After the Utah Jazz acquired Jaren Jackson Jr., then followed that up with trading Walker Kessler, the biggest concern was that Kessler being off the team meant Jackson's struggles as a rebounder would have come to the forefront. However, JJJ's biggest red flag showed itself last night against San Antonio: he's foul-prone.
Without trying to rain on anyone's parade, let the record show that last night was awesome, and Trip's positives badly outweigh his negatives. However, one flaw in his game that dates back to his days with the Memphis Grizzlies showed itself: his inability to stay out of foul trouble.
In a tick less than 18 minutes of playing time, JJJ managed to accumulate five fouls. In all honesty, it is preseason, so it's perfectly fine if the Jazz big man doesn't feel like he has to hold back in a game that ultimately means nothing, especially since he is expected to make the team's opening night roster.
However, this was a problem when he was in Memphis, even back when those Grizzlies teams were considered a Western Conference powerhouse.
Jackson has a reputation for comitting fouls aplenty
For his career, Jackson averages 3.7 fouls per game, which is concerningly high for a team like that Utah that plans to play the best basketball they can even if a title may not necessarily be on the tablr right away.
Trading Kessler was going to put more pressure of Jackson to watch himself on that end of the floor, but now that Jusuf Nurkic is going to be out until November at the earliest, it's going to make his tendencies to draw fouls stand out even more like a sore thumb.
It's a frustrating flaw because Jackson really is one of the best all-around bigs in the NBA. He may not score at a superstar level, but he's still an excellent scorer for his size, along with his elite defense both in and outside of the perimeter.
That's what frustrated the Grizzlies over the years. His inability to stay on the floor played a part in why they couldn't live up to their potential. It wasn't their biggest problem during that time, but it was still a problem. Nights like last night emphasize that it's still going to be a problem until he proves that it isn't.
The Jazz likely won't depend on Jackson the same way the Grizzlies did despite the talent he has. The question will be, can they mitigate this problem in time for when they're starting to think a title is within their grasp?
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