Memphis Grizzlies star Jaren Jackson Jr., who sprained his left ankle in the opening minutes of their 132-130 loss against the Atlanta Hawks on March 3, is nearing a return. Leading up to their game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday, the Grizzlies upgraded Jackson’s status to questionable.
Jackson, 25, is having the best season of his career. Assuming he meets the NBA’s 65-game threshold for end-of-season awards, he will be a strong All-NBA, All-Defense and Defensive Player of the Year candidate. Entering their game against the Cavaliers, who have the league’s best record (55-10), the Grizzlies are on a four-game winning streak. At 42-24, they are second in the Western Conference with less than a month remaining in the regular season.
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Only one game, however, separates Memphis from the fifth-place Houston Rockets in the standings. While the Grizzlies’ No. 6-ranked offense has been a success story, they’ve fallen to 11th in defense (and 22nd from Jan. 27 onward, a 20-game stretch). They have fared just fine defensively without Jackson in recent wins against the shorthanded Dallas Mavericks and lottery-bound New Orleans Pelicans and Utah Jazz, but if they’re going to reestablish themselves on that end ahead of the playoffs, they need Jackson on the floor, being an all-around menace.
Jackson has also been the team’s most prolific scorer this season, averaging a career-high 22.7 points (on 59.8% true shooting) in 29.4 minutes per game. With Jackson sidelined, Desmond Bane recorded a 35-point triple-double against Atlanta, then put up 27 points, 16 rebounds and six assists against Dallas and 30 points, nine rebounds and eight assists against New Orleans. In Memphis’ last four games, Ja Morant has shaken off a slump (that may have been related to a shoulder injury), averaging 30 points (on 61.1% true shooting) and 8.3 assists. In Tuesday’s 122-115 win against Utah, Luke Kennard came off the bench to score 30 points, tying his career high, on 11-for-14 shooting, including 7-for-9 from deep.
Asked after the Jazz game if he’d have to change the way he plays when Jackson is back on the court, Morant didn’t even let the reporter finish the question, expressing only excitement about the big man’s imminent return.
“Can’t wait,” Morant said, via the Memphis Flyer’s Sharon Brown. “I can’t wait. That’s all you need to know. I can’t wait.”
Grizzlies forward Santi Aldama, who has missed five of their last six games, remains out on Friday with a right calf strain. The Cavaliers, who have won 15 straight games and 19 of their last 20, will be without star guard Donovan Mitchell due to left groin soreness.
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