Jaren

Jackson Jr.

The most notable flaw in Jackson Jr.'s game is his lack of rebounding production, but that wasn’t the case on Monday. Though it wasn’t enough to get the win, JJJ set a new career-high for rebounds, eclipsing his previous best mark of 13, which he has done twice over the last two seasons. It was a nice boost in Monday’s game, but it isn’t something that managers should grow accustomed to. Memphis still has three more games this week, including the second night of a back-to-back against the Warriors on Tuesday.

Jackson shot the ball well on Saturday, scoring 23 points or more in three of his last four games. However, the overall stat line was lacking, especially in the rebound department. He’s grabbed five rebounds or less in six straight games, which has factored into JJJ only being a top 75 player in nine-cat formats over the past two weeks. Sharing the court with Zach Edey doesn’t help, but fantasy managers are likely hoping for more rebound production from Jackson during Week 22.

Jackson had two blocks against the Thunder, giving him five over his last three games. The 25-year-old power forward led the Grizzlies offense with Ja Morant out and Desmond Bane struggling. Jackson was hardly efficient on his 21 shots, but he was good from behind the three-point line as he made 5-of-7 three-point attempts. Jackson has been a top-20 fantasy player since the All-Star break.

Jackson took an elbow to the face during Tuesday’s win over the Jazz but was able to return. His absence from the injury report means he’s good to go for Thursday’s matchup with the Thunder.

JJJ took an elbow to the face in the third quarter but returned to the Grizzlies’ bench in the fourth. He seems to have avoided a serious injury, but fantasy managers should keep an eye on his status for Thursday’s tilt with the Thunder just to be sure. He stuffed the stat sheet again, but that’s nothing new for the versatile stretch big.

The points were nice, but the rest of this outing was disappointing for Jackson Jr. and his team. He started at center against Ivica Zubac, but he was only able to grab two rebounds in 35 minutes. Jackson Jr. is known for being a weak rebounder, but he wasn’t able to offset the lack of production in that category with dominance in others; he only blocked one shot and had an inefficient shooting night. Unfortunately, this was the last game of the week for Memphis, and they only have three games next week.

Jackson was dominant on Saturday, having now scored 30 points or more on 12 occasions this season. That equals his tally from the 2023-24 campaign, a year in which JJJ was the lone Grizzlies star in the lineup on most nights. Jackson has been a top 20 player in nine-cat formats since the All-Star break, slightly better than his production for the season.

Jackson Jr. didn’t appear to be on a minutes limit as he saw 28 minutes in his return from an ankle injury against the Cavaliers. The 25-year-old power forward was a little rusty on the offensive end as he scored 13 points on 10 shots including three 3-pointers. Jackson Jr. was his usual active self on the defensive end as he had four steals and two blocks. Fantasy managers can expect the minutes and production to only go up from here.

Initially week-to-week after injuring his ankle on March 3, Jackson will play against the team with the NBA’s best record. Whether or not he’s under a minutes restriction has not been revealed by the Grizzlies, but fantasy managers should not expect Jackson to take on a full workload in his first game back. However, GG Jackson’s playing time will take a hit with Jaren back in action.

JJJ suffered a nasty ankle injury on March 3 and was immediately considered “week-to-week” because of it. However, he could be back in the lineup less than two weeks later. Even if he doesn’t play against Cleveland, he is inching closer to a return, which is a great sign for managers in the fantasy playoffs. GG Jackson will likely return to playing a bench role when JJJ returns.