Grizzlies big man Jaren Jackson Jr. has been diagnosed with a meniscus tear in his left knee, the team announced today in a press release. The injury, which Jackson sustained during Monday’s loss to the Pelicans, will cause him to miss the rest of the 2019/20 season, according to the club.
Jackson, who will turn 21 in September, is one of Memphis’ most important young building blocks, along with Ja Morant and Brandon Clarke. In his second NBA season, Jackson averaged 17.4 PPG, 4.6 RPG, and 1.6 BPG on .469/.394/.747 shooting in 57 games (28.5 MPG). He missed some time in February and March with a sprain to the same left knee that is now injured again.
Although Jackson is expected to make a full recovery, the injury is an unfortunate development for both him and the Grizzlies, who are clinging to the No. 8 spot in the Western Conference.
Having lost their first three games since play resumed this summer, the Grizzlies are now just two games ahead of the Trail Blazers and Spurs and 2.5 games up on New Orleans. Hanging onto that No. 8 spot – in the eight seeding games and possibly in a play-in tournament – will become an even greater challenge now that Memphis is missing its second-leading scorer.
With Jackson unavailable, the Grizzlies figure to lean more heavily on frontcourt rotation players like Clarke, Jonas Valanciunas, and Anthony Tolliver. Josh Jackson and Gorgui Dieng are among the bench players who should move up on the depth chart.
Jackson, meanwhile, will shift his focus to next season, when he’s under contract for $7.26MM. He’ll become eligible for a rookie scale extension during the 2021 offseason.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Not sure Grizzlies can make it to 9th seed
This year first round pick goes to Celtics? I forgot
They’re barely holding on to the #8 spot with a slim two game lead, but there are a handful of teams that could easily catch them.
This is quite the unfortunate development. Hope he rests up for the future, when we can develop our youth and have a better chance of competing
That is good news for Brandon Clarke. Hopefully he will be starting & getting the minutes he deserve. JJJ so far has disappointed me quite a bit, although I never had much expectations about him. Dude is a C playing PF that catches 4 rpg… Wow! How bad can that be, he only seems interested/able to shoot! Not good enough! Hope he comes back soon & starts doing more than just shooting, I’d love if he can show an all round game.
Wow this can affect their playoffs hopes
It’s not a serious injury. Jackson will be back. Good news for Grizz. They still control their destiny. They are the 8th seed right now. I believe they end up in 9th or 8th. For play in game. This is opportunity for all other players. Morant, Brooks, Clarke, Valanciunas, Josh Jackson all have to step up. In the end no 8th seed is beating the Lakers. Grizz have a solid young roster. I see a good future for them.