Now in his fifth NBA season, Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. has fully blossomed into the player the team envisioned he would be when it selected him with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft. He’s averaging career highs in points and rebounds per minute, and setting new marks in scoring […]
Jaren Jackson Jr. is a shot-blocking, ball-stealing defensive machine. The fourth-year forward/center for the Memphis Grizzlies had been voted most likely to have a breakout season by NBA general managers before the 2021-22 campaign got underway, and he didn’t disappoint. Though the Grizzlies were plagued by injuries in the postseason and fell to Golden State […]
During Boston’s conference final-opening loss to Miami on Tuesday night, Marcus Smart stood on the sideline in resortwear, nursing a foot injury and politicking with officials. He did what he could; cameras caught him during a timeout harping on rotations and assignments. But Derrick White, starting in his stead, mustered just 3 points on four […]
End-of-year NBA awards are a good lens through which to evaluate the league’s best performances, but the framing isn’t always quite right. Certain seasons are so exemplary that viewing them only in the context of same-year contemporaries sells them badly short. The 2020-21 Defensive Player of the Year Award serves as one such instance. While […]