3 Memphis Grizzlies players apart from Ja Morant who've performed above expectations in the opening games of the 2021-22 NBA season
The Memphis Grizzlies are 2-1 after their first three games of the 2021-22 NBA season. Their victories have come against the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Los Angeles Clippers, while their one loss was a back-to-back against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Ja Morant has been spectacular and fans are sure to have seen some of his ridiculous highlights that are going around. The third-year guard is averaging 35.0 points, 8.0 assists, and 3.7 rebounds while converting 58.0 percent of his field goals and 44.4 percent from three.
His stellar performance has deservedly garnered significant attention from the NBA world, but other notable members of the Memphis Grizzlies are seemingly being overlooked in the process.
failure builds character.
Here are three players, aside from Morant, on the Memphis Grizzlies who have performed phenomenally in their first three games.
#3 Jaren Jackson Jr. is back with a bang for the Memphis Grizzlies
The Memphis Grizzlies and Jaren Jackson Jr. agreed to a four-year $105-million rookie extension this past offseason with the reasonable belief that the 22-year-old big man will continue to improve. Last season was a tough measurement for Jackson as he only played 11 regular season games before appearing in the postseason due to a significant injury.
Prior to that, Jackson proved that the Memphis Grizzlies could, at the very least, rely on him to shoot the ball at a high level from three. In 2019-20, he converted 39.4 percent of his 6.5 threes attempted per game, which is an encouraging outlier for a 6'11" player.
The needed growth for the Memphis Grizzlies big man was on the defensive end of the floor. He showed many flashes, but had not yet been able to put it all together for consistent stretches. This may finally be the year he does it and the early signs are promising.
Jackson recorded four blocks in the Memphis Grizzlies season debut, one in the following matchup, and two in their recent showdown against the Lakers.
the marathon continues 🏁 https://t.co/te64Y480iw