Phoenix Suns: 5 takeaways from 2018 NBA Summer League

3. Jackson’s shot selection still needs work

After witnessing a drastic midseason turnaround for rookie Josh Jackson, it was fairly unfortunate to see 2017 Josh Jackson largely on display in Vegas. While 2018 Josh Jackson posted better all-around numbers, let the game come to him and shot the ball better, 2017 Josh Jackson played at one speed, constantly forced the issue and was a general train wreck on the offensive end.

That was mostly what Suns fans had to relive during Summer League, with Jackson averaging 10.3 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game on an awful 10-of-41 shooting from the field (24.4 percent). As was the case for the first half of his rookie year, Jackson was trying too hard to impose his will on the game, taking a ton of bad shots in the process.

While it was good to see Jackson stay aggressive despite wearing a mask during Summer League, he mostly looked like a former top-five pick trying too hard to prove something against competition he viewed as inferior.

Jackson faced a similar problem in his first few months in the NBA, admitting he wasn’t used to facing such talented competition that was athletically on par with his speed and leaping ability. It looked like he entered Summer League with the same backfiring mindset, and he got served in a similar fashion when he tried to do too much and didn’t just let the game come to him.

https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1016502113730551813

Defensively, Jackson was great. His monster block on Marvin Bagley III was easily one of the best Summer League had to offer, and no one should be worried about one three-game sample size in Las Vegas.

However, as much as his fearlessness in attacking the cup is admirable, Jackson reverting back to bad habits for the Summer Suns was less than ideal.