Josh Jackson needs to get back to early-season form for the Detroit Pistons.
Josh Jackson’s two-year, $10 million contract with the Detroit Pistons was a new lease on a disappointing career to date.
Jackson, following a productive freshman season at Kansas, was the No. 4 overall pick of the 2017 NBA draft by the Phoenix Suns.
But he struggled early on to match the productivity expected of a high-lottery selection. After just two seasons, Phoenix traded him to the Memphis Grizzlies.
He spent time in the G-League before returning to the pros and found some semblance of a productive career. Along the way, questions arose left and right about his maturity on and off the court.
His 22-game showcase, in which he averaged 9.0 points and 3.8 boards a game, wasn’t enough to assuage the Grizzlies’ doubts and retain him. But the Detroit Pistons, beginning a lengthy rebuild, signed him as a low-risk reclamation project.
It was a cute storyline: the Michigan native was returning to his home state to revitalize his vanishing career.
To start the 2020-21 campaign, it appeared that the gamble paid off sooner than expected.
Detroit Pistons: Josh Jackson has been slowed since hot start
In the season opener against Minnesota, he debuted with a 19-point, 6-rebound performance. He played with enough swagger to be placed into the starting lineup two games later.
In his first game with the starters on December 28 against Atlanta, he notched 27 points and played stout defense. Jackson was thriving through four games as a starter before suffering a mild ankle sprain that kept him out for two games.
Since returning to game action, Jackson was relegated to the bench as he got back up to speed, but he hasn’t looked nearly as sharp as he did to return to the starting lineup.
If the Detroit Pistons want to reenergize its lackluster offense and continue to give teams scares, he needs to regain the confidence he came out of the gate with.
Through four games after his ankle injury, his shooting numbers have been abysmal. He has shot less than 30 percent from three and from inside the arc. His shot selection has been erratic like he is trying to recover his early-season footing. He hasn’t recorded more than two rebounds in any of those contests.
He has never been a great 3-point shooter, averaging no higher than 32 percent in his two full pro seasons (excluding 34-percent shooting in his short stint with the Grizzlies). Yet the deep shot comprises almost half of his field goals.
Too often Jackson is trying to be a heroic shot-creator when he is lacking the touch necessary to be one.
Saturday’s game against the Heat was the peak of Jackson’s struggles. In 22 minutes, he shot 2-for-9 from beyond the arc — 3-for-11 overall — and fouled out with just under six minutes remaining in the fourth.
Prior to his injury, the 6-foot-8 wing was on a tear. He was shooting over 60 percent from two. His demeanor on the court exemplified an energetic and shrewd player. More of shots were coming at the rim than the three-point line. It was the kind of quick development that coaches dream about.
Jackson deserved to be in the starting lineup, but his current play since has been volatile and underwhelming.
It is unfair to criticize Jackson for not replicating his pre-injury performances. What he accomplished was not the expectation upon starting the season, and it surely isn’t while he is likely still recovering.
But it is frustrating to know what Jackson is capable of and for it to not materialize on the court. No, Jackson’s ascendence isn’t necessary for an already-downtrodden Pistons roster.
Jackson, though, has the potential to be a foundational piece moving forward. But if he is unable to recapture the early-season magic soon, he very well could just be a filler who the Pistons move on from after 2022.