Why Memphis Grizzlies stars Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr. are struggling in new offense
Vince Williams Jr. remembered exactly what Jaren Jackson Jr.'s halftime stats were against the Houston Rockets on Nov. 5. Not that the numbers were hard to remember, but they jumped off the screen at halftime in the Memphis Grizzlies locker room.
Jackson was scoreless and had just one shot attempt.
"That ain't normal," Williams said. "Especially not for a player of this caliber."
It took less than three minutes into the third quarter for Jackson to double his shot total, but the second half still wasn't much better. He finished with nine points on six shots attempts in the Grizzlies' 124-109 loss to the Rockets on Nov. 5 at FedExForum.
Most of the attention for Memphis (3-6) this season has been on star guard Ja Morant after he voiced his displeasure with the coaching staff, but Jackson's stats have arguably shifted as much as anyone under coach Tuomas Iisalo. He entered the game against Houston (5-2) averaging 12.4 field goal attempts per game. Excluding the injury-riddled 2020-21 season, that total would be the lowest since Jackson's rookie year.
Williams was one of the players who saw Jackson make an offensive leap during the 2023-24 season, averaging a career-best 22.5 points per game. Jackson then averaged 22 points last season.
Williams sees some differences.
"He got this little trail three he used to get a lot," Williams said. "He hasn't been shooting that as much. I think he's just being over passive, but we need him to score if we want to win, so he's got to score."
Jackson is one of several Grizzlies who are struggling during the team's current four-game losing streak. Morant shot 6-for-19 against Houston and finished with 17 points. He's shot below 33% from the field in three straight games.
Winning games without Morant or Jackson playing at an elite level will be difficult for any game, but it's magnified against an opponent the caliber of the Rockets.
More offensive touches
Iisalo has noticed the struggle to get Jackson the ball. He said it's "definitely" a priority moving forward.
Part of the problem has been execution, according to Iisalo. There is an understanding that Jackson operates well in one-on-one situations. Iisalo noted that there were multiple plays early in the game where the Grizzlies tried to get Jackson the ball, but the defense disrupted the play.
"Maybe there's a moment of being discouraged of not getting the ball there, and we got to get over that and look to get the ball in his hands more," Iisalo said.
Do the Grizzlies have issues with spacing?
Morant was driving to the basket two games ago against the Detroit Pistons when he thought he had Santi Aldama wide open in the corner. Morant fired a pass toward the corner, but Aldama was cutting to the basket. The ball sailed out of bounds, and Morant told Iisalo that the Grizzlies don't have spacing.
Those issues continued again. Spacing has played a role in Morant and Jackson's struggles.
"It's not enough space," Morant said. "We got to make more shots and open up the floor for him."
Morant shouldered the blame, saying it starts with him, but the Grizzlies have to shoot better. Memphis is currently 25th in the NBA in 3-point percentage.
More aggressiveness
Jackson was in the same position during the Detroit game when he had three shot attempts at halftime.
The conversation will continue to turn back to Iisalo if Jackson's uncharacteristic start continues. Iisalo pointed out that Jackson's true shooting percentage is up. That sounds good, but it won't matter if Jackson isn't taking more shots.
As for Jackson's fit in the new offense, he said he's "very confident" that the two-time All-Star version of himself will appear soon.
"You just got to be aggressive," Jackson said. "You just got to be in attack mode."
Damichael Cole is the Memphis Grizzlies beat writer for The Commercial Appeal. Contact Damichael at damichael.cole@commercialappeal.com. Follow Damichael on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DamichaelC.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Jaren Jackson Jr., Ja Morant struggling in Memphis Grizzlies' offense
