"Don't talk about me anymore, Jaren Jackson Jr. should be the guy everyone is excited about, his defense is very important to us, as long as he's on the pitch, we're going to be a completely different team." --Ja-Morant.
Yes, as the only All-Star on the team, we are always used to focusing on the brightest players, and we are willing to attribute the team's current achievements to Morant, thus ignoring the existence of other players, such as the aforementioned Jarren Jackson Jr. This season, the Grizzlies have won so many games, his credit is also very large, and the importance is not inferior to Morant.
Morant's help to the team is mainly reflected in the offensive end, when he is on the court, the Grizzlies can score 117.1 points per 100 rounds, the offensive efficiency is higher than the league's first Jazz, but on the defensive end, Morant is a bit of a drag, when he is on the floor, the Grizzlies have to lose 5.8 points per 100 rounds;
In addition to Morant, the Grizzlies' other backcourt, Desmond Bain, is also a guy who attacks strong and defends weakly, when he is on the court, the Grizzlies defensive end also loses 4.4 points per hundred rounds, just such a pair of backcourt combinations, if there is no better interior line to wipe the ass, that is, the level of the second-rate strong team, the winning rate is difficult to break 60%, last season's Blazers, is their ceiling, but fortunately, the Grizzlies not only have a good interior line, the defense can reach the DPOY level, completely covering the shortcomings of the double gun, He was Jalen Jackson Jr.
When Jackson was on the floor, the Grizzlies only conceded 109.6 points per 100 possessions, and of all the players on the team who played more than 1,000 minutes, no one was better than him, and most importantly, Jackson's defensive coverage was extremely wide, and he had a fight with 3-time DPOY winner Rudy Gobert, and in terms of defensive effects in various positions, he was not at all behind, compare the data of the two:
In less than 6 feet, Jackson could reduce opponent shooting by 13.6 percent and Gobert by 11.9 percent;
In less than 10 feet, Jackson could reduce opponent shooting by 11.7 percent and Gobert by 10.2 percent;
Outside the three-point line, Jackson can reduce opponent shooting percentage by 0.3 percent; Gobert can drop by 0.2 percent;
It can be seen that Jackson's defense is suffocating, not inferior to Gobert, he can not only change the defense to the outside line, but also assist in the inside line, look at Jackson's block data, averaging 2.2 times per game, temporarily ranking first in the league, and at present, the only player with more than 150 blocks in a single season, far ahead of Robert Williams in second place.
It is worth mentioning that Jackson can not only provide energy on the defensive end, but also play a certain role in the offensive end, such as pulling space, as of now, Jackson has shot 109 three-pointers, although the 31.4% shooting rate does not look ideal, especially in the two side bottom corners, the shooting rate is only 25.8% and 28.6%, respectively, but at the left and right forty-five degrees, as well as the top of the arc, Jackson's shooting rate is all above the league average level;
In addition, Jackson has a certain ability to hold the ball, when Morant is not good, can not tear apart the opponent's defense, he can also play singles in the low position, can get 0.96 points per round, more reliable than Valanciunas, and Downs.
Admittedly, the Grizzlies do have a lot of excellence in terms of selection and training, look at their magic change to Jackson, a big center with a height of 2.11 meters, stunned to be trained into a wing with 3D attributes, those centers are good at work, he can't do one now, such as grabbing rebounds, averaging less than 6.0 per game, lower than many guards, and blocking down, only 0.93 points per round, second to 75.5% of the league's players.
But Jackson, he has practiced a rare defense in the same position, especially the outside line, at least can do not lose, but also three-point shooting ability, as of now, Jaren Jackson is the only one in the league, shooting 100 three-pointers, and sending 150 blocks of players, 3D attributes show the ultimate.
Wait, in addition to Morant and Jarren Jackson, new signing Adams also has to mention, last offseason, when the Grizzlies introduced him, there were a lot of doubts, but now, you understand the management's good intentions, if Jackson is the man behind Morant, then Adams is the man behind Jackson, if there is no Adams to do dirty work (blocking), tired work (grabbing the board), Jackson can not achieve the current results.