Before the World Cup, Jaren Jackson. had explained that he was going to concentrate on his foul problems, and that he was going to avoid jumping in all directions to go against.
Ultimately, it was a personal and collective failure. Returning to the Grizzlies, the best defender in the NBA decided to change his priority, and he chose to focus on rebounding. At the World Cup, Memphis’ interior was ghostly with 2.9 shots per game and generally speaking, that was never his strong point: 5.5 rebounds on average in his career.
“(Rebounding) needs to be more of a thing I think about all the time.” JJJ promises. “ It’s in my mind, it’s in my brain. We always think about things in which we can improve. I have so many different responsibilities in the field. »
+ 18 kilos since his arrival in the NBA
To his credit, he plays alongside Steven Adams, a real pivot, capable of locking in the rebound, and previously, he played alongside Jonas Valanciunas. For Adams, it is the desire to counter that prevents Jackson from getting rebounds. “If he wants to block shots, he won’t be able to get the rebound” analyzes Adams. “It’s not like we can do everything. It’s a compromise. You have to minimize one of the factors to get some of the others. »
Rudy Gobert, to take just one, proved to Jazz that we could dominate on the rebound and on the counter. But he didn’t have a big rebounder next to him. At 24 years old, the Grizzlies interior therefore has plenty of room for improvement, and physically, he thinks he has reached maturity. He has gained a few centimeters and especially 18 kilos since his arrival in the NBA! “I am reaching my final size and physique. I need to be able to use it properly. There’s no longer any real discussion about my physique. »
