{"id":94321,"date":"2024-09-04T15:59:01","date_gmt":"2024-09-04T19:59:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=94321"},"modified":"2024-09-04T15:59:01","modified_gmt":"2024-09-04T19:59:01","slug":"grizzlies-gg-jackson-unfortunate-injury-update","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/09\/04\/grizzlies-gg-jackson-unfortunate-injury-update\/","title":{"rendered":"Grizzlies Breakout Performer Receives Unfortunate Injury Update"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>After undergoing surgery to repair a broken fifth metatarsal in his right foot, Memphis Grizzlies forward <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jacksgg01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">GG Jackson<\/a> will be sidelined for a substantial amount of time. Per a team release, Jackson \u201cwill be reevaluated in three months,\u201d though he\u2019s expected to make a full recovery.\u201d The Grizzlies season opener against the Utah Jazz is scheduled for Oct. 23.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">The <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/memgrizz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@memgrizz<\/a> today announced the following medical update: <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/PapmTOk0Ge\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/PapmTOk0Ge<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Grizzlies PR (@GrizzliesPR) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GrizzliesPR\/status\/1829647820871385354?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">August 30, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Jackson sustained the injury on Aug. 27 <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/08\/31\/grizzlies-ripple-effects-latest-injury-report\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">while playing a pickup game<\/a> outside of Dallas.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">The <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/memgrizz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@memgrizz<\/a> today announced the following medical update: <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/PapmTOk0Ge\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/PapmTOk0Ge<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Grizzlies PR (@GrizzliesPR) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GrizzliesPR\/status\/1829647820871385354?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">August 30, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Though selected by the Grizzlies with the 45th pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, Jackson\u2019s seen as a potential cornerstone player. The youngest player in the NBA last season, he averaged 14.6 points per game, the third-highest scoring average in his draft class. His rebounding average (4.1 per game) was tied for 10th among rookies with Washington Wizards wing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/c\/coulibi01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bilal Coulibaly<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>Grizzlies\u2019 GG Jackson Receives Unfortunate Injury Update<\/h2>\n<p>After breaking out midway through his rookie campaign, Jackson earned <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/03\/21\/warriors-chris-paul-soft-spot-grizzlies-gg-jackson\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">a lot of fanfare<\/a> and trust from the organization. Barring complications, his injury likely doesn\u2019t diminish his upside. However, him returning in December may still affect his trajectory.<\/p>\n<p>If Jackson had been available for training camp and preseason, he would\u2019ve been able to challenge for a starting spot. To that point, only <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/moranja01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ja Morant<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/banede01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Desmond Bane<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jacksja02.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jaren Jackson Jr.<\/a> \u2014the Grizzlies\u2019 Big 3 \u2014are guaranteed to be in the first unit. Though 2024 No. 9 pick <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/e\/edeyza01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Zach Edey<\/a> is projected to start as well, center is one of the hardest positions to play at the NBA level coming out of college. Furthermore, Jackson Jr. is a hybrid big man who\u2019s more than capable of playing the pivot.<\/p>\n<p>With Memphis already trying to determine who should start at small forward, this gave Jackson a great opportunity. He can play both small and power forward. He\u2019s comfortable launching shots from beyond the arc. He has legitimate defensive upside. Last but not least, he\u2019s 6-foot-9, whereas wings <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/willivi01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Vince Williams<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/k\/konchjo01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">John Konchar<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/k\/kennalu01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Luke Kennard<\/a> are listed 6-foot-4 or 6-foot-5.<\/p>\n<p>In essence, he gave the Grizzlies the best mix of size and skill.<\/p>\n<p>Thanks to his untimely injury, Williams, Konchar, Kennard, 6-foot-7 stretch forward <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/l\/laravja01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jake LaRavia<\/a>, and 6-foot-7 rookie <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/wellsja01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jaylen Wells<\/a> now have an even better chance to open the season as the Grizzlies starting small forward. 6-foot-3 defensive specialist <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/s\/smartma01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Marcus Smart<\/a> could also enter the first unit after starting all 20 games he played last season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After undergoing surgery to repair a broken fifth metatarsal in his right foot, Memphis Grizzlies forward GG Jackson will be sidelined for a substantial amount of time. Per a team release, Jackson \u201cwill be reevaluated in three months,\u201d though he\u2019s expected to make a full recovery.\u201d The Grizzlies season opener against the Utah Jazz is [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5008,"featured_media":94331,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[32,1608,62,3],"tags":[4933,4745,48967,49503],"class_list":["post-94321","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-grizzlies","category-basketball","category-nba","category-news","tag-gg-jackson","tag-nba-injuries","tag-nba-preseason","tag-nba-training-camp"],"modified_by":"Quenton S Albertie","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94321","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5008"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=94321"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94321\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/94331"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94321"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=94321"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=94321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}