Phoenix Suns: The good and the bad of rookie Josh Jackson so far
The raw numbers
Coming into his rookie year, Josh Jackson was expected to be one of the more prepared prospects of the 2017 draft class, with a two-way game that would translate to the next level while still leaving plenty of room for growth if he ever figured out that wonky jump shot of his.
Thirteen games is a small sample size, but Jackson looked like the biggest project among this year’s top five picks so far — until Friday night against the Orlando Magic, that is, when he put up a career-high 18 points on 9-of-18 shooting, six rebounds, two steals, one block and one assist in 22 minutes off the bench.
So far this season, Jackson is averaging 10.1 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 22.0 minutes per game. However, he’s only shooting 41 percent from the floor and 54.1 percent from the foul line.
For a playmaking wing, Jackson’s 22 turnovers dwarf his 10 assists. For a defensive presence, his 4.9 fouls per 36 minutes indicate his difficulty adjusting to the physicality of the next level. For a tough cover when attacking the basket, his love for shooting contested midrange jumpers has been an early problem.
What’s worse is his role under Triano seems to be shrinking. Though Earl Watson empowered him a bit too much by starting him as a small-ball 4 and throwing him to the wolves while letting him go 120 m.p.h., Jackson’s minutes have shrunk from to 28.1 per game (third-most on the team) to 20.1 a night (ninth-most) since the coaching change.
T.J. Warren‘s strong play to start the season is a factor there, and Booker needs an additional scoring threat to take some of that pressure off him to do everything. However, on the nights where Warren struggles to get going, more leniency might go a long way in helping the rook get over some of these early season hurdles.
"“Just the same things,” Triano said when asked about what Jackson needs to do to carve out more minutes. “Just control his energy a little bit. We don’t want to stop him from doing what he’s doing.”"
At the moment, Jackson ranks 10th in scoring, 14th in rebounding and 25th in field goal percentage among all rookies. He’s looked out of control at times, his shot selection has left something to be desired and the kinds of mistakes you’d expect from a rookie have reared their ugly heads.
Josh Jackson is by no means a lost cause, but looking at how he attacks the basket presents a pretty clear picture of why he’s still got work to do before he looks NBA-ready.