Former Defending Player of the Year Downgraded vs. 76ers

Former Defensive Player of the Year Downgraded vs. 76ers - Sports  Illustrated Philadelphia 76ers News, Analysis and More

Jaren Jackson Jr. might not be able to see the action on Wednesday night.
The Philadelphia 76ers will host the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night at the Wells Fargo Center as they make their way back home following a brief two-game road trip.
They were shorthanded going into Tuesday night’s game against the Brooklyn Nets, as their top scorer Tyrese Maxey was out with a concussion after colliding with Derrick Jones Jr. of the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday afternoon.
Dennis Schroder and Dorian Finney-Smith would light up the second half and help the Nets steal the win, combining for 40 points. The Sixers would definitely miss Maxey’s season average of 26 points per game.Maxey wasn’t the only player left out of the game; De’Anthony Melton also missed it because of back problems that reappeared after he made a brief comeback to the court earlier in the month.
Melton’s reputation as a more defensive player is well-established; he has already this season recorded 15 games with multiple steals and 16 successful shot blocks.
Melton and his defensive skills will be unavailable to the Sixers on Wednesday night when they play the Grizzlies, who may also be without their defensive captain.
Due to tendinitis in his right quadriceps, which has kept him out of action since the beginning of the month, former defensive player of the year Jaren Jackson Jr. has been downgraded to questionable for Wednesday night’s action.
Due to Ja Morant’s absence from the Grizzlies for a significant portion of the season—first from a suspension, and then from an injury that ended the season—Jackson has emerged as Taylor Jenkins’ go-to scorer, averaging a career-high 22 points per game on 44 percent shooting.
However, this has come at a price: the two-time first-team All-Defensive team member’s average block total has dropped to just 1.5 per game from his previous season. The native of New Jersey is also averaging one steal and five rebounds a game, four of which are defensive.Jackson is not the only player in Memphis’ starting lineup to be benched against Philadelphia; Yuta Watanabe is out because of a sprain to his right wrist, and Marcus Smart, a former Boston Celtic, is expected to miss the game because of a rupture in his right ring finger.
Wednesday night’s game between the Sixers and Grizzlies is slated to tip off at 7:30 p.m. EST.
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