Memphis Grizzlies power forward Jaren Jackson Jr. has been diagnosed with a Grade 2 left ankle sprain and is considered week to week, the team announced Tuesday.
Jackson suffered the injury in the first quarter of the Grizzlies’ 132-130 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Monday after trying to block a shot by Dyson Daniels.
Jackson’s injury comes with only a little over a month left in the NBA regular season. He is averaging a career-high 22.7 points and 5.8 rebounds in 59 games (all starts) this season for Memphis, which is 38-23 and sits fourth in the Western Conference entering Tuesday night’s action.
Jackson, 25, is a candidate for an All-NBA selection and Defensive Player of the Year but needs to meet the NBA’s 65-game requirement to be eligible for the awards. He needs to play seven more games to be eligible and possibly sign a supermax extension this summer. Monday night’s contest didn’t count because Jackson didn’t hit the 20-minute threshold for a game to count.
How Jackson’s injury impacts the Grizzlies
Jackson’s ankle injury is another brutal loss for a Grizzlies team going through its most challenging stretch of the season. In a matter of days, Memphis has dropped from No. 2 in the Western Conference to No. 4, as Luka Dončić and the Los Angeles Lakers have won six games in a row, and the Grizzlies have dropped three in a row for the first time all season.
All three of those Grizzlies defeats were decided in the final seconds of the fourth quarter, but the loss of Jackson will be the one that’s felt the most. The former All-Star is having perhaps the best season of his career, and his presence on both ends of the court is a key factor in what makes Memphis one of the biggest threats to Oklahoma City in the West.
Jackson is shooting 49.7 percent from the floor and 36.5 percent on 3-pointers. His slashing and outside shot are key to the Grizzlies’ success, but his versatility on defense is what separates him from most other bigs. He’s averaging 1.3 steals and 1.6 blocks this season, and he was one of the favorites to win Defensive Player of the Year before his injury was announced. — Will Guillory, NBA staff writer
Who steps up?
Four-year veteran Santi Aldama should be able to step into the starting lineup while Jackson is out. Aldama has 67 starts under his belt over the last two seasons, and he brings a lot on the offensive end that could make life easier for the Grizzlies’ stars in the backcourt, Ja Morant and Desmond Bane. — Guillory
Required reading
(Photo: Wes Hale / Getty Images)
