebounds and three steals in that Oct. 17
season opener at Indiana.
To help place Jackson’s initial NBA impact into perspective, Gasol reflected on
his own role as a 19-year-old professional basketball player. Gasol was an
understudy on elite Spanish league teams and also a member of the national team
– yet, still a few years away from landing in the NBA with the Grizzlies.
“When I was 19, I wasn’t even sniffing the floor; my only job was to carry bags
for the year,” Gasol said. “For (Jackson), any exposure he gets is all part of
the learning process. We have his back. Anything he does, it won’t be wrong. As
long as he keeps hustling and stays with it, there’s nothing wrong he can do,
because he means well and wants to get better. He has great potential and we’re
going to help him accomplish that.”
So consider sparing Jackson at least one specific compliment.
Fact is, he’s discovering daily how good he can be.
The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Memphis
Grizzlies. All opinions expressed by Michael Wallace are solely his own and do
not reflect the opinions of the Memphis Grizzlies or its Basketball Operations
staff, owners, parent companies, partners or sponsors. His sources are not known
to the Memphis Grizzlies and he has no special access to information beyond the
access and privileges that go along with being an NBA accredited member of the
media.
Player: Jaren Jackson Jr.
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